Amherst’s David Takes on Washington’s Goliath with push for impeachment (VIDEO)

Amherst Media
The Amherst Collective
10 min readMay 3, 2017

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by Carson McGrath

Courtesy Housing Wire.

AMHERST — In this small town in Western Massachusetts, one resident has big ideas: He wants to impeach the president of the United States of America. And he’s launched a national campaign to do it.

John Bonifaz, the co-founder and president of Free Speech for People, introduced an article of impeachment of President Trump at the Amherst Town meeting Wednesday. It passed by a vote of 116 to 13 with 14 abstentions. Towns like Berkeley, Calif., Charlotte, Vt., and Cambridge, Mass., have already passed resolutions at their town meetings calling for preliminary investigations on the path to impeachment.

“This president is defying the rule of law, trampling on the constitution, and must be held accountable via the impeachment process.” — John Bonifaz

The nonpartisan initiative is pushing for impeachment by using local action to pressure US Representatives across the country to bring the issue to the House.

John Bonifaz introducing his bill for impeachment to the Amherst Town Meeting 5/10/17.

“Our view is that this president is defying the rule of law, trampling on the constitution, and must be held accountable via the impeachment process,” said Bonifaz.

In a vote of 165–4 Monday, the Amherst Town Meeting approved a resolution to declare Amherst a Sanctuary City, despite fears that the town of 10,000 — which is home to UMass Amherst, Amherst College and Hampshire College — could be targeted by the federal government for cuts in federal funding due to its stance.

After the Presidential election in November, Bonifaz felt Free Speech for People needed to stand up to what he believed was widespread corruption in the Trump administration.

An excerpt from John Bonifaz’s article to the Amherst Town Meeting seeking a preliminary investigation on the road to Donald Trump’s impeachment.

Along with RootsAction, an online activist network, Free Speech for People launched Impeach Trump Now, a campaign to press for impeachment in order to take on what Bonifaz calls the “unprecedented corporation of the oval office that we now see under president Trump.”

The resolution Bonifaz is expected to introduce in part reads that Trump’s actions “… undermine the integrity of the presidency, corruptly advance the personal wealth of the president, and violate the Public Trust; and, whereas, our constitutional government is premised on the principle that no one is above the law, not even the President of the United States; … ”

Bonifaz created Free Speech for People on the heels of the 2010 US Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case, which allows corporations and unions to spend unlimited funds on political advertising. Bonifaz saw the ruling as a corruption of politics by flooding campaigns with money. He established Free Speech for People as a way to fight back.

“We have been engaged since that time, challenging big money in politics and unchecked corporate power,” Bonifaz said.

Why Impeachment?

Catherine Ross, a professor of Law at George Washington University Law School and a member of the legal advisory board for Impeach Donald Trump Now, said there have been grounds for impeachment since day one of Trump’s presidency.

Ross and some legal experts say Trump violated the foreign emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution — a clause prohibiting any official of the federal government from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments — by renting space and rooms to foreign governments at Trump International Hotel in Washington.

Article I of the U.S. Constitution states, “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

“An emolument is really anything that provides financial benefit,” said Ross. “And if Trump owns that hotel, it seems pretty clear that receiving money for that hotel from foreigners who represent governments staying there, and especially given the pitch that was made, that you can curry favor with this government by staying at the Trump Hotel, that seems like a pretty good line of argument [for impeachment].”

Trump’s attorney, Sheri Dillon, told the Washington Post that Trump is not violating the foreign emoluments clause because paying for a hotel room or renting out space in Trump’s hotel is not a gift. Dillon also said Trump would hand over to the U.S. Treasury profits from various foreign governments staying at his hotels, but she didn’t specify when or how that would happen.

Trump told The New York Times he is exempt from conflict of interests because he is the President.

“I understand why the president can’t have a conflict of interest now because everything a president does in some ways is like a conflict of interest, but I have, I’ve built a very great company and it’s a big company and it’s all over the world,” said Trump.

Ross said Trump’s most serious conflict of interest comes from his real estate developments: She said they provide an even better case for impeachment under the domestic emoluments clause because Trump cannot argue the clause does not apply to him.

The domestic emoluments clause only applies to the president. It states that a president cannot receive any emolument from any level of government from federal to local while in office. The clause also states that during a president’s term, that president can only receive compensation through a salary set by Congress before that term begins.

“When you develop hotels or golf courses, you are involved in negotiations with every level of government,” said Ross. “Any form of negotiation about those properties involves consideration from levels of government and we have no way of knowing whether those are going to be fair market comparable to what anyone else would get, because these are all unique properties.”

A Breakdown of the Impeachment Process

Michael Gerhardt, a professor of Constitutional Law at the University of North Carolina, said the impeachment process is purposely cumbersome.

“The founders wanted to make it difficult for somebody to be impeached and therefore divided the authority between the House and the Senate. They set up certain requirements in the Senate that would make it hard for there to be conviction,” said Gerhardt.

In order to impeach, Gerhardt said, there must be evidence and enough support in the Senate and House to carry out the process. A member of the House of Representatives must introduce an impeachment resolution. The charges against the individual then must be approved by the majority of the House Judiciary Committee, then the full House votes on whether or not to impeach. A simple majority must vote yes to proceed to a Senate Trial. Impeachment requires a full trial within the Senate and a two-thirds vote to remove the president from office.

“[Impeachment], at the very least, has to be some kind of misconduct that would qualify as treason, bribery or other high crime misdemeanors,” said Gerhardt. “You would have to meet that constitutional language. That is one of the critical thresholds and that means some kind of serious abuse of power, some kind of offense against the republic would have to be established by evidence.”

