With Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation moving ever closer to the White House and President Trump, we again see Trump attempting to divert attention from his own actions by suggesting the FBI and Justice Department need to investigate his 2016 Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton:
Pocahontas just stated that the Democrats, lead by the legendary Crooked Hillary Clinton, rigged the Primaries! Lets go FBI & Justice Dept.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 3, 2017
That led MSNBC host Chris Hayes to wonder: Did Trump just cross the line and commit an impeachable offense?
Strong argument that instructing the justice department to prosecute your political opponent is an impeachable offense.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) November 3, 2017
A day before Trump’s angry tweet, the president told WMAL radio show host Larry O’Connor:
“The saddest thing is, because I’m the president of the United States, I am not supposed to be involved in the Justice Department. I am not supposed to be involved in the FBI. I’m not supposed to be doing the kind of things that I would love to be doing and I’m very frustrated by it.”
Translation: Trump would love to have the kind of power his friend Vladimir Putin has. Then he could prosecute or even assassinate his political opponents with no consequences. Thankfully, however, the Constitution prevents such actions by the president.
Still, the question lingers: Did what Trump said cross the line into act that could lead to his impeachment?
George Washington University professor Jonathan Turley, who spoke with LawNewz, says no way:
“It would be a dangerous course for Congress to impeach presidents for expressing their belief that a political opponent should be prosecuted.
“Trump is complaining that he does not have the ability to engage in greater direction of the Justice Department. Given that lament, it would make for a rather curious impeachment case.”
However, Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law at Chapel Hill, says Turley is wrong and Trump has indeed committed an impeachable offense with his comments:
“The short answer is that directing the justice department to prosecute your political enemies is a possible impeachable offense. The House Judiciary Committee approved impeachable articles against Richard Nixon for having directed the FBI and CIA to harass his political enemies. Trump has done this more than once and it could be considered an abuse of power.”
Nixon was also charged with obstruction of justice, which Trump may have committed when he fired FBI Director James Comey. It seems there will be no shortage of charges to put on the articles of impeachment if and when it comes to that.
Featured Image Via Twitter
