President-elect Trump has barely begun his tenure and already signs are becoming evident that he is going to find himself in that most exclusive of executive clubs: the nation’s list of impeached presidents.
The word impeach has become little more than a statement of how militant one’s opposition is in recent years. In truth, only the most egregious acts warrant impeachment, which is why to date only two presidents — Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton — have suffered the indignity. Both were later acquitted by the Senate.
Definite Article
The Impeachment process begins in the House of Representatives when formal charges are brought against a civil officer of government for an alleged crime. Applicable crimes — defined as treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors — are punished by removal from office.
Nixon dodged that bullet by simply resigning from office in the wake of Watergate. Trump might not be so lucky.
The scandals that have dogged the Trump campaign have no precedent in U.S political history. And since the process of impeachment is not restricted to actions taken whilst in office, past indiscretions might come back to haunt him.
And the Republican-dominated Congress is no defense. A ‘better the devil you know’ Mike Pence presidency might appeal to some.
A night of long knives is hardly out of the question.
Treason
The very first person to be impeached was Tennessee Senator William Blount back in 1797 after it was revealed he had conspired with Britain to help capture Spanish territory.
Trump has been skirting the line defined as giving aid and comfort to America’s enemies from day one. Upon receiving security clearance back in July, he wasted no time whatsoever in using the classified information to political advantage. His casual mention that the United States was “paying rent” on a (secret) military base in Saudi Arabia was only the first of many such gaffes.
However, it is Trump’s connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin that might be of most concern. Last July, he issued an open invitation to Russia to spy on his opponent. He said:
“Russia, if you are listening, I hope you are able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you’ll be rewarded mightily by our press.”
In addition, his ties to Russia run far deeper than he is willing to admit. His early claims that he did not know Putin turned out to be false and in the wake of former CIA chief Michael Morell’s accusation that he was acting as an unwitting Russian agent, a Putin adviser all but admitted that he helped influence the election in Trump’s favor.
Bribery
Trump loves money. He loves to tell people how rich he is with the inflated figures proffered commensurate with the very best of Sigmund Freud’s theories.Whilst brown paper bags stuffed with bills slipped under the oval office door hardly seems Trump’s style, there are good reasons to believe that financial misconduct might be the death of him.
Or at least of his career.
To begin with there is the matter of his taxes. Although he has consistently refused to release details, more details will be forthcoming. Any discrepancies will be raked over by a press more hostile to his regime than any in recent memory. And any misconduct will be headline news.
Of more immediate concern however, are his current business relations. Trump has refused to put his empire in a blind trust opting instead to let his children manage it for him. The conflict of interest implicit in such an arrangement are truly staggering. Daughter Ivanka is already cashing in from her father’s elevation to high office; yesterday, she sat in on the President-elect’s meeting with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
High Crimes And Misdemeanors
It might come as no surprise that Trump has a somewhat rocky relationship with the law. Later this month he will have to attend court over alleged fraud in his Trump University real estate seminar program. And this is only one of around 75 court battles that he is currently facing.
Some of them are serious. A former employee of Trump’s golf course in Jupiter, Florida, is suing for having been unlawfully fired after reporting sexual harassment by a coworker.
Other sexual improprieties might cause Trump even more harm.
His promise to sue the ten women who accused him of sexual assault prior to the election flies in the face of conventional wisdom. Even so, Trump might seek punitive damages if for no other reason than a desire to defend his track record of intimidation. One of his accusers, Jill Hearth, has already threatened to retaliate against any attempt to do so. Regardless, with so many alleged skeletons in his closet the chances of one or more of them paying a visit at an inopportune moment are hard to discount.
C’est La Vie
Ultimately the impeachment of Trump is out of our hands. Wishing for it, or even hoping for it, might be counter-productive, especially in lieu of the fact that Vice President-elect Mike Pence is merely a different kind of asshole.
Much depends on the willingness of the GOP to cannibalize the man who won the White House for them and yet more depends on Trump’s future actions, and the veracity of claims of past improprieties.
Still, we’ll all be waiting for him to slip up and fall on his face
Popcorn in hand.
Featured Image by DonkeyHotey via Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
