Have you been wondering about events in our nation this week? You may have questions. I sure do. Let’s look at a few issues and apply some Common Sense Civics and Citizenship by asking some important questions.
Who is Lev Parnas? He is a Ukranian native and a former Rudy Giuliani associate. Parnas is under federal indictment for violating campaign finance laws. He was arrested last fall for appearing to be leaving the country on a one-way ticket. He gave an interview recently that implicated President Trump, whose impeachment has gone to trial in the Senate. You know how there’s an option to list your relationship status on social media? If there were one for Lev Parnas’ business controversies, it would say, “It’s complicated.”
Is President Trump directly involved in any of these complicated business controversies? (You can read various accounts on both sides by doing a web search).
Should the Senate hear new witnesses in the trial? (President Trump has two articles of impeachment against him. Should new ones be added?) It is the Constitutional job of the House and the House only to decide if a President or any other federal official should be impeached. Their job is complete. The President is impeached. It is now the Senate’s job to try the case against the President, i.e., the two articles of impeachment. The House of Representatives does not rule the Senate according to the U.S. Constitution. The House cannot demand that the Senate add new charges or hear new witnesses.
What is the character of the unelected individuals in our national government on both sides of the Congressional aisle?
Common sense dictates that we ask these questions now, in the effort that we might listen and draw conclusions with a mind to the Constitution’s requirement of a fair trial.
Next up is a question that many are asking. Can an impeached POTUS run for re-election? The Constitutional answer is yes. But what if the Senate, having found the President guilty, removes the same from office.
Can an impeached and convicted POTUS run for re-election? Let’s look at Article 1, Section 3: “Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment, and Punishment, according to Law.” This would indicate that the President, once indicted, tried, judged, and punished, can run again.
As common sense citizens, we do well to ask questions, read the Constitution, and to remember these words from author Thomas Paine: “To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.” ??
