#7: The Ukraine affair and cover-up
Trump is one of three presidents to get impeached, a fate he first faced in 2019 after pressuring the Ukrainian government to help his reelection campaign by announcing a baseless investigation into the Bidens. As part of the scheme, Trump unlawfully withheld nearly $400 million in much-needed military aid from Ukraine, even though Congress appropriated the funds with bipartisan support.
“This clearly looked like an extremely inappropriate quid-pro-quo offer,” said Susan Rose-Ackerman, a law professor at Yale University who has written books about political corruption.
THE UKRAINE AFFAIR AND COVER-UP
Trump pushed Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, transcript shows
Whistleblower says White House tried to cover up Trump’s abuse of power
US diplomat directly ties Trump to Ukraine quid pro quo
Government watchdog concludes Trump administration broke law by withholding Ukraine aid
The Trump White House told government officials and agencies not to cooperate with the Democratic-run House impeachment inquiry, and many officials defied subpoenas for testimony or documents. Yet, other Trump administration officials from the National Security Council, State Department, and Pentagon testified under oath and implicated Trump.
“There has always been tension between the President and Congress over investigations of the White House,” said Pildes, the legal expert from New York University. “But we never had a president who stonewalled Congress and made it this difficult for Congress to perform one of its most important functions – oversight of the White House.”
Trump’s impeachment was a heated partisan affair: The House impeached Trump with only Democratic votes, and just one Senate Republican voted to convict Trump, who was acquitted on both articles.
Many of the experts said Trump’s dealings with Ukraine were wholly inappropriate for a sitting president. There is debate over whether his actions were impeachable – or separately, maybe even part of a criminal conspiracy. But there is strong consensus that he inappropriately used the powers of his office to benefit his reelection campaign, and that his blanket stonewalling of Congress was improper.
“Seeking a foreign nation’s help to prosecute a US citizen, that’s an exercise of the president’s foreign relations power,” said Paulsen, the conservative legal scholar. “The problem is the misuse of that power for personal political gain, and it’s clear that’s what Trump did. That is impeachable, and this is the big one that got away.”
Trump is one of three presidents to get impeached, a fate he first faced in 2019 after pressuring the Ukrainian government to help his reelection campaign by announcing a baseless investigation into the Bidens. As part of the scheme, Trump unlawfully withheld nearly $400 million in much-needed military aid from Ukraine, even though Congress appropriated the funds with bipartisan support.
“This clearly looked like an extremely inappropriate quid-pro-quo offer,” said Susan Rose-Ackerman, a law professor at Yale University who has written books about political corruption.
THE UKRAINE AFFAIR AND COVER-UP
Trump pushed Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, transcript shows
Whistleblower says White House tried to cover up Trump’s abuse of power
US diplomat directly ties Trump to Ukraine quid pro quo
Government watchdog concludes Trump administration broke law by withholding Ukraine aid
The Trump White House told government officials and agencies not to cooperate with the Democratic-run House impeachment inquiry, and many officials defied subpoenas for testimony or documents. Yet, other Trump administration officials from the National Security Council, State Department, and Pentagon testified under oath and implicated Trump.
“There has always been tension between the President and Congress over investigations of the White House,” said Pildes, the legal expert from New York University. “But we never had a president who stonewalled Congress and made it this difficult for Congress to perform one of its most important functions – oversight of the White House.”
Trump’s impeachment was a heated partisan affair: The House impeached Trump with only Democratic votes, and just one Senate Republican voted to convict Trump, who was acquitted on both articles.
Many of the experts said Trump’s dealings with Ukraine were wholly inappropriate for a sitting president. There is debate over whether his actions were impeachable – or separately, maybe even part of a criminal conspiracy. But there is strong consensus that he inappropriately used the powers of his office to benefit his reelection campaign, and that his blanket stonewalling of Congress was improper.
“Seeking a foreign nation’s help to prosecute a US citizen, that’s an exercise of the president’s foreign relations power,” said Paulsen, the conservative legal scholar. “The problem is the misuse of that power for personal political gain, and it’s clear that’s what Trump did. That is impeachable, and this is the big one that got away.”
