The Question of Impeachment
I got a phone call from a good friend recently. First, I was so happy to hear his voice—a friend from my
California past. Then disappointed. Strangely enough, the usual pleasantries were cut short with his
question: “Do you believe the President should be impeached based on that Ukrainian phone call?” I
thought he was kidding, but he wasn’t. I stopped for a moment as he repeated the question. And I
replied “Not from the transcript I read today. It was one guy congratulating another guy on his
successful Presidential election to the Ukraine. That’s it.”
His reaction surprised me in that I consider this individual to be a thoughtful and intellectual person
who, more times than not, has vastly differing views from me, but there was always a train of logic and
consideration of the issue. Not this time. Pure emotion. He said that the phone call was unbecoming a President. And that President Trump was using his office to extort for political gain. Was he reading the same transcript I had read? I guess not. Impeachment is serious business. It clearly involves high crimes and misdemeanors, not just innuendo. As the days drone on, this latest impeachment story starts to unwind–with facts. Seems the “Whistleblower” met with staff of Adam Schiff, Head of the Intelligence Committee to get advice. Then retained attorneys to file a complaint 14 days later. Huh? He/She is an intelligence employee who didn’t read the Whistleblowers Handbook? And, strangely enough, those guidelines were changed a few weeks earlier to now allow third-party testimony. How’s that?
So, the Whistleblower’s complaint is that he/she “heard tell” that the President had committed political
extortion during the phone call–a high crime and misdemeanors? Really? And now suddenly there is a
second Whistleblower further confirming the “crime.” Naturally, since the President released the official transcript of the phone call, we are now all witness to his actions. I didn’t read in any extortion such as withholding funds. In fact, the transcript reads that the Ukrainian President was already investigating rampant corruption in his country. Just so happened the son of Joe Biden, the current Democratic frontrunner, was involved with one of those corporations. And, strangely enough, Mr. Biden, as Obama’s Vice President, had that same Ukrainian prosecutor fired by threatening to withhold American loan guarantees. So those crimes are that President Trump “didn’t talk like a President should?” I’m confused. So how should a President talk? Like a high school principal. Or a businessman? We supporters elected President Trump in 2016 to straighten out the mess America is in with unfair trade deals, never-ending foreign wars, stifling bureaucratic rules and regulations for large and small businesses, and, finally, straightening out the immigration problems.
And you’re telling me that the President of the United States can’t talk person to person to another
foreign leader? You must be kidding. Get rid of the pomp and circumstance, for God’s sake. It has done nothing for America. For decades the United States has taken the blame for everything including climate change, illegal immigration, you name it and we’re to blame. Baloney. This impeachment issue has reach wild heights. I am most concerned with the consequences. Prosecuting a duly elected President without the basic protections of due process and hard evidence goes against our basic justice system afforded to all Americans. And I blame the news media along with the Democrats for that. In fact, the news media continues to distort the facts with pure gossip and
misinformation for the most part.
I used to be an investigative news reporter myself and I shutter to hear the stuff parading as news
today. Propaganda. The more important point is this: Without an honest and unbiased news media,
what if the President really did something heinous? There are no checks and balances left. Half the
country wouldn’t believe the information. The Democratic party along with the news media has cried
“Wolf” too many times.
And that’s a crime. A true crime. Let’s all hope it doesn’t come to that.