Free Speech for People thinks Trump has already met the threshold.

“The allegations against Trump and the concerns of his unconstitutional behavior, I think, are by far the strongest case for impeachment we have ever seen in the United States,” said Ross.

Taking Action

Towns across the nation have already brought the impeachment resolution to their community meetings.

“It is very much grassroots and it is very much directed from the ground up.” — Marguerite Dorn

Marguerite Dorn, a lawyer and member of Free Speech for People’s Board of Directors, is working with these local communities to organize impeachment efforts.

Dorn has been in contact with towns across the country, including Cambridge, Mass. and Arlington, Ohio to connect individuals who have already brought forward this resolution to share their ideas with towns just getting started.

“It is very much grassroots and it is very much directed from the ground up, and we see our role as facilitating,” said Dorn.

In Cambridge, the Cambridge City Council voted April 3 in favor of a proposal asking the House to investigate Trump under the foreign and domestic emoluments clauses.

“Obviously individual cities and towns cannot impeach a president,” said Johanna Schulman, a member of Cambridge Area Stronger Together. “But we can certainly call upon our representatives in the House to initiate that process.”

Schulman said CAST was formed as an outgrowth of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. After hearing about Bonifaz’s call for an impeachment investigation, the group decided Cambridge should take the lead on the issue in their own community.

“I liked the idea that is was nonpartisan effort — the idea of impeachment as being rooted in the Constitution — because instead of being anti-Trump, it was pro-democracy,” said Schulman.

In Charlotte, Vermont, town resident Susan Ohanian introduced an impeachment resolution at her town meeting in March on behalf of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, an organization also calling for the impeachment of President Trump.

Image courtesy Susan Ohanian

Ohanian’s town of less than 4,000 residents passed the resolution seeking an investigation of possible violations by Trump. She sees this initiative as a symbolic gesture against the president.

“I think it is very important to focus on the legality of his position and not on personality or differences of opinion,” said Ohanian. “The impeachment issue with regards to emoluments is strictly factual. It is not based on whether you are for this or for that. I am for the Constitution and therefore there is not a choice.”

“I think it is very important to focus on the legality of his position and not on personality or differences of opinion,” said Ohanian. “The impeachment issue with regards to emoluments is strictly factual. It is not based on whether you are for this or for that. I am for the Constitution and therefore there is not a choice.”

In February Richmond, California, became the first city to pass a resolution seeking an impeachment investigation. Alameda and Berkeley both followed in March.

A Trump Administration

Even though Bonifaz is working toward impeachment, he said Free Speech for People is not simply pushing back against a Trump administration but against corruption. Before Trump became president, the group launched a campaign to conduct an investigation into Trump’s corporate charter, “which is a privilege not a right, that any corporation has” said Bonifaz.

Dorn says she’s well aware that impeaching Trump might have its consequences.

“Ideologically in terms of social, domestic policy, [Pence] is certainly no better a picture for people who are progressive in their philosophies,” she said.

“(Vice President Mike Pence) is an integral part of this administration. He’s not blind to the things that are being done,” said Dorn. “Just the way Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell are to a large extent enabling a lot of things Donald Trump is doing in terms of corruption and emoluments violations.”

Recently Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii’s 2nd District said people should be cautious when tackling the issue of impeachment because of Pence.

Tulsi Gabbard, courtesy CNN.

“In some ways, given the fact that he’s a former member of Congress and very well connected within the Republican establishment in Washington, he’d be able to, I believe, be far more effective in furthering his agenda than we have seen so far in President Trump’s first 100 days,” said Gabbard in a town hall in Hawaii.

Cameron Westbrook, a 21-year- old conservative from Amherst, said even though he is not a Trump supporter, it is too early to discuss impeachment. He believes there is an “overreaction” from the left regarding the president and his administration.

“I think most of the people who are legitimately calling for impeachment are people who are angry that [Trump] won, Westbrook said. “They can’t believe that he won and they can’t wait four to eight years .. there is a lot of hysteria when people are elected. The same thing happened with [Barack] Obama.”

Looking Ahead

Michael Gerhardt, the professor of Constitutional Law at the University of North Carolina, said there not only needs to be a focus on a president’s actions for impeachment, but also on their intent.

I personally always argued, though not everybody agrees on this, that there has to be what I call bad intent and bad action you need both the bad faith and the bad misconduct [for impeachment],” said Gerhardt.

Congress will not act on the issue of impeachment until there is enough public pressure to do so said Ross. In order to create this pressure, she said communities must support local impeachment initiatives across the country.

“I think it is especially important for people who live in parts of the country where their congressional Representatives are Republicans to step up because the Republicans control the House of Representatives,” she said. “And they are not going there, I believe, until they really feel they have to.”

In 1974, Ross said, Republicans were “pivotal” during the investigations of Richard Nixon. Those investigations eventually forced Nixon to leave office to avoid impeachment. Republicans currently control the House and Senate, with 52 Republicans to 48 Democrats in the U.S. Senate.

Despite this, Bonifaz believes due to Trump’s blatant acts of corruption, it is only a matter of time before a Representative brings a call for an impeachment investigation to the House. And he knows just how to do it.

“There is not yet a member of Congress who has signaled their willingness to stand out and call for an impeachment investigation,” Bonifaz said. “That indicates we are going to need a bigger grassroots movement, to press members of Congress to take this action.”

Carson McGrath writes on politics and social issues for The Collective @ Amherst Media. She is a senior Journalism and English major at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is an assistant news editor at the Massachusetts Daily Collegian and was formerly a writer at the Amherst Wire.

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