Democrats have filed an article of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump.
California Rep. Brad Sherman and cosponsor Texas Rep. Al Green introduced the article of impeachment on Wednesday. The article accuses the president of obstructing justice during the federal investigation of Russia’s meddling in 2016 presidential election.
Sherman and Green claim that Trump’s firing of James Comey as FBI director in May amounts to obstructing justice. The Congressmen rely upon Comey’s allegations that Trump pressured him to drop the FBI’s investigation into ousted former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn, as well as Trump’s shifting story on why Comey was fired.
The article of impeachment states:
In all of this, Donald John Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as president and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, Donald John Trump, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
This has no chance of going anywhere. Especially as long as the Republicans control at least the House or Senate, let alone both. This is just another sore loser move by the Democrat led resistance against Trump.
Sherman only has one supporter for his article of impeachment — his cosponsor Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who was the first member of Congress to call for Trump’s impeachment on the House floor.
The Hill reports that Sherman “drew ire from fellow House Democrats last month when he began circulating a draft article of impeachment and suggested he might force a floor vote on it.” That seems doubtful. If Democrat House leaders wanted to prevent the filing of the article of impeachment, Nancy Pelosi and company could have persuaded Sherman and Green not to do it.
Even Constitutional scholar, criminal law expert, author of more than 30 books and former Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz doesn’t think the firing of Comey or Comey’s allegations that Trump pressured him to drop the FBI’s investigation into Michael Flynn constitute obstruction of justice. During a discussion on CNN’s Newsroon, Dershowitz said:
The president could have told Comey, you are commanded, directed, to drop the prosecution against Flynn. The president has the right to do that. Comey acknowledges that. He says in the statement that historically, historically presidents have done that to the Justice Department. But in the last few years, we’ve had a tradition of separation, but that tradition doesn’t create crime. Remember also what the president could have done. He could have said to Comey, stop this investigation, I am now pardoning Flynn.
There some who disagree, such as Preet Bharara, a former U.S. attorney who was also fired by President Trump.
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