| |
On 15 February of 2019, “President Trump declared a national
emergency at the border . . . to access billions of dollars to build a border wall that
Congress refused to give him, transforming a highly charged policy dispute into a fundamental
confrontation over separation of powers.” (Ref. 1) This came
after the totally unnecessary and longest shutdown of the government in our history.
Back in June of 2017, only six months after assuming the office of
the President of the United States, I asked the question: ”Is It Time for Donald Trump to be
Impeached, Removed from Office or to Resign?” (Ref. 2) I left
the question unanswered. Today, some eighteen months later, I give my answer to that question
- The time has arrived for Donald Trump to be Impeached, Removed from Office or to
Resign!
Arguably the worst president in the history of the United States,
Donald Trump has finally gone too far. In declaring a national emergency to get his way over
the stupid issue of a border wall between Mexico and the United States, Trump has violated
one of the most sacred principles of our Constitution – that of the separation of power
between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Congress has refused
to give in to his bullying and childish temper tantrum. They have voted to not give him the
five plus billions of dollars he has demanded after the Mexican president refused to give in
to Trump’s stupid “promise” that he would build the wall and “Mexico would pay for it”.
For over a century, the United States has sought to foster a “good
neighbor” policy with regard to the rest of the Western hemisphere. Donald Trump immediately
recast the image of the United States as the bully of Western hemisphere by telling a sovereign
and friendly neighbor, Mexico, that he, Donald Trump, would force that nation
to pay between $12 billion and $15 billion to the United States so he, Donald Trump, could build
a wall to keep illegal immigrants and drug smugglers out of our country.
[2] Since then, the Donald has stepped back from his campaign
pledge to force Mexico to pay $12 billion and $15 billion to the United States,
to his irresponsible demand that Congress give him more than $5 billion to build his wall, to
his signing of a bill providing $1.4 billion for border security to his now infamous announcement
that he is declaring a national state of emergency in order to steal the money he wants from
other parts of the federal budget – money that Congress earmarked for other use.
The legal means for removal of a president from office in the United
States involves impeachment, followed by trial and conviction. At the Constitutional Convention
in 1787, James Madison of Virginia successfully argued in favor of the impeachment process.
He contended that “loss of capacity, or corruption . . . might be fatal to the republic” if the
president could not be removed until the next election. the Constitutional Convention agreed
with Madison on the necessity of impeachment.
“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.” - ARTICLE II, SECTION 4 of
the United States Constitution
Unilaterally abrogating the constitutionally granted powers of the
legislative branch of our government would seem to clearly be a “high crime” or
“misdemeanor”.
The term, “High crimes and misdemeanors,” is a somewhat undefined and
vague phrase. George Mason of Virginia proposed this phrase as one of the grounds for impeachment
and, to the members of the Constitutional Convention, the meaning was clearly understood to mean
that the official so charged had somehow abused the power of his office and was unfit to
serve.[3] Since assuming office,
Donald Trump has abused the power of his office and has, time and time again, proven to be
unfit to serve.
There is yet another way to remove an incompetent or incapacitated
president from office. In Donald Trump’s case, arguments can presumably be made for either
or both, incompetence or mental incapacitation.
“Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution states that,
“Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the
executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the
President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their
written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his
office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as
Acting President.” In other words, if Donald Trump is deemed to be unfit and therefore
unable to carry out the duties of the presidency, he can be removed from office without the
need to institute an impeachment process. For the good of all, this avenue should be
diligently explored as a means to stop America’s hemorrhaging under Donald Trump’s inept
and embarrassing leadership.” (Ref. 2)
Trump’s declaration of a national emergency is another of his innumerable
“untruths”. There is no national emergency. There is no national crisis. We are not
being attacked. There is no threat to national security The issue of illegal border
crossings from Mexico is not the problem that it once was. The number of illegal crossings
into the U.S. from Mexico has been declining since long before Trump made it an election
campaign promise. The same is true for the number of undocumented aliens residing in the
U.S. These days, fewer than half of all undocumented immigrants entering the U.S. now arrive
by crossing a border illegally. Two-thirds of all people who joined the undocumented
population in the country in 2014 did so by entering with a legal temporary visa. So, Trump’s
much ballyhooed and very costly wall to keep out “the flood of illegal Mexican wetbacks” is
not so essential after all. He would have known this if he had bothered to take the time to
find out the real facts instead of simply flying by the seat of his pants – an all-too-common
trait of Donald Trump that further renders him unfit to lead this nation.
[4]
Donald Trump’s action in declaring a national emergency to get more
money for a pet project of his would set a very dangerous precedent if allowed to stand. What
would prevent a president from declaring a national emergency any time he failed to get
congressional approval for any project or program that he wanted? The Constitution gave this power
to Congress, not to the President.
All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the
House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other
Bills
- U.S. Constitution, Article I,
section 7, clause 1
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of
Appropriations made by Law
-U.S.
Constitution, Article I, section 9, clause 7.
The Constitution grants Congress exclusively
the power to appropriate funds. This power of the purse is one of Congress' primary
checks on the executive branch. The president’s declaration of a national emergency is a boldfaced
illegal attempt to circumvent the Constitution of the United States and the constitutionally
granted powers of Congress.
