The Case for a Trump Impeachment Inquiry

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At the start of each Congress, members of the House of Representatives and Senate take an oath to support and defend the Constitution. We have arrived at a critical juncture for them to act on those words. A growing chorus of Members have called for a formal impeachment inquiry to begin. In our view, those calling for an impeachment inquiry to begin have appropriately weighed their obligation to consider the precedent that would be set if President Trump’s conduct were to go unchecked. They have recognized that, particularly given President Trump’s unprecedented efforts to undermine every other form of oversight or accountability, resorting to a formal impeachment inquiry is the only way for Congress to fulfill its obligation to check the extraordinary abuses of executive power that we have witnessed over the last two and a half years.

The greatest risk at this moment in our history is not merely that we will fail to seek accountability for conduct that is incompatible with our constitutional democracy—it is that we will send a clear message to current and future would-be authoritarians that our institutions cannot withstand a naked assault on the rule of law.

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SHOULD BEGIN A CONSOLIDATED IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY INTO PRESIDENT TRUMP’S OBSTRUCTION OF THE INVESTIGATION OF RUSSIA’S ATTACK ON THE 2016 ELECTION AND OF HIS OWN CONDUCT; HIS PARTICIPATION IN A SCHEME TO DEFRAUD THE ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL ELECTION AND ETHICS LAWS; AND HIS UNCONSTITUTIONAL RECEIPT OR ACCEPTANCE OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC EMOLUMENTS.

Only a single committee vested with authority to conduct a formal impeachment inquiry can assume the responsibilities of assessing whether a president has committed “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors,” of drafting articles of impeachment if Congress determines that constitutional standard for a president’s removal from office has been met, and of articulating why impeachment is necessary should they decide it is. Although the House Judiciary Committee, the House Intelligence Committee, the House Oversight Committee, and the House Ways and Means Committee have made significant contributions through their investigative efforts into the matters described below, we believe it is time for the House to either create a special committee or delegate to an existing committee jurisdiction over all matters deemed relevant to the potential impeachment of the president.

more:
https://www.citizensforethics.org/case-impeachment-inquiry-trump/