IMPEACH: Legal basis for removing Donald Trump from the White House

Ever since the beginning of Donald Trump's White House Administration there has been talk of impeachment. However, it is important to understand the legal machinations involved in the impeachment process. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the sole ability of impeaching a sitting President via Article II Section 4 which states, “The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” However, the statute is vague and lends itself to various interpretations of what is necessary to impeach Trump, according to FindLaw.

Impeachment requires a criminal offense

In terms of legal requirements to impeach Trump the key phrase is “treason, bribery or other high crimes.” The phrase implies that some type of criminal offense needs to have been committed in order to legally impeach a sitting President. Other sections in the Constitution seems to support this interpretation.

For instance, Article III Section 2 states that “the trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury.” This implies that the legal process of impeachment is connected with a criminal offense. Additionally, Article II Section 2 of the Constitution empowers the President to grant pardons “for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.” This implies the criminal nature of the actions necessary to legally bring forth impeachment. One may argue that Trump is guilty of obstruction of justice, a criminal offense, when he fired FBI Director James Comey.

Misdemeanors and official presidential duties

On the other hand, there are other interpretations of the legal basis for impeachment which does not require a criminal act by President Trump. One interpretation focuses more on the word “misdemeanors” which did not specifically carry criminal connotation when the U.S. Constitution was ratified. Another interpretation is based upon an action, not necessarily criminal in nature, taken by the President specifically related to his official duties. One example may be if Trump is indeed found to have violated the Emoluments Clause through financial conflicts of interests via his investments connected to Russia or other foreign powers. 

Matter of political will

However, ultimately Congress has the sole power to decide whether or not Trump has committed an impeachable act. After an impeachment via Congress it is the Senate which must convict Trump before actually removing him from office. This is why impeachment is more a political question than a legal inquiry. Therefore, those who are looking to remove Trump from power would do well to pressure their congressional representatives and senators to do the right thing.

Trump conned coal country: no jobs, abandons black lung patients

As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump made promises to the coal industry and the communities it supports. Trump claimed he could bring the coal industry back to its heyday. However, as President, Trump has not done hardly anything to bring back jobs to the coal industry. His first actions as President have clearly shown that he does not care about helping the coal mining communities. In fact, Trump's agenda shows a clear intent to enact policies which would severely hurt coal mining communities.

Trump deregulation will not solve anything

So far the Trump Administration has attempted to fulfill his promises of bringing back jobs to the coal industry via executive order aimed at dismantling numerous environmental standards previously set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, this tactic is short-sighted and is unlikely to have any long-term significant effect, according to a study from Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy.

The report reveals that Trump's deregulatory agenda does not address the main causes of coal's decline in the past few decades, which are competing demand for natural gas and renewable energy sources. Any possible positive benefits to Trump's deregulatory policies could be “overwhelmed by the impact of cheaper natural gas” with a worst-case scenario of coal consumption dropping “below levels... projected under Obama administration policies,” according to the report released in April. This blog had previously published a post about how the reality of the dynamics between natural gas and coal do not work in favor of Trump's economic thesis.

Trump budget cuts job retraining for displaced coal miners

Despite the macroeconomic outlook of the coal industry's decline, Trump is attempting to make it more difficult for current and future unemployed coal miners to be retrained with skills better-suited for today's economy. Trump's recently proposed budget would slash at least $1.13 billion from the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative, which helps to train dislocated coal industry workers for occupations in-demand in the current economy, according to The Center for American Progress. The POWER initiative provided over $115.8 million in funding for coal communities in over 20 states over the past two years.

Trump's attempt to repeal Obamacare disaster for black lung patients

In addition, to making it challenging for coal miners to survive the job market during the inevitable decline of the coal industry, the Trump agenda is also threatening to make it more difficult for patients suffering from black lung disease to obtain the medical care they need to survive. Trump's staunch support of the GOP effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare, would roll back a provision within the ACA which made it drastically easier for coal miners to obtain coverage for black lung disease, according to News and Tribune.

Trump ran his election campaign on the notion that he was somehow more straightforward and honest compared to other more conventional politicians. However, despite his rhetoric, his actions show that his promises made to coal mining communities were only lies made up to gain votes. It is clear that the intention of the Trump agenda is to enact policies that would economically devastate these communities while literally leaving them to die without healthcare.

Trump budget prioritizes war over education, hurts impoverished communities

President Trump's proposed budget would drastically increase spending on the military while making dramatic cuts to numerous social services that mostly benefit impoverished communities. Now with the increasing tensions with Syria and the military actions taken by the Trump administration, the military-heavy budget may pick up some additional political support from war hawk lawmakers. Unfortunately, children from impoverished communities may suffer some of the most devastating effects due to proposed cuts to various education services, such as after-school programs.

