Our Fourth Impeachment Inquiry
Expressed in article II, section 4 of the United States Constitution “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Briber, or other high crimes and Misdemeanors.”
How do you impeach a President who has created the greatest Economy in the history of our Country, entirely rebuilt our Military into the most powerful it has ever been, Cut Record Taxes & Regulations, fixed the VA & gotten Choice for our Vets (after 45 years), & so much more?...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 28, 2019
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelsosi announced on Tuesday that the House of Representatives will launch a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump after he “admitted to asking the president of Ukraine to take actions which would benefit him politically” and that his actions showed his “betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections.”
"Trump is not above the law" sign / Photo credit: LS d'Avalonia on Unsplash
This comes as no surprise to many people. For several months, a significant portion of the House has been pressuring Pelosi to open a formal impeachment inquiry for Donald Trump. However, the decision to begin the impeachment inquiry is a risky move for Pelosi. In a Washington Post- ABC news poll in July 2019, 59% believed that congress shouldn't begin impeachment proceedings. People are skeptical since the House of Representatives is controlled by the Democratic Party and the Senate is controlled by the Republican Party if they will be able to come to a consensus on the impeachment. Being only a year away from the next presidential elections, is it possible or even worth following through with the impeachment of President Trump?
Some students at American University of Paris expressed their anticipation and support for the official impeachment inquiry. Treraphat "Tee" Chainarongrit, a freshman from Las Vegas, exclaimed that he's "very happy that people are being held accountable." Paulina Trigos, a freshman from Puerto Rico, is equally excited about the impeachment inquiry because she's heard the word Impeachment since Trump was elected and commented that "it needs to happen, people need justice."
Other students are very skeptical. Josi Pennington, a junior from LA expressed that "of course they would do it a handful of months before his term ends." Pennington also added that we need to "fix the system, impeachment is just a word" because "getting rid of one in the administration is like cutting the head of a Hydra, it'll just double the outrage." Many are outraged for different reasons, some because of the impeachment inquiry, others because it took so long. Melissa Gomez, a junior also from LA, remembered that she's been hearing about impeaching Donald Trump since he took office, but "will it go through" and "is it just something to make [her] hopeful?"
Protesters in front of a Trump building / Photo credit: Rob Walsh on Unsplash
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced on Tuesday that she is ordering the 6 committees of the House of Representatives to "proceed with their investigations under that umbrella of an impeachment inquiry." We will, therefore, need to see if congress goes through with the impeachment, keeping in mind that all other impeachment inquiries of other presidents have ended in their resignation or being acquitted by the Senate.
