The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

Containing His Articles, Observations, Thoughts, Meanderings,
and some would say Wisdom (and some would say not).

From Quid Quo Pro to Bribery, to Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Justice the Impeachment bandwagon rolls on. The "Articles of Impeachment" have been by the House Judiciary Committee for passage by the House of Representatives.  These Articles reveal the House Democrats lack comprehension or understanding of their Constitutional responsibilities, or their willingness to ignore these responsibilities to achieve a political goal. Either way, they do not reflect well on the House Democrats. The two main Articles of Impeachment deal with Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Justice. As such, I would comment on these topics as follows:

Abuse of Power

Every President abuses power, every Congress abuses power, and every Court abuses power. Our Founding Fathers recognized that all governments and all government offices will abuse power. It is the nature of government to abuse power. That is why our Founding Fathers designed three branches of government – so that each branch could act as a check on the abuses of the other branches of government. Congress has the power to create laws, the power of the purse, and the oversight power to check the President. The President has the power to veto laws, issue Executive Orders within the scope of the law, and assert legitimate Executive Privilege to check the Congress. The Courts have the power to mediate disputes between the Congress and the President and to assure that all are acting within the Constitutional framework. And the President and Congress have the power to nominate and approve Jurists and Justices to the courts, to overturn decisions of the Courts by crafting appropriate and legal laws, statutes, and regulations, and to impeach and remove Jurists and Justices who rule outside their Constitutional powers.

Obstruction of Justice

To claim Obstruction of Justice for the failure of the President in not allowing some executive officers or counselors to testify, or to turn over all documents requested by the House, is ludicrous. All Presidents since George Washington have not allowed some executive officers to testify or to turn over all documents requested by Congress. It is known as Executive Privilege and has been recognized by the courts, including the Supreme Court, as legitimate. When disputes between Congress and the President about the invocation of Executive Privilege have occurred, the Congress has resorted to adjudication by the Courts to determine if the asserted Executive Privilege is legitimate. It is only when a President defies a lower court or Supreme Court ruling on Executive Privilege that they have obstructed justice. Congress has no absolute right to require testimony or produce documents from the Executive Branch unless the requests are legitimate. Until the courts rule on the legitimacy of the asserted Executive Privilege then Congress must use other means to obtain the information it wants.

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To Impeach and Remove a President, Vice-President, Executive Officers, and Jurists and Justices is the ultimate recourse when all other means have been exhausted. And Impeachment and Removal should only occur when the conduct that has occurred seriously harms the public or seriously compromises the officer’s ability to continue in office. To do so otherwise could allow Congress to influence and control the President and the courts outside of the intentions of the Founding Fathers. Therefore, the Constitution specifies “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” as impeachable and removable offenses, and makes it difficult to impeach or remove any President, Vice-President, Executive Officers, and Jurists and Justices.

When initiating a House Impeachment, or a Senate Trial, it must be done in a legitimate manner to protect the rights of the accused and the rights of the witnesses. This needs to be done in the manner that I have written about in my Article "The Rule of Law in Non-Judicial Proceedings". To do so otherwise is to violate the spirit of the Constitution and trample the rights of the accused and witnesses, as well as the rights of those who may be opposed to the impeachment.

The impeachment and removal of a President or Vice-President have constitutional consequences. And these constitutional consequences are serious. They directly impact the integrity of our government and, our elections, as well as setting the predicates for future impeachments. It should not be done lightly nor quickly, but with somber and deliberative actions, which are transparent and understandable to the American people.

It has been said that we are in a “Constitution Crisis” with the Impeachment of President Trump. And I agree! But this crisis is not in President Trump’s actions but in the Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Justice by the House of Representatives. They abused their power by invoking Impeachment when other recourses were available. The Obstructed Justice when they did not allow the House Republicans to call witnesses and cross-examine witnesses according to established House procedures. They violated the Rule of Law in Non-Judicial Proceedings and proceeded with haste and without due deliberation. They also were not transparent in all their proceedings, and their reasoning for impeachment is not clear and compelling to the American people. They, therefore, should be removed from power for violating their oath of office:

“I, AB, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

For in the impeachment of President Trump the House of Representatives is not defending the Constitution but subverting the Constitution for their political purposes. As such they are not fit to lead a people who believe in Liberty, Justice, and the Rule of Law. Hopefully, the next election will remove them from power.

Addendum - Shortly after the Articles of impeachment were passed by the House Judiciary committee President Trump wrote a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi expressing his opinion of the Articles. This letter can be read here, and should be read after a reading of the "Articles of Impeachment" for a better understanding of the issues.