Impeachment inquiry: partisan or patriotic?
Paul Manafort’s multiple felony convictions associated with his political businesses in Ukraine show that the U.S. Department of Justice is fully capable of prosecuting crimes originating in Ukraine. The very fact that the Department of Justice has not prosecuted former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter is a pretty good indication that such crimes do not exist. Directing attention away from President Donald Trump’s alleged crimes to fictitious crimes by a political rival is a familiar and troubling defense tactic by Trump and his defenders. Daniel Chilcoat, Lakewood
Every day as I open your opinion page, it’s graced by syndicated commentary negatively slanted against the president to enhance the bogus “impeachment” charges. Today it’s: “Trump is cornered — and panicking” by Greg Sargent of The Washington Post. The biased media moguls must think all readers are uninformed and can’t see through the lies and fabricated news being parroted by the Democrats and their accomplices in the media.
I reply: It is the Democrats who are “cornered — and panicking.” After three years of bringing one false accusation after another to bring down Trump, he is stronger than ever with the public. In spite of all the obstructions and noncooperation by the Democrats in Congress, he has accomplished much. In addition to the economic successes, he has fulfilled many campaign promises.
The Democratic Party of old is gone, and young radical socialists have taken over. With about 20 candidates vying for the nomination for president, there isn’t one that would defeat Trump. It’s apparent that the Democratic Party has been pushed so far left by some new members in the House propagating socialist ideologies and programs. With the loud voices of these radical socialists, what must one suppose the platform of the party will be? The Democratic convention will be one to behold.
The “impeach” road taken is indicative of panic and desperation. Where are the “high crimes and misdemeanors?” The nation will suffer, but the Democrats don’t seem to care. Peter Bruno, Arvada
There are no living whistle-blowers in Russia, Saudi Arabia or North Korea. There is no freedom of the press in Russia, Saudi Arabia or North Korea. Do we as a country align ourselves with these three dictatorships? Or do we hold our democracy, rule of law and the Constitution dear? It is time that we decide and that we take appropriate action. Polly Whiteside, Lakewood Would a very stable genius hire Rudy Giuliani as a spokesman? Carl Heck, Aspen
Devin Nunes followed the R’s playbook when he accused the D’s of what he was guilty of when he said: “Democrats don’t want answers. They want a public spectacle.”
This from a man who spent how many millions of dollars and how many “investigations” of Benghazi? Larry Mclaughlin, Aurora
These are dark days in the history of our country: An impeachment investigation has been initiated by the House of Representatives against the president for only the fourth time in our history. Predicting the outcome according to our partisan politics, articles of impeachment will be approved by our Democratic-controlled House, and our Republican-held Senate will try to acquit our Republican president.
Unfortunately, this is likely to happen, because of the huge divide between our two main political parties and the misguided loyalty by many of our members of Congress to their respective political party.
Is this the way our founding fathers would have foreseen impeachment proceedings? I would hope not. Members of Congress of both parties are already announcing their support or opposition to impeachment proceedings.
If this were a trial set before a judicial tribunal in any American municipal, state or federal courtroom, all of these outspoken members would be excused from serving as jurors because of their obvious bias for or against the accused. Of course, the accused’s attorneys would also be urging their client to remain silent.
The obvious conclusion to these premature announcements is that loyalty to their party takes precedence over their oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution. Few members of Congress have emphasized support for a nonpartisan investigation or for an unbiased trial by the Senate. Is this truly an impossible goal to attain? I believe that every member of Congress who has already reached their conclusion in this impeachment proceeding has betrayed their oath of office and their constituents. Tom Elliott, Georgetown
Hello? Is anyone out there in cyberspace interested in knowing about this alleged Joe Biden Ukraine scandal involving bribery for his son’s benefit? No, because they are too focused on their hatred of Trump and impeachment — ongoing for three years now. The end justifies the means. If it’s a Democrat, sweep it under the rug. Kay Robbins, Denver
“Congress is attempting to negate the will of the American people in the 2016 election” is a common critique among those who oppose the current impeachment inquiry. For the record, Trump lost the election by 2.7 million votes. Trump became president by means of the electors of the Electoral College, an archaic mechanism that does not necessarily reflect the will of the American people. Vic Viola, Golden
The one and only reason the Democrats want to impeach the president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, is that he won the 2016 presidential election. Period. All the other numerous impeachment threats have been nothing but sophomoric vengeance because they lost the election and he won. Jim Ruscetta, Littleton