{"articles":[{"id":237,"title":"Preliminary Impeachment Inquiry Filed Against President Trump","html_content":"

by Causes | 3.20.17

A top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee has filed a \"resolution of inquiry\" into President Donald J. Trump. It can be considered a step toward the impeachment process because of the information sought in this case. The last time a resolution of inquiry was considered on the House floor was in 1995, against then-President Bill Clinton related to financial aid for Mexico.

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Congressman Jerrold Nadler, (D-NY) filed the inquiry; Nadler is the second ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, which responds to such filings. He offered the following statement on his resolution:

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\"Donald Trump has refused to step away from his business interests in any meaningful way. His foreign entanglements are likely unconstitutional, he has repeatedly refused to disclose his financial assets, and he is clouded by the specter of Russian intervention in the election and his Administration.”
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What's a resolution of inquiry?

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According to official rules, the Judiciary Committee must respond to the resolution of inquiry within 14 legislative days, or Congressional workdays. The committee can either report the resolution favorably, reject it, or revise it. If it chooses not to act within that time period, Congressman Nadler could request that the resolution be discharged (meaning it gets pulled out of committee) so that the House as a whole can then vote on it.

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By rejecting a resolution of inquiry, the committee considering it isn’t necessarily saying that the subject of the inquiry is without merit or that the administration didn’t provide the requested information. It could mean that the committee received what it asked for and that what it got is enough to bring the administration in compliance with the request, meaning that further action was unnecessary.

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Only the House has the ability to file a resolution of inquiry, as there’s no counterpart in the Senate’s parliamentary rules. Resolutions of inquiry are also given privileged status in the House, meaning that the House’s ordinary business can be interrupted so that they can be considered, although the House can still choose to give precedence to other matters through a majority vote.

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Is Trump being impeached?

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No. The resolution of inquiry only seeks information from the executive branch. Depending on the information uncovered by the inquiry, it could lead to broader calls for impeachment. Nadler is seeking information related to investigations of Trump, his associates, his foreign business interests, and conflict of interest laws such as the emoluments clause of the Constitution.

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As a reminder, impeachment involves the levying of charges against a government official who has committed \"treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.\" The indictment comes from the House, and if a majority of lawmakers support impeachment the case advances to the Senate. The Senate then begins a trial with witnesses and cross-examinations, and a two-thirds majority is required to convict an official. In the event of a conviction, the official is immediately removed from office and could be barred from holding office in the future or face criminal prosecution.

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What do you think? Tell your representatives:
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I'm very fond of my OESheepdog and my Norwegian Forest cat, too.\n\n• I'm a Constitutional Conservative and a patriot. \n•. I support the Tea Party. \n• I'm for limited government and free market capitalism. \n• I'm also for school choice and school prayer. \n• I'm against abortion and same-sex \"marriage\". \n• I'm TOTALLY AGAINST the implementation of Shariah law at any level in the United States! \n• I'm for SECURE BORDERS and reduced immigration, especially of Muslims! \n• I believe ALL illegal aliens should be deported. Those who enter our country illegally should not be given special privileges at the taxpayers' expense! \n• I believe that Congress should balance the budget and Uncle Sam should live within his means - without raising taxes! \n• I also believe in \"peace through strength\" - keep our military strong and keep out the transgenders! Freedom of religion applies to the military as well as civilians! I'm AGAINST allowing foreigners to join our military! 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WE NEED TO MAKE OUR GOVERNMENT UNDERSTAND THAT WE DON'T WANT AMERICA TURNED INTO A THIRD WORLD CESSPOOL!\n\nI AM NOT ANTI-IMMIGRANT. I AM FOR THE RULE OF LAW. I DON'T CARE WHAT COLOR YOUR SKIN IS OR WHAT YOUR NATIVE LANGUAGE IS. BUT IF YOU COME TO MY COUNTRY TO LIVE, I EXPECT YOU TO LEARN AND SPEAK ENGLISH AND TO OBEY OUR LAWS! NONE OF THAT SHARIAH STUFF! WE HAVE FREEDOM OF RELIGION HERE IN AMERICA, AND ISLAM IS A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER TO THAT FREEDOM! SPARE ME YOUR TAQIYYA AND HUDNA! YOU WANT TO BELIEVE MUHAMMAD IS A PROPHET OF GOD? THAT IS YOUR RIGHT, BUT IT IS OUR RIGHT TO DISAGREE WITH YOUR BELIEFS. IT IS NOT YOUR RIGHT TO KILL US FOR DISAGREEING! IF YOU DON'T LIKE OUR LAWS, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO TRY TO CHANGE THEM THROUGH LEGAL AND PEACEFUL MEANS, BUT MANY OF US WILL PEACEFULLY AND RESPECTFULLY (insofar as it is possible) DO OUR UTMOST TO PREVENT YOU FROM SUCCEEDING, IF YOUR GOAL IS CULTURAL AND POLITICAL JIHAD.\n\nTHIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND WE HAVE A HERITAGE OF HONOR, PRIDE AND COURAGE. OUR NATION, MOREOVER, WAS FOUNDED ON CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES! OUR REVERENCE FOR GOD AND HIS CHRIST AND THE HOLY BIBLE IS WHAT ENABLED AMERICA TO BECOME GREATLY BLESSED BY GOD. WE HAVE OUR PROBLEMS; WE ARE NOT PERFECT, BUT WE WILL FIGHT THE POWERS OF DARKNESS AND EVIL, SO HELP US, GOD!\n\nTHIS IS AMERICA! 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Above all I'm grateful to God for answering my prayers giving this nation a David to battle the communist Goliath.","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":"","website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":1,"is_following":null,"influence_score":1420,"influence_level":30,"follower_count":31,"following_count":39,"position_count":266,"id":"gZA4w1PW","partner_id":null}],"article_comment":{"flagged":false,"id":123189,"body":"Let him do his job!!! He will and is making our country great again!! People stop you whining and crying we didn't do that when Obama was elected we just let it go cause even no we didn't like it you didn't here us rioting and acting like lil kids pitching a fit cause they didn't get there way. Suck it up buttercup let the man do his job!!!!","parent_type":"Article","parent_id":237,"created_at":"2017-02-14T20:52:21.583Z","liked":false,"like_count":2,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/comments/123189","likers":"https://www.causes.com/api/v1/likers?likeable_id=123189&likeable_type=Comment"},"article_id":237,"shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/comments/123189.png","note":{},"note_text":false,"note_color":false,"user_id":"A9GDeLoW","liker_ids":["8mrgkD9d","gZA4w1PW"]}}

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