The Impeachment Inquiry hearings have been occuring every other day for several weeks, and new information is coming out constantly. In October, I published a detailed timeline of the events leading up to the Inquiry, what you should know, and why you should care about it (you can find it on our website wsswired.com). So, here’s an update following our initial publication about the Trump Impeachment Inquiry. 

It all really started when the Mueller Report was published earlier in 2019, after almost two years of rumors of publication. There, it stated that there was some concern about another country’s interference into the 2016 election, but after review from the Attorney General, the report was basically inconclusive.

However, I believe the straw that really broke the camel’s back was the release of a transcript from a call between Trump and Ukraine from July, and a nine-page report from a whistleblower in the White House. The transcript was released on Sept. 24, where the President discussed relations with Ukraine and asked their officials to look into presidential candidate Joe Biden, explicitly asking them to contact the Attorney General. 

The complaint was filed by another anonymous government official who stated that they believed the President had allowed another country to interfere in the 2016 election, including “among other things, pressuring a foreign country to investigate one of the President’s main domestic political rivals. The President’s personal lawyer, Mr. Rudolph Giuliani, is a central figure in this effort. Attorney General Barr appears to be involved as well.”

The anonymous report also discussed the previously mentioned transcript, expressing deep concern with how Trump worked with Ukraine and stated, “The White House officials who told me this information were deeply disturbed by what had transpired in the phone call. They told me that there was already a “discussion ongoing” with White House lawyers about how to treat the call because of the likelihood, in the officials’ retelling, that they had witnessed the President abuse his office for personal gain.” They also cited the consistent attempt at hiding this information from people outside of the government. 

Since the hearings began, there’s a couple major pieces that are being debated. First, whether Trump discussion with Ukraine was a “quid pro quo” or meant to be a favor given with something expected in return. As far as I’m concerned, quid pro quo sounds like an appropriate term to title that conversation, mainly because the President asked for aid in the investigation on his campaign and looking into Joe Biden, seemingly in exchange for giving Ukraine aid funds we had been withholding. 

Second, people are wondering if this impeachment should be occurring at all in the first place. My answer is yes. When Alexander Hamilton was arguing to approve of the Constitution in 1788, he said impeachable crimes would be “those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust. They are of a nature which may with peculiar propriety be denominated POLITICAL, as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself.” Based on that definition, Trump violated public trust, acted in misconduct as the President, and these issues harmed our democracy, so he meets the standard for impeachment already, no hearings necessary. 

The real issue here would be the President’s constant lack of lawful, honest, and respectful behavior, consistent lying, and lack of judgement. It honestly seems like President Trump believes he is above the law and reason. Arguably, this is true. Donald Trump, prior to his days as President, has gone bankrupt several times, according to NBC, made fun of disabled journalists, refuses to publish his tax reports, has been proven to work with Cambridge Analytica to manipulate people on Facebook, been accused of sexual assault, caught on tape discussing how you can “get away with anything when you’re famous,” and has a long history of making billions while taking down others on his way to the top. I’m not surprised that these recent updates are coming to light. 

Based on the evidence given, it’s practically undeniable that the president has acted with other countries to get ahead in politics and make his business profitable. The only real advice I can give to the American people, and I will continue to give, is to think critically, listen closely, pay attention, and do your research with these issues. Our democracy depends on it.