Impeachment, as outlined in the Constitution, serves as part of the system of checks and balances that preserves democracy. It was designed to be a bipartisan affair, reserved for dire situations where a president’s actions threaten The Constitution and American freedoms. The criteria for impeachment, “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors”, transcend time and current politics to ensure democratic ideals are preserved across generations. In the past, only two US presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. As such, these events set a precedent that is useful to consider when analyzing Trump’s potential impeachment.
Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868, shortly after the end of the Civil War, because he violated the Tenure of Office Act. This act prevents the president from removing certain individuals from their office without the Senate’s approval. Johnson was impeached for replacing the secretary of war, Edwin M. Stanton, with Brevet Major General Lorenzo Thomas without consulting the Senate. Thomas’s political beliefs better aligned with Johnson’s than did Stanton’s. In this case, impeachment was not influenced by the political tensions of the Civil War and only occurred when Johnson directly violated the law laid out by the Constitution. Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998 for lying under oath and obstruction of justice as a result of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones and testimony where he denied a relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Again, impeachment was a last resort, only used when obvious that the president did not abide by the Constitution. Both of these cases demonstrate that impeachment has remained a bipartisan way of ensuring that the president of The United States fulfills their duty to all US citizens and that they are not treated as if they are above the law.
The process of Donald Trump’s impeachment officially began on September 24 when Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry. This was justified by a whistleblower complaint that outlined how Trump would withhold military aid to Ukraine unless Ukrainian officials investigated Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son. Further, the complaint discussed the Trump administration’s attempt to cover up the call Trump made to Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukranian president. Senior white house officials attempted to put the transcript on “lockdown” and increase its security staus to prevent the incriminating evidence from becoming available. By using federal money for his personal gain in the upcoming presidential election, Trump has misused his power. He has taken advantage of the American people by putting his own desires ahead of his duties as an official elected to represent the people. Not only has Trump committed a “high crime and misdemeanor” but his offering of money to Ukraine in exchange for an investigation into Hunter Biden can be considered bribery. Therefore, Trump has committed at least two of the three impeachable offenses.
The Trump administration has considered impeachment proceedings a “witch hunt” where Democrats have the sole intention of corrupting democracy. Yet, when any president abuses power to find dirt on their political opponents they are corrupting democracy. Any government official who did not find Trump guilty would be taking part in a scheme to keep the president in power, without the consent of the people. Claims that impeachment is an attempt to overturn the election and put democrats into power is also unfounded; should Trump be removed from office, the Republican vice president, Mike Pence, would take office.
Additionally, Democrats may even be politically hurt by supporting the impeachment. The Democratic senators who are running for office in the 2020 presidential election would have to be present in DC to vote on Trump’s removal if he is impeached. This would distract them from the campaign trail while Republican candidates, namely Trump, have an opportunity to campaign when fewer Democrats are receiving attention. Moreover, Trump’s impeachment is not a way for the Democrats to overturn the election the Republicans won or a way for Democrats to seize power. It is, however, a Constitutional right that checks the president’s power so that Trump is not able to use his office for political gain, rather than to serve the people.
If the whistleblower had not filed a complaint and Trump was able to get away with this corrupt action, the United States government would be acting more like a dictatorship than a democracy because the president would have been treated as above the law. The preservation of democracy must not be left to the fate of election day; we must exercise the powers granted by the Constitution to ensure Trump uses his power to act in accordance with the will of the people, rather than for the benefit of his 2020 presidential campaign.