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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump makes an appearance prior to the start of play during the final round of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral Blue Monster Course on March 6, 2016 in Doral, Florida. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The Antidote to Trump's Corrupt G7 Deal? Impeachment and Conviction
This is a president who believes the powers of the presidency are bestowed on him to advance his own personal interests—political and profit-seeking—rather than those of the American people.
Oct 18, 2019
President Donald Trump no longer sees fit even to pretend that he is constrained by the law or the U.S. Constitution.
It's hard to imagine a more blatant violation of the Constitution's anti-corruption provisions than the president steering foreign governments to stay at his luxury resort.
Yet that is exactly what the Trump administration is doing by scheduling the next meeting of the G7 -- the grouping of the seven leading rich countries -- at the Trump National Doral resort near Miami.
But this is a line too far. The time for impeachment is now.
This is a president who believes the powers of the presidency are bestowed on him to advance his own personal interests--political and profit-seeking--rather than those of the American people.
This is the exact attitude that leads to foreign policy being outsourced to the president's lawyer and his shady accomplices.
It is the exact attitude that leads to the president withholding military aid to Ukraine to pressure that country to intervene in our elections.
It is the exact attitude that has the president interfere with the location of the FBI headquarters because he fears competition with his Washington, D.C., hotel -- a hotel operating in violation of the lease with the government and itself a violation of the Constitution's anti-corruption provisions.
It is an attitude that says, I'm above the law.
But Trump is not above the law.
There is a constitutional remedy for a president who believes and carries out policy as if he is above the law and immune from constitutional restraint: impeachment and conviction.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Robert Weissman
Robert Weissman is the president of Public Citizen. Weissman was formerly director of Essential Action, editor of Multinational Monitor, a magazine that tracks corporate actions worldwide, and a public interest attorney at the Center for Study of Responsive Law. He was a leader in organizing the 2000 IMF and World Bank protests in D.C. and helped make HIV drugs available to the developing world.
President Donald Trump no longer sees fit even to pretend that he is constrained by the law or the U.S. Constitution.
It's hard to imagine a more blatant violation of the Constitution's anti-corruption provisions than the president steering foreign governments to stay at his luxury resort.
Yet that is exactly what the Trump administration is doing by scheduling the next meeting of the G7 -- the grouping of the seven leading rich countries -- at the Trump National Doral resort near Miami.
But this is a line too far. The time for impeachment is now.
This is a president who believes the powers of the presidency are bestowed on him to advance his own personal interests--political and profit-seeking--rather than those of the American people.
This is the exact attitude that leads to foreign policy being outsourced to the president's lawyer and his shady accomplices.
It is the exact attitude that leads to the president withholding military aid to Ukraine to pressure that country to intervene in our elections.
It is the exact attitude that has the president interfere with the location of the FBI headquarters because he fears competition with his Washington, D.C., hotel -- a hotel operating in violation of the lease with the government and itself a violation of the Constitution's anti-corruption provisions.
It is an attitude that says, I'm above the law.
But Trump is not above the law.
There is a constitutional remedy for a president who believes and carries out policy as if he is above the law and immune from constitutional restraint: impeachment and conviction.
Robert Weissman
Robert Weissman is the president of Public Citizen. Weissman was formerly director of Essential Action, editor of Multinational Monitor, a magazine that tracks corporate actions worldwide, and a public interest attorney at the Center for Study of Responsive Law. He was a leader in organizing the 2000 IMF and World Bank protests in D.C. and helped make HIV drugs available to the developing world.
President Donald Trump no longer sees fit even to pretend that he is constrained by the law or the U.S. Constitution.
It's hard to imagine a more blatant violation of the Constitution's anti-corruption provisions than the president steering foreign governments to stay at his luxury resort.
Yet that is exactly what the Trump administration is doing by scheduling the next meeting of the G7 -- the grouping of the seven leading rich countries -- at the Trump National Doral resort near Miami.
But this is a line too far. The time for impeachment is now.
This is a president who believes the powers of the presidency are bestowed on him to advance his own personal interests--political and profit-seeking--rather than those of the American people.
This is the exact attitude that leads to foreign policy being outsourced to the president's lawyer and his shady accomplices.
It is the exact attitude that leads to the president withholding military aid to Ukraine to pressure that country to intervene in our elections.
It is the exact attitude that has the president interfere with the location of the FBI headquarters because he fears competition with his Washington, D.C., hotel -- a hotel operating in violation of the lease with the government and itself a violation of the Constitution's anti-corruption provisions.
It is an attitude that says, I'm above the law.
But Trump is not above the law.
There is a constitutional remedy for a president who believes and carries out policy as if he is above the law and immune from constitutional restraint: impeachment and conviction.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.