President Donal Trump’s Impeachment Investigation
There has been a nation-wide investigation regarding President Trump’s actions on the state and his potential impeachment. Impeachment is a charge of misconduct made against the holder of a public office. In the United States impeachment at the federal level is limited to those who may have committed treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. An impeachment begins when a public official behaves in a manner in which the people disqualifies him from further public service. A request for an impeachment investigation of the official is lodged with the House of Representatives. After being passed through several committees within the House of Reps. a vote is held and if the majority of the votes approve the impeachment request the Articles of Impeachment are then passed to the Senate. The Senate becomes a courtroom for a full-scale trial in which the Senate serves as the jury. After evidence is provided by the defendant and prosecutor, another vote is held. If two-thirds of the Senators believe the impeached official is guilty, the Constitution allows the Senate to impose two penalties: remove the individual from the office, or remove the individual from that office and prohibit him from all future office-holding.
As there is an intentionally broad definition of impeachable acts, there is a wide range of acts which proponents of his impeachment are citing. For instance, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has accused Trump of committing bribery in his alleged effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political opponents in exchange for US security assistance and a White House meeting. She referred to the $391 million in promised security aid, which Trump withheld for 55 days, as a bribe. However, proponents of his impeachment have also taken other angles in an effort to remove him from office, including conspiracy (Trump could be accused of conspiring with attorneys Rudy Giuliani and General William Barr to illegally pressure the Ukrainian government to do political favors for him) and witness intimidation (Trump has been accused of illegally intimidating Marie Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, by attacking her on Twitter during her testimony in Congress). The validity and severity of these accusations is currently being investigated.
As there is a wide range of opinions about the national investigations, so we at MDO decided to interview teachers and students at MHS. History teacher, Ms. Hladky expressed her opinions on the ongoing impeachment investigation in regards to how it is clearly stated in the Constitution that anyone who commits the crime of bribery and witness intimidation will be investigated for impeachment; she believes that President Trump will indeed be impeached. Similarly, senior Jack Beaman, supports the impeachment investigation against President Trump and believes it is the most efficient way to handle the President’s scandal, however in contrast to Ms. Hladky, Jack does not think President Trump will be impeached.
Overall, the president’s impeachment investigation is a big discussion we have here at MDO and as time progresses we will continue to update you on the status of the investigation.