Speaker Nancy Pelosi has submitted the first official impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump due to his alleged misconduct. An anonymous whistleblower has claimed that a quid pro quo took place between Trump and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in an attempt to investigate current presidential nominee Joe Biden.
“The term you keep hearing in the news is the quid pro quo,” said history teacher Heather Sadlon, “which means offering financial support and military support to another country, in this case Ukraine, but withholding that support unless Ukraine agreed to [Trump’s terms, which was to] open a corruption case into one of the his democratic rivals, Joe Biden.”
Impeachment is not exclusive to the president and does not ensure an official’s removal from office. In reality, impeachment occurs when the House of Representatives charges an official of the U.S. federal government with alleged misconduct. Following, the Senate holds an impeachment trial where a supermajority, or two-thirds, of senators must vote in favor of impeaching that individual. If found guilty of the suspected misconduct, the official will be removed from office.
History teacher Jon Felder believes that Trump’s alleged misconduct could prove problematic, as it could be grounds for impeachment.
“To me, [the quid pro quo] seems like an impeachable offense,” Felder said. “It seems like an abuse of his power as chief executive, but that is more for the lawmakers to decide.”
In the past, only two U.S. presidents have been impeached by the House of Representatives: Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. However, both were acquitted during their Senate trials and remained in office for the rest of their terms. In addition, president Richard M. Nixon resigned before being able to be impeached by Congress in 1974.
Heather Sadlon explains how the public opinion during the Bill Clinton impeachment era could translate to similar feelings for Trump’s impeachment inquiry.
“There was a backlash against [the opposite party] during Bill Clinton’s impeachment, where Bill Clinton supporters believed that it was, to use a term I’ve heard president Trump use a lot, a witch hunt, as if this was politically motivated versus being motivated by actual, impeachable offenses.” Sadlon said. “And so I would predict that you would see something similar happening today, if the Democratic House of Representatives were to impeach the Republican Donald Trump, you’d get Donald Trump supporters saying that this was a witch hunt.”
“I’ve heard President Trump use … a witch hunt [a lot] as if this was politically motivated”
According to CNN, one-third of the country supported Bill Clinton’s impeachment–lower than today’s polls about Trump — which show that over half the country would support an impeachment.
Felder believes that the Aragon community could possibly benefit from an impeachment if a new administration cared more about relevant issues like climate change.
“Climate change is a real issue for our particular community because students that live on the San Mateo or Foster City coastal areas…could be flooded if ocean levels continue to rise,” said Felder. “[It’s possible] that if another administration cared more about this issue, and was willing to committing some federal dollars to it, then I think it could be beneficial to [Aragon’s] families.”
“We live in a democracy and the constitution establishes certain rules”
Junior and vice president of Political Discussion club Rumi Loghmani is adamant that Trump has breached the security of the United States in order to back his own political agenda.
“The whistleblower’s complaint [clearly shows] that the president has violated U.S. law,” said Loghmani. “He will use the US to back his own political standing and he will use any means necessary [to do that], even if it means making the US force another foreign country do whatever he wants.”
History teacher Jayson Estassi firmly believes President Trump is subject to the same laws as any other U.S. citizen.
“I believe that we live in a democracy and the constitution establishes certain rules and it establishes due process, and that should be followed,” Estassi said. “The law should be the same for all people.”
