America
is a revolutionary idea; people can form their own government and make their
own laws, trust one another to do what is right and do what is best for the
nation, to create a more perfect union. The founding idea is being tested,
perhaps the hardest since 1860.
From
time to time, several times really, the experiment hangs threadbare. It happens
when power corrupts our leaders. It happens when the corrupt gain power. It
happens when we experience massive sea changes in the economy, changes in the
distribution of wealth. It happens when long-held belief systems no longer
describe the norm. We suffer these changes because we trust our institutions,
in the end, to save us. When that trust is broken, the nation divides, people pick
sides, and hate grows. When the quest for party power or personal power ignores
the rule of law, ignores the norms, or takes pride in telling us untruths, the
great experiment is in jeopardy.
The national divide has been brewing for years. It steeped during a long
lasting and massive recession: savings drained, jobs lost to overseas
manufacturing and robots, expectations of a better life for the next generation
shattered, many could not recover, even during the recovery that followed. In
the last twenty years, a diaspora moved innovation, technically based
manufacturing, skilled jobs, and better-educated population to the seaboards,
to some large inland cities and to their exurbs. Trust in our institutions
waned: low skilled manufacturing jobs drained from the Heartland. College is no
longer affordable, schools are incubators for social change outside the
comfort zone of many people. Ubiquitous cameras expose police brutality and
political shenanigans. Lack of trust builds exponentially.
The
divide is wide and it is deep: believers on either side accuse the other of
being evil, of being un-American. Corrupt state legislatures design
gerrymandered voting districts visibly unconstitutional; they create roadblocks
that prevent citizens from registering to vote or actually voting. Politicians
pack the courts with reactionary judges, some proven racially intolerant.
Theologically conservative religious pastors publicly support non-biblical
government actions. A nation built by immigrants tries to keep immigrants out,
cages them when they seek asylum, tears babies from their mothers, and send
them into foster care thousands of miles away, perhaps never to be reunited.
People lose trust in national leaders who lie, blatantly, on a daily basis, who
have no appreciation for the rule of law, who are willing to encourage contempt
of Congress. Our institutions are not saving us.
We
are in a historic economic recovery. The stock markets are at all-time highs,
unemployment at all-time lows, home interest rates dropping and other economic
indicators more positive. What’s not to like? Perhaps we don’t demonstrate more
trust in our leaders and institutions because economic greatness, strong
armies, and full employment aren’t what we are about. We are about trust.
There
was some evidence that Russia meddled in our election processes in favor of
Candidate Trump and against Candidate Clinton in the 2016 presidential
election. There was also speculation that the Trump campaign knew about the
meddling and was willing to abet it. Robert Mueller was appointed Special
Counsel to investigate the allegations; “The order appointing the
Special Counsel authorized him to investigate the Russian government's efforts
to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, including any links or
coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the
Trump Campaign.[i] The investigation resulted in several Grand
Jury indictments of operatives associated with the Russian government and its
special army technology unit. The information included in Volume I of the
report leaves no question about the massive interference by Russia. It also
states, “…the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump
Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election
interference activities.”[ii]
Volume
II of the Special Counsel’s 480-page report[iii] outlines the
findings of its investigation into whether or not the President had obstructed
justice related to the investigation. People closely associated with 2016
Trump campaign are spending time in jail because they lied to the
investigators. The Special Counsel identified and explained ten major articles
of obstruction by the President and/or his staff during the investigation. The
report described the obstruction of justice events, determined if there was a
nexus between the obstruction and some executive action, and determined if
there was intent to obstruct justice.
Four
of the ten charges met all three criteria, five other charges showed
substantial evidence of obstruction, meeting one or more criteria, and one had
lesser substantial evidence. The irony, of course, is that while the Special
Counsel’s investigation found no conspiratorial acts with the Russian hackers,
the administration, on several occasions, tried to obstruct the investigators.
They didn’t have to. If they had left well enough alone, there might not have
been a Volume II. The evidence was conclusive. There was obstruction of justice
on the part of the President and or his staff! Why wasn’t he charged, indicted,
for those crimes?
The
Department of Justice rules prevents charging a sitting president with a crime.
While the Special Counsel was not allowed to bring charges against the
president because of that rule, he stated “if we had confidence after a thorough
investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit
obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the
applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment. The
evidence we obtained about the President's actions and intent present difficult
issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct
occurred” but
“… it does not exonerate him.”[iv]
Mueller
noted that the Constitution requires a system other than the Department of
Justice to bring charges against a sitting President. The Mueller report is
factual, and it is well documented. Since he could not bring charges, he handed
the process over to the Congress, which has the power of impeachment.
The
Constitution set up a unique system of three equal branches of government. Unlike
kings and emperors, our president can be removed from office by other than a
revolution.[v] Yet, it did two things to
ensure that impeachment is used sparingly. It states that a president could
only be impeached for treason, bribery, and high crimes and misdemeanors. It
also divided congressional power: the House can impeach, but the
Senate must try the case and determine guilt. Very clever! It has, however,
been described as a double-edged sword. It nullifies the will of the voters,
but it prevents despotism.[vi]
A
May2019 Quinnipiac University National Poll finds, that 66 percent of Americans
say that Congress should not start the impeachment process yet. What does it
take to have successful impeachment? It needs the support of an overwhelming
majority of the people. It needs an overwhelming majority in the House, and it
needs an overwhelming majority of the Senate. As of now, impeachment doesn’t
have the support of the people and it doesn’t have the needed votes in either
house of Congress. President Nixon faced impeachment by the House on several
counts: obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress. Those
charges were enough to force his resignation before House voted on the Articles
of Impeachment.
The
new and often young idealists on the Democratic side of the aisle in the House
want Trump impeached now, even if the Senate will not confirm the charges. The
veteran members of the House leadership are reluctant to let that happen. If
they vote to impeach the President and the Senate doesn’t even hold a trial,
they will look a bit foolish to the general public. They can’t afford that in
an election cycle.
Franklin
Roosevelt said that the Presidency is “… pre-eminently a place of moral
leadership.”[vii] That kind of
leadership is missing from the Oval Office. Politics has become a zero-sum
game. Divisiveness is encouraged. Institutions ignored and left to flounder,
and policy is made on the fly. Leaders lie to us every day with tweets. Is it
any wonder that people don’t trust their Congress, don’t trust the
administration, don’t trust their legislative leaders, and don’t trust their
institutions?
Our
better angels are struggling. The experiment is being tested to the limits. Our
leaders show little regard for the institutions we valued for so long, or for
the rule of law. Our leaders put party over the more perfect union. Where is
the shame? How can we trust them?
High
crimes and misdemeanors occurred, yet people don’t want them prosecuted. Why?
Is it because we do not trust anyone to tell the truth anymore, so we allow the
loud, the bold, and the audacious to rule the day?
And
yet …
[i] Report
on the investigation into Russian Interference in 2016 Presidential
Election – Volume I and II – March 2019
[iii] Ibid The report is a carefully written legal document
that summarizes all of the known instances of interference by Russian
operatives, most of whom were agents of, or members of a branch of the Russian
army. The backup data is extensive, even with appropriate redactions. The
investigation lead to several Grand-Jury indictments and some trials and prison
sentences. Volume II deals with the actions of the President, members of his
cabinet, and other hangers-on who obstructed justice with actions to limit or
end the investigation into Russian interference. The report is not easy
reading.
[vi] Alan Hirsch – A Citizens Guide to Impeachment –
Essential Books, Inc. The “double-edged sword” is used throughout historical
and political books when discussing the impeachment process. Some say that
Jefferson was the first to use it, but it is used often without approbation.
