Impeachment?

                Should the U.S. House of Representatives bring articles of impeachment against Barack Obama?  Do you believe Mr. Obama is guilty of impeachable offenses?  Whether or not you believe he should be formally questioned about the scandals of his administration and his executive orders, more and more people in our nation are coming to that conclusion.

                Actor Steven Seagal told attendees at the Western Conservative Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, on February 22, 2014:  “If the truth came out, Obama would be impeached.”

                What are articles of impeachment?  “The articles of impeachment  are the set of charges drafted against a public official to initiate the impeachment process.  The articles of impeachment do not result in the removal of the official, but instead require the enacting body to take further action, such as bringing the articles to a vote before the full body.

                “In the United States, the articles of impeachment are drafted by the House of Representatives for cases involving federal officials.  Once drafted, a supermajority of the United States Senate is required to convict based on the articles.”

                This statement simply means that impeachment of federal officials starts in the U.S. House of Representatives, but the U.S. Senate has to vote for conviction.  Two U.S. Presidents – Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton – have been impeached by the House, but neither President left office because the U.S. Senate failed to convict them.  Richard Nixon resigned from the office of President before he could be – and probably would have been – impeached.

                Let’s take a look at the articles of impeachment brought against these former Presidents.  First, we will look at Richard Nixon’s articles of impeachment for “high crimes and misdemeanors.”  Article 1 states that Nixon had “prevented, obstructed, and impeded the administration of justice” into the “unlawful entry of the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee.”  “Subsequent thereto, Richard M. Nixon, using the powers of his high office, engaged personally and through his close subordinates and agents, in a course of conduct or plan designed to delay, impede, and obstruct the investigation of such illegal entry; to cover up, conceal and protect those responsible; and to conceal the existence and scope of other unlawful covert activities….”

                Article 2 states that Nixon used “the powers of the office of President of the United States … [to] repeatedly engage in conduct violating the constitutional rights of citizens, impairing the due and proper administration of justice and the conduct of lawful inquiries, or contravening the laws governing agencies of the executive branch and the purpose of these agencies….”

                Article 3 states that Nixon “has failed without lawful cause or excuse to produce papers and things as directed by duly authorized subpoenas issued by the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives … and willfully disobeyed such subpoenas.”  Nixon substituted “his judgment as to what materials were necessary for the inquiry, interposed the powers of the Presidency against the lawful subpoenas of the House of Representatives, thereby assuming to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the sole power of impeachment vested by the Constitution in the House of Representatives.”  Nixon “acted in a manner contrary to his trust as president and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States….”

                Now let’s take a look at Bill Clinton’s articles of impeachment. Article 1 states that Clinton “willfully corrupted and manipulated the judicial process of the United States for his personal gain and exoneration, impeding the administration of justice.”  “Clinton swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth before a Federal grand jury of the United States.  Contrary to that oath, William Jefferson Clinton willfully provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony to the grand jury… [regarding the Paula Jones case and his relationship with Monica Lewinsky].

                Article 2 did not pass the House.  Article 3 states that Clinton “prevented, obstructed and impeded the administration of justice, and has to that end engaged personally, and through his subordinates and agents, in a course of conduct or scheme designed to delay, impede, cover up and conceal the existence of evidence and testimony related to a Federal civil rights action brought against him in a duly instituted judicial proceeding….”

     

               Constitutional attorney Michael Connelly drafted the following articles of impeachment for Barack Hussein Obama for “high crimes and misdemeanors.”  Article 1 states that Obama “has willfully corrupted and manipulated the executive branch to increase its power and destroy the balance of powers between the three branches of government that is established by the Constitution of the United States.”  The following acts were enumerated:  1) “creating new departments and appointing Czars to oversee these departments;” 2) “these Czars and the Departments have budgets that are not subject to being controlled by Congress;” 3) “made recess appointments when the Senate was not in recess and these appointments were struck down by the Supreme Court;” 4) “refusing to enforce laws against illegal immigration, defend in court the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and refusing to enforce Federal voting laws;” 5) “made or changed laws by either issuing unconstitutional executive orders or instructing governmental departments to take illegal and unconstitutional actions…”

