What is an impeachable offense?

What is an impeachable offense?

Aside from treason and bribery, what constitutes an impeachable offense is not strictly defined. And even if treason and/or bribery could be proved, that determination would not require the president’s removal from office. In the end, impeachment is a strictly political exercise, not a legal determination.

In my opinion there are two areas that are undeniably grounds for removal from office: when the president is a danger to national security; when the president does not uphold the Constitution.

The president’s handling of our relation with the NATO alliance can only be regarded as a danger to national security. The recent incident with Ukraine, which is the impetus for this impeachment process, just shows how willing he is to put this vital alliance on shaky ground.

However, far worse than that is his outright denial to cooperate with Congress. Calling something a witch hunt does not give the president the authority to totally disregard the separation of powers doctrine. By refusing to cooperate with Congress the president is ignoring the most vital part of our Constitution. It is a precedent that we may never recover from. Any future president could claim any oversight into his conduct as unfair and refuse to cooperate.

Failure to remove the president from office for this abuse of power essentially delegitimizes the entire legislative branch. Once you delegitimize the legislative branch, the constitution is irreparably damaged; the republic in essence ceases to exist.

Joel VanLuven

Spokane