Whether you support impeaching the president or not, don’t fall for President Trump’s lies about the process.
Lie 1: Democrats are ignoring the president’s “rights” by investigating him.
Truth: The United States Constitution grants the House of Representatives “sole power of impeachment” — and the White House declined to defend itself last week when given the chance by the House Judiciary Committee.
Lie 2: Trump never committed a crime, so he cannot be impeached.
Truth: An action does not need to be criminal to be impeachable. Soliciting foreign help in an election — as Democrats believe the president did when asking Ukrainian President Zelenskiy to investigate Hunter Biden — undermines our democratic system.
Lie 3: Trump had a legitimate reason to ask Ukraine to investigate Biden’s involvement with a Ukrainian gas company.
Truth: Nepotism is a serious charge, but not one the president has any right to make. Trump made his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a senior adviser who oversees foreign policy in the Middle East — despite having no background in foreign relations.
Since the president is unlikely to be removed, we need to decide what values we want in whomever we elect next year. Trustworthiness should certainly be one of them.
Bridger Russell Beal, Orem