Bob Corker sounds like he's making a case for removing Trump from office

By Aaron Blake October 24 at 1:20 PM

Sen. Bob Corker said a lot of things about President Trump on Tuesday morning. The Tennessee Republican warned that Trump's itchy Twitter finger could set off another world war. He suggested Trump is a liar. He said Trump's legacy will be “debasing” America. He said Trump is not a role model for children. He declined to say whether Trump should be trusted with the nuclear codes. He said Trump's conduct is “very sad for our nation.” He said Trump has “proven himself unable to rise to the occasion.”

Link to tweet

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Corker's comments sure seem to be trending in that direction — whether he intends it or not. The senator is describing Trump as an imminent threat to American government and American lives. He's suggesting Trump is damaging American society. He says Trump isn't only failing, but that he's “unable to rise to the occasion." He suggests Trump was ready to do crazy things before Corker intervened and put a stop to it. He's basically arguing that Trump is derelict in his duties as president, or unfit for the office.

Depending upon whom you ask, that could be approaching grounds for impeachment — or the less likely option of removal via the 25th Amendment, in which Trump would be declared unfit by his own Cabinet.

Grounds for impeachment are forever the topic of debate, of course, given that the Constitution requires “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” for removal from office. But those high crimes and misdemeanors need not necessarily be criminal in nature; many scholars believe dereliction of duty is also sufficient, and it's really up to Congress. As Princeton University's Keith E. Wittington wrote on the Monkey Cage back in May:

Even actions that might never be crimes could be impeachable .?.?. In 1933, Judge Halsted Ritter’s impeachment included the charge that he had continued to practice law in a manner “calculated to bring his office into disrepute,” violating judicial ethics. Associate Justice Samuel Chase was charged with abusive behavior from the bench, and President Andrew Johnson was charged with firing the Secretary of War in a manner inconsistent with a federal statute.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/24/bob-corker-sounds-like-hes-building-a-case-for-removing-trump-from-office/?utm_term=.c3cd1559ca1f