|
{"source_url": "http://www.wschronicle.com", "url": "http://www.wschronicle.com/2020/01/commentary-civics-101-house-democrats-vote-to-impeach-trump/", "title": "Commentary: Civics 101: House Democrats vote to impeach Trump", "top_image": "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Cash.jpg", "meta_img": "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Cash.jpg", "images": ["http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/MattieDouthitCharlieLentz-310x150_c.jpg", "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ShontellRobinson-310x150_c.jpg", "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Burtons_1-310x150_c.jpg", "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Cash-680x365_c.jpg", "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ParklandElite8-310x150_c.jpg", "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Cash-310x150_c.jpg", "http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/31fe262cba385665b2974f14dd85c019?s=60&d=mm&r=g", "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/FORUMHousingArt-310x150_c.jpg", "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Cash.jpg", "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/WinstonSalemWriters-310x150_c.jpg", "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/BlackWomanCreatesScienceDoll-310x150_c.jpg", "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/wake-forest-310x150_c.jpg", "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/themes/legatus-theme/images/loading.gif"], "movies": [], "text": "By Algenon Cash\n\nOn December 18, 2019, the House of Representatives approved articles of impeachment against the 45th president of the United States \u2013 charging Donald J. Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.\n\nTrump, the third U.S. president in history to be impeached, joins a rare club that includes Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Prior to Trump, Johnson was the only president to be impeached during his first term.\n\nDespite popular belief, Richard Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, was never impeached. Nixon sensed his loss of political support and felt it was inevitable the House would impeach him. Nixon resigned the presidency after the House Judiciary Committee voted to adopt three articles of impeachment against him, but his resignation was prior to the full House vote to impeach. Nixon\u2019s former vice president, Gerald Ford, pardoned him for his alleged crimes, after he was sworn in as the new president.\n\nTrump\u2019s impeachment was largely passed along party lines with no bi-partisan support in committee or the full House vote. However, more votes were cast in support of Trump\u2019s impeachment than any other impeached president in U.S. history.\n\nIn August 2019, a whistleblower complaint alleged Trump abused his power when he withheld an invitation to the White House to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a $400 million military aid package to pressure Ukraine to announce an investigation of former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Furthermore, Trump wanted to promote a conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 presidential election.\n\nThis kind of back room \u201cquid pro quo\u201d is routine in foreign affairs \u2013 one foreign leader may use some type of aid to negotiate a better deal for their respective country. What\u2019s not routine is coercing a foreign country to investigate a political rival in attempt to shift the outcome of a democratic election. Newly minted House Democratic leaders announced a formal inquiry in September.\n\nVoters who don\u2019t quite understand the impeachment process thought president Trump may be removed from office in short order. But, in fact, the House of Representatives only have the authority to impeach or charge a sitting president with high crimes and misdemeanors.\n\nArticle 1, Section 3, Clause 6 of the U.S. Constitution gives the Senate the \u201csole Power to try all impeachments.\u201d Two-thirds majority of present members is required to convict the president on the charges alleged in the House.\n\nIn other words, a police officer may accuse you of murder, but it\u2019s the judge and jury that will decide guilt or innocence. Similar to how all of us are entitled to our day in court, the president has the same benefit according to the Constitution.\n\nNeedless to say, the process is just beginning.\n\nYou may recall the impeachment of Bill Clinton. On December 19, 1998, the House of Representatives impeached Clinton when they passed articles of impeachment on two charges \u2013 lying under oath and obstruction of justice. However, on February 12, 1999, Clinton was acquitted on both counts as neither received the necessary vote threshold required to convict and remove a sitting president from office.\n\nCurrently House Democrats have chosen not to deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate \u2013 which delays any trial from commencing. If no trial was to ever occur, then Donald Trump can remain in office, and perhaps even the first president in history to win re-election after being impeached.\n\nHouse Speaker Pelosi has declared she will hold the articles of impeachment indefinitely until she receives solid confirmation the Senate will conduct an impartial trial that will be held free of undue influence from the White House.\n\nSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared that for the impeachment trial, he would be in \u201ctotal coordination with the White House counsel\u2019s office,\u201d saying, \u201cI\u2019m going to take my cues from the president\u2019s lawyers.\u201d Considering the Senate acts as jurors in the impeachment trial, this would be akin to the jury foreman coordinating with the defense attorneys. Any legal scholar would say this is virtually unheard of in any courtroom.\n\nMeanwhile, the impeachment could have great influence over the 2020 election cycle, either causing those who support Trump to show up in record numbers to demonstrate they are behind the president or possibly giving a boost to Trump\u2019s Democratic rivals without the president having a fair opportunity to plead his case. Neither outcome is desired.\n\nAlgenon Cash is a nationally recognized speaker and the managing director of Wharton Gladden & Company, an investment banking firm. Reach him at acash@nullalgenoncash.com", "keywords": [], "meta_keywords": [""], "tags": [], "authors": [], "publish_date": "Wed Jan 1 14:00:19 2020", "summary": "", "article_html": "", "meta_description": "Commentary: Civics 101: House Democrats vote to impeach Trump", "meta_lang": "en", "meta_favicon": "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/themes/legatus-theme/images/favicon.png", "meta_data": {"viewport": "width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1", "description": "Commentary: Civics 101: House Democrats vote to impeach Trump", "og": {"locale": "en_US", "type": "article", "title": "Commentary: Civics 101: House Democrats vote to impeach Trump - WS Chronicle", "description": "Commentary: Civics 101: House Democrats vote to impeach Trump", "url": "http://www.wschronicle.com/2020/01/commentary-civics-101-house-democrats-vote-to-impeach-trump/", "site_name": "WS Chronicle", "updated_time": "2019-12-31T11:48:31-05:00", "image": {"identifier": "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Cash.jpg", "width": 610, "height": 250}}, "article": {"section": "Editorial", "published_time": "2020-01-01T14:00:19-05:00", "modified_time": "2019-12-31T11:48:31-05:00"}, "twitter": {"card": "summary", "description": "Commentary: Civics 101: House Democrats vote to impeach Trump", "title": "Commentary: Civics 101: House Democrats vote to impeach Trump - WS Chronicle", "image": "http://www.wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Cash.jpg"}, "generator": "Powered by Visual Composer - drag and drop page builder for WordPress."}, "canonical_link": "http://www.wschronicle.com/2020/01/commentary-civics-101-house-democrats-vote-to-impeach-trump/"} |
