Impeachment inquiry a troubling sign for U.S. politics

When word came down in March about the content of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian tampering in the 2016 election, we noted that the end of many months of speculation presented Americans with an opportunity to move on from that controversy and encourage their leaders to get something accomplished before the presidential campaign began in earnest.

Granted, it was a faint hope. Mueller’s report was not going to change many minds. In fact, its inconclusive nature only served to fuel further arguments about what it meant. Many Republicans saw the report as exoneration for President Donald Trump because it did not conclude that his campaign had colluded with the Russian government. Meanwhile many Democrats believed the report showed that the president and his allies had engaged in obstruction of justice and presented grounds for impeachment.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was right to resist pressure from allies and avoid starting impeachment proceedings in the wake of the Mueller report. Though Democrats had the ability to do so after having regained the House majority, such a move would be likely to worsen the nation’s divisions and be an exercise in futility, and it was extremely unlikely enough Senate Republicans would support a conviction to produce the twothirds majority required to oust the president.

But recent developments have led Pelosi and fellow Democrats to change course and launch a formal impeachment inquiry against Trump. It’s highly regrettable that things have reached this point.

The issue that prompted the impeachment inquiry was an allegation that Trump abused his presidential powers by seeking help from a foreign government to undermine Democratic foe Joe Biden and help his own reelection effort.

At issue are Trump’s actions with Ukraine. In a summer phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Trump is said to have asked for help investigating Biden and his son Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.

In the days before the call, Trump ordered advisers to freeze $400 million in military aid for Ukraine — prompting speculation that he was holding out the money as leverage for information on the Bidens. Trump has denied that charge but acknowledged blocking the funds, which were later released.

These allegations deserve close scrutiny. Release of the transcript of the telephone call and of the whistleblower’s report that prompted this controversy should be just the start.

Here we’re talking about a president using the powers of his office to influence a foreign government to help him politically. That’s a serious charge.

What’s needed is time for all the facts of this case to be aired. It’s unfortunate that as usual, many people already have made up their minds about this case depending on which side they’d prefer to believe. As for us, we want to know more, and we encourage others to take that position as well.

There are two main issues here. The first is trying to determine the facts of the case. The second is whether there’s sufficient evidence to meet the constitutional impeachment standard of high crimes and misdemeanors.

An impeachment and trial in the midst of a presidential campaign would put tremendous strain on an already troubled nation. We call on Republicans in Congress to take the impeachment investigations seriously and urge Democrats to resist any temptation to rush toward pursuing articles of impeachment against the president. Both sides should let the evidence, not preconceived notions, be their guide on this important matter.

We further urge the White House to be cooperative in furnishing witnesses and information required by Congress in its investigation. Part of the reason we’ve reached this point is the administration’s initial reluctance to share important information such as the whistleblower’s report with Congress as the law requires. And ongoing fights over such matters will only prolong this painful process.

Some may see this situation as something to celebrate from a political point of view. Many of the president’s foes have finally gotten what they wanted. And there’s an argument to be made that Trump enjoys this sort of conflict and can benefit from it.

But to us, this and the endless series of disputes that have shaken Washington for so long are a reflection of the sorry state of our nation’s politics. No matter where one stands politically, it’s a sad time for America.

— The Reading Eagle,

MediaNews Group