SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
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.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
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.