Impeachment is an extraordinary measure that We the People put in place to remove a president for his dangerous actions.
But we’re in an unprecedented and sobering moment — one that goes much further than a single Trump scandal. Here’s some of the wrongdoing detailed in our report:
Ukraine: President Trump withheld an almost $400 million military aid package to Ukraine to pressure Ukraine’s government into investigating his 2020 election opponent, Joe Biden. That’s bribery, and a flagrant abuse of his power. (In addition, it is illegal for anyone to solicit campaign assistance — which counts as a “contribution” — from a foreign national.)
Dereliction of Duty: The Russian government launched a large-scale effort to interfere with the 2016 elections — through disinformation and hacking. As a candidate, Trump openly welcomed their assistance. And as president, he’s done absolutely nothing to protect us from a future attack and in fact invited further interference, continuing with a pattern of behavior that strikes at the heart of democratic governance.
Obstruction of Justice: Trump went all-out to derail the investigations into Russian interference — firing FBI Director James Comey and repeatedly attempting to fire or intimidate Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Mueller’s final report detailed ten potential episodes of obstruction of justice. [5] He has also done everything he can to obstruct the House of Representatives’ constitutional right to launch an impeachment inquiry by refusing to comply with document requests and letting White House officials ignore legitimate subpoenas.
Emoluments: The Constitution forbids the president from receiving any “emolument” — a gift or payment — from any government, foreign or domestic. Trump has repeatedly violated this by continuing to own and profit from the Trump Organization: diplomats stay at his hotels, foreign firms rent space in Trump Tower, and officials of our own government continue to use his properties at taxpayer expense — potentially compromising his decision-making as leader of the country.
Hush Money: During the 2016 election, Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen arranged for six-figure “hush money” payments to keep multiple women from coming forward about alleged extramarital affairs with Trump. Cohen, currently serving federal prison time, testified under oath that Trump directed him to do so — which would be a felony campaign finance violation. We can’t let anyone — not even the president — break our laws, then not hold them accountable.