An Unexpected Group Is Pushing For Impeachment–And They May Win (VIDEO)


Even in the face of mounting concerns that Donald Trump’s actions have strayed into impeachable offenses, most federal lawmakers have been wary about calling for the House to impeach him. However, a number of elected officials in cities and towns aren’t as wary about taking that step. They have drafted and passed resolutions calling for the start of impeachment proceedings.


As of this past weekend, 10 cities and towns across the country have passed resolutions calling for Trump’s impeachment. Brookline, Massachusetts–best known as the birthplace of John F. Kennedy–became the latest to join that list on Thursday. A representative town meeting voted overwhelmingly to call for Trump to be impeached for violating the Emoluments Clause. Brookline joins the neighboring town of Cambridge–home to Harvard University–and the western Massachusetts towns of Pelham and Everett in adopting such a resolution.

A number of cities in California have also joined the call. In late March, the Berkeley city council voted unanimously to call for Trump’s impeachment. Watch coverage from KPIX-TV and KBCW in San Francisco here.

The resolution cited concerns about Trump’s attacks on the press, his campaign’s apparent collusion with Russia, and his stratospheric conflicts of interest. One of the cosponsors, city councilwoman Kate Harrison, said that this resolution had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with “the very essence of our constitution.”

Two other Bay Area cities, Alameda and Richmond, also passed calls for impeachment in March. Los Angeles joined them in early May.

In Chicago, city councilman Ameya Pawar drafted an impeachment resolution after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. To Pawar, it left no doubt that Trump “continues to obstruct the investigation into Russian influence over his administration, in his business dealings, and the alleged collusion during the 2016 election.” The resolution quickly attracted 31 cosponsors. However, it is currently bottled up in the council’s Rules Committee. That committee’s vice-chairman, Ed Burke–a holdover from the era of “Hizzoner” Richard J. Daley–is partner in a law firm that has done considerable business with Trump.

Most of these cities and towns are working from a template provided by Free Speech for People, a group based in Amherst. They’re the folks behind “Impeach Trump Now,” a campaign that began literally within seconds of Trump taking office. Impeach Trump Now argues that Trump’s violations of the Emoluments Clause were so egregious that he could not honestly take the oath. Relying almost entirely on social media, the campaign has garnered over a million signatures.


But what you may not know is that Free Speech for People also provided a template for local communities to push for impeachment. The group’s leader, constitutional lawyer John Bonifaz, argues that impeachment is the only ironclad way to hold Trump to account for “abusing the public trust.” The FBI and Department of Justice investigation, now led by special counsel Robert Mueller, is focused on potential criminal violations. However, Bonifaz believes that it is “unclear whether a sitting president can be indicted,” and for that reason a push for impeachment should run parallel to the special counsel investigation.

Most of the cities that have passed calls for impeachment are ridiculously blue. For instance, the five Massachusetts towns that have passed impeachment resolutions all overwhelmingly supported Hillary Clinton. The “reddest” town of that group, Leverett, gave Trump a grand total of 14.7 percent of the vote. However, it’s all about setting a narrative. As more evidence of potentially impeachable conduct mounts, it will become more and more difficult for federal lawmakers to ignore demands for impeachment.


At the start of this Congress, freshman Congressman Jamie Raskin vowed to introduce articles of impeachment as soon as it was apparent Trump violated the Emoluments Clause. Last week, fellow Democrat Al Green became the first to publicly call for impeachment on the House floor. Hopefully as momentum increases at the local level, more congressmen will join them.

(featured image courtesy Gage Skidmore, available under a Creative Commons BY-SA license)

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.