Even though Donald Trump is yet to be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States of America, there’s already talk of impeaching him. One law professor from Utah believes that there is enough evidence to do so.
Christopher Lewis Peterson wrote a legal analysis published in September and concluded that Trump should be impeached if he was elected to the highest public office in America.
In the
paper published through the
Social Science Research Network and recently resurfaced by various outlets such as the
International Business Times, Peterson focuses on the
Trump University scandal which has produced three lawsuits against the reality TV star alleging fraud, false advertising and racketeering.
Trump University is said to have collected more than $40 million from consumers who wanted to learn the politician’s real estate business strategies.
Under Article 2 Section 4 of the US Constitution, the President is said to be impeachable for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” among other things. Fraud and racketeering can be treated as such, Peterson wrote, noting that both are legally recognised as serious felonies in all 50 states of America.
Furthermore, the professor says that the country’s constitution permits impeachment for pre-incumbency conduct. Trump will assume office in January.
“The plain language of the U.S. Constitution does not limit impeachable offenses to actions that take place while the official is in office,” he wrote, adding, however, that impeachment for pre-incumbency contact is rare.
“However, this may have more to do with the reluctance of the public to elect those accused of high crimes or misdemeanors than any legal hurdle,” Peterson said.
Peterson said that unlike “promised crimes yet to come” like the “murder of innocent family members of terrorism suspects” and the “torture of suspected criminal defendants,” “the illegal acts in Trump’s high pressure wealth seminars have already occurred.”
“The campaign of a major presidential candidate with pending trials for fraud and racketeering is structurally corrosive to our system of government because it pits two of the Republic’s most treasured values against each other. On the one hand Americans have always believed in the electoral process. And yet, on the other hand Americans have also always held to the view that no one is above the law. A Trump presidency may force Congress to choose between the two,” he concluded.
The Republican party – Trump’s party – won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the last elections. Both would have to work together for a US president to be impeached.
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