Trump budget cuts to after-school programs hurt working families

The proposed budget would increase military spending by $54 billion while cutting $9 billion from education. Not all of the details of the cuts have been released, however $1.2 billion of those cuts would specifically hit 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) which provide after-school and summer learning programs, according to The Center for American Progress. The cuts would put an end to these essential programs. This can be highly detrimental to working parents who rely on the programs to allow them to continue working to make ends meet while also providing their children with the extra learning needed for them to succeed in school. Approximately 80 percent of parents who participated in the after-school services claim that the programs helped them maintain their employment. Over 1.6 million students are currently attending the after-school programs.

Trump's alternative facts on after-school programs

Despite these obvious benefits for working families, the Trump administration still claims that there are no benefits to maintaining these programs. The budget justifies these cuts by asserting that there is no “strong evidence” of meeting the objectives of the programs, such as “improving student achievement.” However, Trump is flat-out wrong and ignores large amounts of evidence showing that these programs do make significant progress on their objectives.

An evaluation of high-quality after-school programs, which included CCLC programs, in low-income elementary and middle schools found that regular participation among the 3,000 students evaluated, resulted in considerable improvements in math test scores as well as work habits. The study also showed that after-school programs reduced behavioral problems, according to a fact sheet published by the Afterschool Alliance. Evaluations conducted on CCLC programs in California, Washington and Wisconsin showed improvements for students in many areas, including test scores, attendance, grades, class participation and motivation.

Be sure to contact your local congresspersons and senators and tell them you oppose these cuts to critical public education services, such as the CCLC. Now with the worsening Syria crisis, it is important voters do not allow lawmakers to sneak these devastating cuts under the cover of patriotic war drums. You can automatically connect to your representatives via various means at Phone2Action.

Trump looking to destroy ACA from within

With the spectacular failure of the recent GOP healthcare bill which did not even reach the House for a vote, President Trump has warned that he will let the Affordable Care Act (ACA) implode on itself and then attempt to blame the Democrats for its failure. This is quite possible now that Trump controls Health and Human Services (HHS) via his newly appointed head of the agency, Tom Price. Since people's lives are literally at stake when it comes to medical care, it is important that his threats are taken seriously.

When news stories begin to surface about services related to the ACA being unfunded or purposely mismanaged, it is we, the people, who will need to make sure that these not-so-sexy news stories are not hidden or under-reported by the media, mainstream or otherwise. Petitions must be created and organized political actions must be taken to pressure local congresspersons and senators to not ignore Trump's agenda to destroy the ACA from within for political gain.

It is clear that constituents confronting lawmakers via phone calls, emails and at town hall meetings had an impact on lawmakers and their stances on the recently failed GOP bill. There's no reason to doubt that the same strategies would also be effective in helping to prevent the sabotage of the ACA by the Trump administration. However, because it is not known exactly what the Trump administration will do, activists need to be vigilant in order to respond in a timely manner.

Wall Street-friendly Trump may be looking to delay or repeal 'fiduciary rule'

One of the most pivotal issues of the recent presidential election was how an unregulated Wall Street is able to gain massive record profits through fraudulent and criminal behavior while wealth inequality is at all-time highs. The Obama administration had recently passed a bill, known as the “fiduciary rule,” aimed at curbing this phenomenon within the financial adviser industry. However, with the election of Donald Trump to the White House this rule may face a delay in implementation or possibly a repeal.

The rule which goes into effect April 2017 is set to put a fiduciary duty on any financial advisers giving advice to consumers. This means that a financial adviser has to make recommendations that put the interests of the client ahead of all other interests, including commissions received by the financial adviser for recommending financial products of specific companies. A majority of Americans believe Wall Street needs to be held accountable for its actions, which is what the fiduciary rule aims to do.

Donald Trump even ran his campaign on promises to reign in Wall Street. On the other hand, his cabinet picks of Wall Street insiders put serious doubt on whether or not he was being honest when making these promises. His choice for Labor secretary, Andrew Puzder, a fast food CEO, has not offered his opinion on the fiduciary rule, according to an article published by Investment News. However, Pudzer's conservative slant towards smaller government and his radical belief that there should be no minimum wage makes it highly likely he would not be looking out for the everyday person and would not likely be a friendly supporter of the fiduciary rule.

As head of the Department of Labor, which is in charge of implementing the rule, Puzder will have significant power to delay implementation of the rule. Delaying implementation is a viable alternative to a straight out repeal of the rule for Trump and the GOP, reported The National Law Journal. A repeal of the rule may also be possible, especially with the Republicans controlling both the House and Senate. GOP House leader Congressman Paul Ryan has been vociferous in his harsh criticism of the fiduciary rule in the recent past, according to an article published on TheStreet.com.

Delay or repeal of the fiduciary rule when combined with the GOP plan to privatize Social Security can put senior citizens especially at risk of being defrauded by unscrupulous financial advisers salivating over privatized, self-directed retirement accounts. Therefore, it is essential the American public voices its disapproval of any delay or attempt to repeal the fiduciary rule. Please contact your local congressional representatives and senators and let them know your concerns about the fiduciary rule. You can also sign CREDO's petition to tell Senate Democrats to hold the line and not help Republicans delay or repeal the fiduciary rule.

