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On Thursday during the Senate trial of Donald Trump, House manager Jerry Nadler noted that “the Constitution is not a suicide pact.”
He said this in response to arguments that the impeachment is an attempt to reverse the will of the voters. The voters who elected Trump.
Nadler said that the Constitution “does not leave us stuck with presidents who abuse their power in unforeseen ways that threaten our security and democracy.”
The president’s defense team have said in their arguments that abuse of power is not an impeachable offense. However, the Constitution doesn’t define the criteria for which a sitting president can be impeached.
Responding to this, Nadler said, “The President’s conduct is wrong. It is illegal. It is dangerous. And it captures the worst fears of our founders and the framers of the Constitution.”
The Democrats say that Trump is not acting on behalf of the US. Instead, he is defending his own interests and using his power to help himself.
For these reasons, Nadler said, “There is thus overwhelming authority against restricting impeachments to violations of established or statutory law.”
His point: If abuse of power isn’t worthy of impeachment, why is impeachment a function of Congress?
Nadler went over the reasons for the impeachment, laying out why the prosecution seeks to remove Trump from office.
“First, he withheld the release of $391 million in vital military assistance appropriated by Congress on a bipartisan basis which Ukraine needed to fight Russian aggression.
“And second, President Trump withheld a long-sought-after White House meeting which would confirm to the world that America stands behind Ukraine in its ongoing struggle.”
Democrats note Trump’s request of the Ukrainian president to investigate Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son. They say this is evidence that he is using his office to target political rivals illegally.
