Outside the Box: Impeachment is necessary but not sufficient to save the Constitution

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Democratic and Republican lawyers testify Monday about the serious charges against President Donald Trump.

That it came as no surprise when House Democrats unveiled two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump does not detract from its gravity. The articles describe Trump’s effort to arrest the beating heart of American democracy by undermining the very notion of free and fair elections.

As I have argued, this is a test for our constitutional system—and, tragically, there is no evidence that congressional Republicans are up to the challenge.

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Just as there was little suspense while we waited for the articles of impeachment to appear, there is little uncertainty about what comes next. The House will almost certainly vote along something close to party lines to impeach the president, and Senate Republicans will almost certainly refuse to provide the votes needed to remove Trump from office.

The heart of the matter is that Trump places his personal interest ahead of — in place of — the national interest.

Under the circumstances, impeachment might seem like an academic exercise given that the outcome does not appear to be in doubt. I disagree. Even though there is no evidence to suggest congressional Republicans will take the charges seriously, it is essential that impeachment move forward. The charges are too grave, the evidence too damning to ignore.

Think ahead

However, we must be realistic and we must think ahead, as Trump himself surely is.

If Trump is impeached but not removed from office, he will quite reasonably feel emboldened to continue seeking ways to illicitly tilt the election in his favor. In fact, he hasn’t bothered to wait for the process to play out.

Even as the investigation of the Ukraine scandal unfolded, Trump has been openly, publicly, and shamelessly trying to find ways to poison the well when it comes to the 2020 presidential election.

After the White House released a summary call record in September showing that Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a “favor” that included investigating Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, Trump declared — on camera this time — that both Ukraine and China should investigate the Bidens.

Just last week, Trump’s private attorney Rudy Giuliani traveled to Ukraine, apparently to meet “with a wide range of Ukrainians who have been feeding him unproven allegations against…Biden.” Giuliani’s trip, coming right in the middle of an impeachment investigation focused on Trump and Ukraine, was so brazen that even Trump allies took notice.

Dan Eberhart, a Trump supporter who is CEO of the oil service firm Canary LLC, marveled “The fact that Giuliani is back in Ukraine is like a murder suspect returning to the crime scene to live-stream themselves moon dancing. It’s brazen on a galactic level.”

Not surprising, but always shocking

It is, indeed — and even though it is no longer surprising to see Trump try to game the system in his favor, it will always be shocking.

After reviewing this litany of malfeasance, it might be logical to conclude that there is no point in fighting back. The president is determined to use the power of his office in an illegitimate effort to ensure his re-election—not through the ordinary means of political campaigns, but by diving into the polluted waters of rank corruption—and he seems to be getting away with it.

But throwing up our hands would mean accepting that Trump cannot be held accountable for his actions—and there are, in fact, reasons for hope.

Just because Trump is willing to extort a foreign country into interfering in the election on his behalf doesn’t mean he will succeed. In fact, he got caught when he tried this with Ukraine, which means that any “information” impugning Joe Biden will be treated skeptically.

Moreover, there is no guarantee Trump’s efforts will “work” in the sense that they will ensure his re-election. They could—which is why it is essential to continue impeachment proceedings and inform the American public exactly what Trump has tried to do, and is still trying to do.

But Americans will still vote in November 2020 and, if Trump does indeed remain in office after the impeachment process concludes, the election will be the last best chance to rein in his destructive presidency.

Journalists must speak the truth

It will be crucially important for journalists to do what they can to get voters the information they need to make an informed decision—which means refusing to act as dutiful stenographers for whatever allegedly damaging attacks are leveled at the eventual Democratic nominee.

Attorney General William Barr has demonstrated that he places personal loyalty to Trump above the rule of law. If Barr’s Department of Justice announces an investigation into the Democratic nominee, we cannot accept at face value that this is anything other than a partisan attempt to help Trump’s campaign.

Trump has put us on notice that he is willing to do what it takes to (he hopes) improve his chances for re-election—whether those actions or illegal, unethical, or both. That means we have to stay on guard. We know what he has been trying with Ukraine.

We can expect he will try other tactics—perhaps some we haven’t seen yet, and perhaps some that may not be obviously connected to him at first glance (the whole point of the Ukraine scheme was that President Zelensky would have appeared to make an independent announcement of an investigation related to the Bidens. The idea was to keep Trump’s fingerprints off it.

Trump acts in his own interest

That means we have to be skeptical, and we have to ask questions. When Trump acts, we have to ask whether he is acting in the national interest or his own personal interest.

If Trump continues to press Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to keep interest rates low, we have to consider whether Powell is truly able to act independently or, instead, is succumbing to political pressure.

If Trump continues to draw out his trade war with China, promising that a deal is close whenever markets seem to waver, we have to ask whether he is telling the truth, or just trying to string things out until after the election.

The heart of the matter is that Trump places his personal interest ahead of—in place of—the national interest.

At times, his personal interest may converge with yours—if he’s pressing Powell to keep interest rates low, markets SPX, +0.45%   might keep responding favorably, at least for the time being (though Sven Henrich has warned of the risks involved).

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It’s worth keeping in mind, though, that, when push comes to shove, Trump will always choose himself and his own interests ahead of yours and ahead of the country’s.

Those who are willing to make a Faustian bargain with Trump should understand exactly what they’re getting into—and those who refuse to make such a bargain must keep insisting that they remain clear-eyed about exactly what Trump is doing and why it threatens our constitutional system.

Chris Edelson is an assistant professor of government in American University’s School of Public Affairs. He has written two books on presidential power, and recently wrote a book chapter describing the problem of constitutional failure in the United States.

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