The House Judiciary Committee on Saturday released a report addressing the constitutional grounds for impeaching President Trump as its members prepare to move the process forward.
Written by staffers for the committee’s Democratic majority, the 55-page report was issued amid Republicans including Mr. Trump continuing to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the ongoing impeachment inquiry threatening his presidency.
“Impeachment is the Constitution’s final answer to a President who mistakes himself for a monarch,” reads an excerpt from the report’s introduction.
Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, New York Democrat, said similar reports were prepared during the impeachments of former Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton in 1974 and 1998, respectively, but that they no longer reflect the best available learning on the subject and ignore several issues of constitutional law relevant to the inquiry into Mr. Trump.
“The Framers worst nightmare is what we are facing in this very moment. President Trump abused his power, betrayed our national security and corrupted our elections, all for personal gain. The Constitution details only one remedy for this misconduct: impeachment,” Mr. Nadler said in a statement.
“The safety and security of our nation, our democracy, and future generations hang in the balance if we do not address this misconduct. In America, no one is above the law, not even the President,” said Mr. Nadler.
Democrats controlling the House initiated the impeachment inquiry in late September, and a report released this week by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence said that its subsequent investigation found that Mr. Trump has “the power of his office for his personal political gain.” The president has denied wrongdoing.
The Judiciary Committee is slated to hold a related hearing Monday as its members prepare articles of impeachment, meanwhile. The House will later vote on those articles before the Republican-controlled Senate holds a trial to decide whether to convict.
Spokespersons for the White House and the Judiciary Committee’s ranking Republican, Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, did not immediately return requests for comment.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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