Impeachment Debate
Introduction
In his recent post for the website Vox, writer Sean Illing asks the question that many people today seem to be wondering about: “Are we in a constitutional crisis yet?” Following the Trump Administration’s letter on Tuesday, October 8, informing Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives that the President and Executive Branch will not cooperate with their impeachment inquiry, a serious fight between the two branches of government seems all the more likely.
As Illing writes, “Tensions between Congress and the White House have been high since Trump took office (in 2017). It’s not unusual for a White House to work at cross-purposes with a hostile Congress, as we saw most recently in the Mueller probe, but to flatly ignore its requests in this way seems, well, different.”
The U.S. Constitution established three separate branches of government meant to check and balance one another. It appears that the White House, in ignoring what appears to be a lawful congressional inquiry, is challenging this principle head-on. Is this right, or, is something else happening? Are we in a crisis yet?
Reading Assignment
This assignment calls for you to read and watch a wide variety of current news stories about the impeachment debate. Be sure to consider sources that present the topic in historical context. Also, read and watch stories that present arguments with which you disagree.
Writing Assignment
You are to answer the following questions in a 1000-word essay. Please be sure to cite all your sources in a bibliography at the end of your paper. You may use the citation guide with which you are most familiar.
1. What does the U.S. Constitution say about the impeachment process? Who can be impeached? For what? In the case of an impeachment involving the president, which body brings the charges? By how many votes? What happens then? A trial? Where? Is it a criminal or a political trial? What number of votes is necessary to remove a president?
2. How many presidents have been impeached? Who were they? What were the circumstances? Was there a case of a president who would have been impeached, but resigned first? What happened in that case?
3. In the recent debate over the impeachment of President Trump, what issues are at debate? What are Congressional Democrats accusing the president of doing? Does this action, or series of actions, rise to the level the founders established in the Constitution regarding impeachment. Here you must make an argument of your own. Be sure to present counter-arguments and explain (briefly) why you disagree with them.
4. Conclude your essay with a single paragraph explaining what you see coming in the next months regarding impeachment.
