After having previously told the American people that Donald Trump is “not worth” impeaching and that the upcoming 2020 elections will allow the people to decide his fate, Nancy Pelosi responded to the numerous, shocking revelations of Attorney General William Barr’s testimony on Twitter.
On Wednesday, the American public watched in shock as Barr admitted that he reached a conclusion on whether or not to hold Trump accountable for obstruction of justice without having read the underlying evidence. Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee never even flinched at the news and, instead, continued to defend his as an honorable man.
Democrats, however, were horrified, and rightfully so. Many began calling for his immediate resignation, and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) did so publicly during her questioning. Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that history would not be kind to these Republican congressmen who continue to be complicit in Trump’s lawlessness.
The political and constitutional dilemma in which Democrats currently find themselves does not have easy answers. If they fail to bring articles of impeachment against Donald Trump after the Mueller report proved that he committed unethical and even illegal acts both during his presidential campaign and in the White House, a precedent of lawlessness and lack of oversight is set for future administrations. If they bring those articles of impeachment up for a vote and lose, this also sets up a precedent for future presidents to obstruct justice and lie without consequences.
Of course, there’s also the 2020 elections. Should Democrats fight to impeach Trump and lose, the political fallout could be massive.
However, on a constitutional basis, there is no provision for political expediency in removing a sitting president for high crimes and misdemeanors, including obstruction of justice. Twitter was quick to express their frustration at the lack of action to uphold our Constitution and bring Trump to the justice he deserves.
Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license
