For many months, the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives internally debated whether or not to begin an impeachment process against President Trump, with basis on the Mueller Report, particularly under the possible charge of obstruction of justice.
No Democrat doubted the evidence to proceed, but some were concerned about the political implications. The Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, rightfully pondered three aspects before making her decision. First, once the House of Representatives decides to impeach the President, a trial begins in the Senate and two thirds, or 67 senators, would declare the President guilty and vote to remove him from office. It is difficult to imagine this scenario since a Republican majority, mostly loyal to the President, including the majority leader, Mitch McConnell, rules the Senate. Speaker Pelosi also considered public opinion, since impeachment proceedings are very polarizing and sentiments against impeachment surpassed Trump’s unpopularity. Finally, she took into account the negative consequences a possible exculpation could have on future charges against Trump. According to a sector of judicial doctrine, an absolution from part of the Senate could prevent future prosecution under the same facts with a double jeopardy defense.
However, everything changed this week. A couple of days ago, a whistleblower from inside Trump’s administration filed a report denouncing that the President personally abused the power of the Presidency to pressure the President of Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 US presidential election in favor of Trump. During a phone call, Trump asked the Ukrainian President to reopen an investigation against Vice President Biden, practically fabricating an accusation that was dismissed against Biden’s son, Hunter. This time, involving Vice President Biden in the investigation. To make matters worse, he practically held US financial aid destined to Ukraine for national security reasons as a condition for the interference. The transcripts of the telephone conversation released as a result of the pressure exerted by the public opinion (after the whistleblower denunciation leaked to The Washington Post), confirm these events implicated the betrayal of the highest constitutional values of the United States. In fact, the press also confirmed that days before the telephone exchange Trump and his administration withheld financial disbursements from the support program approved by Congress and committed to Ukraine—something unprecedented, unthinkable.
Joe Biden not only leads the polls among candidates for the Democratic nomination but also would easily defeat Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential elections, according to various opinion polls that we have cited in previous articles. Trump’s actions are hard to accept from a both a moral and political perspective, and will probably shake many Republicans’ grounds. Former presidential candidate and current Senator Mitt Romney already expressed (in a tweet) his deep disproval with Trump’s inexcusable conduct. Moreover, in light of these events, the widow of late Senator John McCain, whose legacy is a Republican moral reference and reserve during these times, said that Trump’s Party is no longer the Republican Party to which she and her husband belonged to. Is this the beginning of a plunge of support for Trump in the Senate, if the impeachment takes place?
Meanwhile, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with her characteristic political skill and legislative leadership announced an “impeachment inquiry,” not yet an “impeachment proceeding.” That is, Pelosi intends to conduct a sort of pre-investigation or substantiation of all the necessary elements, so in the event they move forward with an impeachment proceeding and culminate in lifting charges through the articles that the majority approves, they have the greatest political support and public opinion possible, given the strength of the evidence. Pelosi seeks to solve the dilemma and risk that proceeding without adequate basis could have for Democratic congress members who managed to win in districts of Republican tendency (in which Trump has his important support). Additionally, Speaker Pelosi wants to offer Republicans a more substantial reason for why their automatic solidarity with Trump and partisan loyalty above the national interest will come at a high cost under these circumstances. If the House is able to make this argument, the articles of impeachment approved by the Democratic majority, as well as a faction of Republicans, would reach the Senate with immense power. And throughout this process, Trump would be completely defensive and beaten in the face of national opinion. For all these reasons, this week, Pelosi talked to her colleagues on the bench and asked them to focus their narratives and efforts on the facts of the conversation with the President of Ukraine. She knows that the recent event can be easily grasped because of the tangible and concrete evidence in sight.
The truth is that, beyond all the strategic and political issues, Trump has incurred in some severe events by asking a foreign government to “manufacture” an accusation against his principal opponent to influence the elections in our country. It is from now an inevitable democratic and moral imperative to advance with the impeachment.
Para español lea “Llegó la hora del Impeachment: Trump ha llegado demasiado lejos”