Will Trump oppose GOP and keep his promise to maintain Social Security and Medicare?

Donald Trump made many promises as a candidate. Most of them he hopefully does not keep, such as banning immigrants and refugees based upon their religious beliefs or breaking up families through mass deportations. On the other hand, one promise he should keep is his promise to not cut funding for Medicare and Social Security, which millions of senior citizens depend on to survive in an environment of ever-increasing costs of living and medical care.

Trump vs. GOP

However, many Republican lawmakers' positions on Social Security are diametrically opposed to Trump's stated position. GOP lawmakers, led by Congressman Paul Ryan, have repeatedly worked towards cutting Medicare and Social Security and ultimately want to privatize the program. This would result in healthier seniors dropping out of traditional medicare causing increased Medicare spending as well as higher costs for seniors remaining in traditional Medicare, according to an article published by the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM). It is likely the GOP will test Trump's resolve to keep his campaign promise to look after America's senior citizens.

Broken promises not uncommon for Trump

Unfortunately, Trump has a habit of not keeping his campaign promises which can already be seen through his cabinet selections. Trump promised to “drain the swamp,” meaning to rid Washington D.C. of Wall Street influence. But, instead of looking out for the everyday American on Main Street, Trump has packed his cabinet full of Wall Street insiders. With this in mind, one has to wonder what the chances are that he will again turn his back on everyday Americans, particularly seniors who depend on benefits from the government.

Promise to repeal ACA contradictory to promise to maintain Medicare

Another factor which could cause an issue is that Trump and his Republican colleagues have promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare. The problem with this is that the ACA has greatly helped in refilling the Social Security trust fund, according to an article published by the NCPSSM. If the ACA is repealed without replacing it with another similar program it would be difficult to avoid having to cut the meager benefits that seniors are already receiving without raising taxes. An increase in taxes to fund government programs is now significantly less likely with the GOP in control of both the House and Senate.

Continue the pressure on Trump and GOP

It is essential that we keep up the political pressure on Trump and the Republicans to honor the wishes of the majority of Americans and steer clear of making cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Along with contacting your Congressperson or Senator one can help to apply political pressure against cutting these important social welfare programs through supporting already-existent organizations dedicated to preserving Social Security and Medicare. The NCPSSM has an outstanding record of success in lobbying lawmakers to not cut benefits. Another excellent organization is Social Security Works. If you have the financial ability to help, please consider these organizations for charitable donations.

Trump could turn DOJ against civil rights, courts now critical battleground

Since the election of Donald Trump, many have been left worrying about what will happen if his administration actually turns his campaign promises into policy. One of the areas of most concern will be civil rights. Trump's threats to ban Muslims on the basis of religion, initiate mass deportations of Mexicans and to punish women for having abortions have ignited alarm among civil rights advocates and activists all around the country who are deciding where best to employ their resources in the resistance against Trump.

Although it is difficult to predict what the Trump administration actually plans to do, one can obtain a broad brush view of its intentions by Trump's recent choice of anti-civil rights advocate Jeff Sessions to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ) as Attorney General. It may be helpful to take a look at how past Republican presidents have taken action in rolling back civil rights. Past Republican presidents have used their power over the DOJ in order to weaken its ability to protect civil rights via strategic personnel changes and redirecting the priorities of the civil rights division within the department, according to Samuel Bagenstos, law professor and former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ in a recent interview on The Majority Report.

A White House administration utilizing its power over the DOJ in order to serve its own ideological and political leanings is nothing new. In fact this has been going on since at least when Ronald Reagan was president, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times. President George W. Bush's administration had run into controversy in his firing of a group of attorneys from the DOJ which was largely seen as politically motivated. During the Bush years the administration ordered the DOJ to prioritize fighting voter fraud while deprioritizing other civil rights litigation efforts, despite little evidence of significant amounts of fraudulent voting occurring. This was obviously a desperate attempt to find any shred of evidence that could be useful in propping up the false GOP narrative of undocumented immigrants casting illegal votes for Democrats.

There is no indication to suggest the Trump administration will not use this same power over the DOJ in order to further its campaign promises to squash the civil rights of minorities and disenfranchised people. The administration could possibly fire all attorneys in the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, which has been done by past administrations, and refill those positions with individuals who are more aligned with derailing civil rights expansion rather than enforcing civil rights laws. This will leave a large glaring hole in society's apparatus for resisting attacks on civil liberties, including hate crimes, voter suppression and repression of women's reproductive rights.

With Republicans controlling all three branches of the federal government, the courts will become an even more essential battleground in the fight to protect civil liberties. Luckily, besides relying on the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, activists have already developed infrastructure which will be critical in the battle for civil rights via various organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR). Although these organizations have already been active in pursuing civil rights litigation their efforts are now central in engaging with the Trump administration's attacks on civil rights. Please consider supporting these organizations with donations, volunteering and whatever other means that are available.