If allowed to stand, Trump’s action would create a precedent
that future presidents could
use to ignore the will of Congress. Other presidents have declared national emergencies. But most
of them dealt with foreign crises and involved freezing property or taking other actions against
national adversaries, not redirecting money without explicit congressional authorization. Only
twice were emergency declarations, like Trump’s, used by presidents to spend money without
legislative approval — once by President George Bush in November 1990 during the run-up to the
Persian Gulf War and again by President George W. Bush in November 2001 after the terrorist
attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. In both cases, the presidents were responding
to new militarily threatening events — the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and Al Qaeda’s assault on
America — and they were justifiably moving military money around to use for military
purposes. Neither was taking action specifically rejected by Congress. In
Mr. Trump’s case, he is defining a longstanding situation at the border as an emergency even
though illegal crossings have actually fallen in recent years. And unlike either of the Bushes,
he is taking action after failing to persuade lawmakers to go along with his plans through the
regular process.[1]
Aside from Donald Trump’s current arrogant action, he has consistently
demonstrated his disregard for the laws and precedents governing the office to which he was
elected. Trump has repeatedly boasted that he knows more about national security than the experts
and agencies charged with determining the facts about our nation’s potential enemies and our
security needs. Trump has never provided any evidence to back up his claims that he knows more
than our security experts. The truth is, he is loud-mouthed know-nothing who twitters without
getting his facts straight. Trump’s actions in this regard are just further evidence of
incompetence and dangerous delusions.
Donald Trump long ago started out on the wrong foot when, among other
boasts, lies and distortions, he ignorantly stated: “I know more about ISIS than the generals
do. Believe me.” (Ref. 5)
Donald Trump has never let facts stand in the way of his spewing
forth untruths or statements of self-aggrandizement. “ ‘I know what I’m doing. I’m a smart
person. The highest level of smart,’ he told People magazine. ‘People are saying Donald
Trump is a genius,’ he told The New York Times.
“When asked by MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski in 2016 which experts he
speaks with, Trump replied, ‘I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very
good brain ... My primary consultant is myself, and I have, you know, I have a good instinct
for this stuff.’
“Who knows what his IQ is, and, to be sure, that technique worked
for him as a candidate. But when it comes to how the presidency works, Trump is an amateur,
a bumbler and, very often, his own worst enemy.”
- - -
“Trump — with his obsessive tweeting and aphasic outbursts — has done
almost everything he can to {confirm this conclusion}.” (Ref. 6)
Perhaps the most deeply disturbing characteristic of Trump
is his penchant for lying. Lying is not a desirable characteristic in our elected
officials, particularly in our president! President Trump “is out of touch with reality.
Numerous political figures have labeled him a pathological liar. He lives in a space where
evidence and testimony and science and facts matter less than what's in his mind. And it's
undermining the Office of President.” (Ref. 7) Donald Trump
is not in touch with reality. Facts do not matter to Donald Trump. Testimony from experts
don't matter to Trump. Conclusions from the leaders of his own party don't matter. In the
face of a tidal wave of truth, Donald Trump will stare right back at the tsunami and say it's
not actually there. Either he is a pathological liar, which means he is absolutely unable to
perform the duties of his office, or he is so mentally out of touch with reality that he does
not know the difference between the truth and a lie when he sees it, which also means he
should not be President of the United States. With every day Donald Trump remains in office,
national respect for that office declines.[7]
Donald Trump has consistently exhibited the behavior of a spoiled
4-year old brat who goes into a temper tantrum every time he is criticized or can’t get his
way. Anyone who disagrees with him is “out to get him” and is his personal enemy. Donald is
always right and his opponents are always wrong, dishonest, crooked, and despicable. He feels
that he is all-wise: he knows more about military matters than the generals, admirals and the
professional military experts in our government; he knows more about what is legal and
constitutional than the legally trained and experienced members of the United States Judiciary;
he has more and better information about America’s enemies and potential enemies than our
intelligence services. He continually demonstrates the deficiencies of an egotistical bully
who will do or say anything in his attempts to get his way.
Donald Trump’s behavior in office has been more in keeping with the
actions of dictators such as Vladimir Putin of Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.
Clearly, the sum of Donald Trump’s actions and behavior indicate
an individual totally unqualified to hold the position of U.S. President. Donald Trump has
led an incoherent administration that has been mired in incessant controversy since its
inception. While any one single questionable action on the part of the president might be
excused, his unbelievably numerous transgressions paint a sad picture of someone unfit for
the presidency, obstinately unwilling to take advice, incapable of keeping his mouth shut,
unable to learn, and apparently totally unaware of the responsibilities and obligations of
the office of America’s Chief Executive and Commander in Chief of its armed forces. The
evidence and rationale for Donald trump’s impeachment, removal from office or resignation
are undeniable.[3]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:
- Trump Declares National Emergency to Build Border Wall,
The New York Times, Peter Baker, 15 February 2019.
- High Crimes and Misdemeanors, Constitutional Rights Foundation,
Accessed 25 January 2017.
- Is It Time for Donald Trump to be Impeached, Removed from Office or to Resign?,
Son of Eliyahu: Article 297, David Burton, 29 June 2017.
- Illegal Immigration Dips To Pre-Obama Levels, Shane Dixon Kavanaugh,
Vocativ, 25 April 2017.
- TRUMP: ‘I KNOW MORE ABOUT ISIS THAN THE GENERALS DO, BELIEVE ME’,
grabien,
13 November 2015.
- Amateur Trump his own worst enemy, Jonah Goldberg, Boston Herald,
Page 13, 10 June 2017.
- KING: Donald Trump should be immediately removed from office — before we hit rock bottom,
Shaun King,
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, 21 March 2017.
| |
