Donald J. Trump: Impeach and Remove Him From Office Leaving the Office Intact

Dark days in America over two years continues

(The eyes behind that darkness)

I thought long and hard about this post and its impact, if any, but I feel compelled to post and say the things I feel strongly about. So, here goes.

Introduction to the story here from Slate via the Brennan Law Center at NYU: 

I say: “Just because a president, any president has the power to do something or anything that does mean he has to do it.” 

With Trump, it is painfully obvious that the rule of law doesn’t matter. There are literally tons of reasons and examples to impeach and remove Trump from office for his abuse of power and abuse of the office. 

The following story puts the proverbial icing on the cake.

Story Background: According to a Daily Caller report, the Trump administration is considering invoking the Insurrection Act to give federal troops the power to detain and remove undocumented immigrants in the United States, acting essentially as ICE agents. 

If Trump follows through on this plan, it would be a staggering abuse of authority, on par with Trump’s declaration and national emergency act to build the border wall.

The Insurrection Act of 1807: United States Federal law (10 U.S.C. §§ 251–255) (until 2016, found at 10 US Code, Chapter 15, §§ 331–335, renumbered to 10 USC, Chapter 13, §§ 251–255) that governs the ability of the President to deploy military troops within the United States to put down lawlessness, rebellion, and insurrection. 

The Insurrection Act is an exception to the general rule, enshrined in the Posse Comitatus Act, that presidents may not use the military as a domestic police force. 

The Insurrection Act allows the president to deploy federal troops to suppress domestic uprisings and enforce the law when civilian law enforcement is impeded or overwhelmed. The president can deploy troops if there's an insurrection or invasion on U.S. soil. As its name suggests, Congress intended the law to be used only in the most extraordinary situations, and only where absolutely necessary to preserve civil order.

The Posse Comitatus Act, 1878: Also, a Federal law that makes it a crime to use the military as a domestic police force in the United States under most circumstances. The law was designed to end the use of federal troops to supervise elections in the post–Civil War South. 

My insert: Insurrection refers to an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government. It is a violent revolt against an oppressive authority. 

Insurrection is different from riots and offenses connected with mob violence.

In insurrection there is an organized and armed uprising against authority or operations of government whereas riots and offenses connected with mob violence are simply unlawful acts in disturbance of the peace which do not threaten the stability of the government or the existence of political society.  For the most part, presidents have honored this intent. 

The law has not been invoked since 1992, when George H.W. Bush used it to help suppress massive riots in Los Angeles following the acquittal of police officers for the brutal beating of Rodney King.

Posse comitatus, in the words of one former DOD official: “It reflects “one of the clearest political traditions in Anglo-American history: that using military power to enforce the civilian law is harmful to both civilian and military interests.”

Deploying soldiers as police officers not only violates democratic sensibilities; it increases the risk that interactions with civilians could go disastrously wrong, as armed forces are not trained in conducting law enforcement activities. On the flip side, every soldier engaged in law enforcement is being pulled away from military priorities. 

Related FYI:

The Oath of Enlistment for Enlistees: “I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

The Oath of Office for Officers: “I, _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God.”

(Note: Officer's oath does not mention obeying the president / any president only obey the Constitution, e.g., the Rule of Law).

My 2 cents: As cited above, the president seeks to harness an authority clearly intended for the most dire and unusual of circumstances to deal with a long-standing issue that does not come close to posing an urgent or overwhelming threat.

In these two cases, Trump’s goal is not to avert a catastrophe, but to score political points with his base and consolidate his own power.

In my opinion and I’m sure of thousands of legal experts a lot smarter than me would agree that Trump is the most lawlessness president ever, again abusing his power and misusing the military. 

We don't face now nor do we have anything remotely close to any insurrection, foreign invasion, traditional war, massive civil disconnect, riots across the land, or civil unrest – not one bit.

This man is the civil unrest with his abuse of power and his office. 

Shame on us for allowing this to go on this long.

Trump must be impeached by the DEM House, and if the GOP-run Mitch McConnell Senate (as he already promised publicly) will vote not remove Trump, then the Republicans will pay the price at the ballot box.

This is huge – the biggest eventful shame in American history for sure. 

It speaks directly to our very survival as a nation, a country of laws not men, and to who we are as a people.

Thanks for stopping by.