                Article 2 states that “Obama has repeatedly violated his oath of office and the requirements of the Constitution by willfully withholding information on important issues or actively taken part in misleading the Congress and the American people….”  The following acts were enumerated:  1) “using Executive privilege to block Congress from getting documents relating to the DOJ’s Operation Fast and Furious and the death of U.S. Border Patrol Brian Terry;” 2) “had members of his administration provide false information about the act of terrorism committed in Benghazi … and refusing to allow the State Department and other federal agencies to cooperate in the Congressional investigation;” 3) “falsely labeled the mass murder of American soldiers at Ft. Hood, Texas, as `workplace violence’ instead of the act of Islamic terrorism it was;” 4) “falsely labeling the IRS targeting of conservative and Christian groups as a `phony’ scandal and refusing to order an active pursuit of the investigation into who was ultimately responsible;” 5) “refusing to order an independent investigation of the actions of Eric Holder and the DOJ in targeting the phone records of members of the news media;” 6) “telling the American people on a television show that the NSA was not prying into the emails and phone calls of Americans when the facts prove otherwise.”

                The second part of Article 2 states that Obama “repeatedly violated his oath of office by seeking to limit both the individual rights and the rights of the States guaranteed in the first ten amendments to the Constitution.  The following acts were enumerated:  1) ordering (through DHHS) “religious institutions and businesses owned by religious families to provide their employees free contraception…;” 2) “having the military place restrictions on the religious freedom of Chaplains and other members of the military in order to favor gay rights advocates and atheists….” 3) “having the military place restrictions on the freedom of speech of members of the military and the civilian employees of the DOD….” 4) “using Executive orders and government agency actions to limit Second Amendment Rights….” 5) “having the National Security Agency intercept and monitor the private communications of millions of Americans without a court order....” 6) “joining with foreign governments in lawsuits against sovereign U.S. states to prohibit them from enforcing immigration laws….” 7) “filing suits under the Voting Rights Act against sovereign U.S. states to prevent them from enforcing Voter ID laws despite rulings by the Supreme Court upholding these laws.  8) “having the IRS propose new regulations on conservative 501(C) (4) organizations to limit their freedom of speech and political activities during election cycles….” 9) “having the FCC prepare new rules on internet neutrality in violation of the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court striking down such regulations;” 10) “having the FCC institute a plan to place agents in newsrooms of radio and television stations as well as print media to monitor whether they are providing the `proper’ news content to the public…;” 11) “having the Secretary of State sign the U.N. Small Arms Treaty despite the opposition of a majority of the U.S. Senate and with full awareness that the implementation of the treaty would violate the Second Amendment rights of American citizens.”

                Part 3 under Article 2 states that Obama has failed to use the U.S. military “in a manner that best serves the national security of the United States and protect our soldiers from unnecessary risks and harm.”  These acts were enumerated as follows:  1) using `political correctness’ to impose “unnecessary and dangerous rules of engagement on our troops in combat causing them to lose offensive and defensive capabilities and putting them in danger…;” 2) “releasing the identity of American military personnel and units engaged in dangerous and secret operations such as the killing of Osama bin Laden by Navy Seal team 6;” 3) ordering “the American military into action in Libya” without Congressional approval; 4) “having the Attorney General tell Secretaries of State that they do not have to comply with the Federal law requiring states to timely send absentee ballots to military personnel.”

                I do believe that Barack Obama should be brought before Congress to answer questions about most of the acts enumerated above.  I believe that he has committed the same acts that Nixon resigned for and/or Clinton was impeached for.  I believe that we have an elected President who has gone beyond the boundaries of his office and is now acting more like a dictator.  I believe that he has gotten away with what he has because of the color of his skin.  No one wants to be called racist – so no one stands up to him.  I feel sad that our first African-American president has done such a terrible job because I can name several African Americans who could be very good in the job!  I believe that Congress must bring Obama under control or lose every bit of congressional power.  The Founders established our government with three branches or heads for a reason, and that reason was to maintain order and freedom for all citizens.  We have an out-of-control President who is systematically destroying our government!  He must be stopped before he accomplishes his goals.  Of course, we have to have a Senate that would convict him before it would do any good to impeach him!  Our task should be to elect new Senators and Representatives who will represent the people of their states and not toe the party line.  We must elect more conservative and law-abiding representatives!