Two opinion pieces in the Dec. 15 Maine Sunday Telegram – one by Bill Nemitz and one by Greg Kesich – show breathtaking lack of intellectual honesty.
Nemitz, in an interview with Democratic partisan Severin Beliveau, equates President Trump’s actions with those of President Richard Nixon’s Watergate burglars. But they omit a key distinction: Burglary is an actual statutory crime. By contrast, President Trump broke no statutes. This includes bribery, dropped as an article of impeachment.
Kesich asserts that the two articles of impeachment are self-evidently correct, but he does no analysis.
Did President Trump ask Ukraine to investigate the odd situation that the inexperienced son of the then-U.S. vice president occupied a well-compensated position on the board of a key energy company? Yes, in a way that many previous presidents have done.
Did President Trump deny Ukraine promised military aid? No, the U.S. sent the aid after a short delay.
Did President Trump deny testimony and documents from his administration? Yes, as have many previous presidents, including President Obama, citing executive privilege.
I understand that Democrats and their media allies don’t like Mr. Trump’s policies, but the writers of the Constitution explicitly considered “maladministration” as a basis for impeachment, and concluded that mere policy differences were insufficient, settling on “Treason, Bribery or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
While President Nixon clearly orchestrated a high crime (burglarizing the headquarters of the opposing party), President Trump is guilty only of boorish behavior and implementation of policies with which his opponents do not agree.
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