Page:Impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States — Report of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives.pdf/210

 Majority's refusal to engage the Executive Branch in the traditional accommodations process, or seek redress from the Judicial Branch, has rendered this Article as baseless as the first. The system of checks and balances is neither theoretical nor dispassionate; the Founders fully intended to put the three branches in conflict, and expected they would argue self-interestedly for their respective powers. The inclusion of the second Article may be due to the Majority's reticence to propose only a single unsupported Article.

No president has been impeached for obstruction of Congress. The Majority seeks to impeach the President not for violating the Constitution but, instead, for asserting privileges that are part of its very structure. Though Legislative frustration with Executive resistance has previously inspired calls for impeachment and even the drafting of Articles of Impeachment, in this instance, the Majority is rushing to impeachment without attempting to engage available alternative avenues to obtain information. They have failed to do so because the Majority has set an arbitrary, politically-motivated deadline, by which it believes it must finish impeachment. Quite simply, further negotiations or the courts would take too long for the Majority's liking. This situation is truly unprecedented.

2em

The obstruction of Congress allegations in this second Article do not meet the impeachable standard demanded by the Constitution. The Founders intended to create interbranch conflict. The fact that conflict exists here does not mean the President has committed either a high crime or a high misdemeanor. Most significantly, Congress has not pursued any of its many remedies to resolve interbranch disputes.

Congress has legislated remedies for itself to enforce its investigation requests, but it has not pursued those remedies. Congress may also turn to the Judicial Branch to resolve interbranch disputes over subpoenas, as it has done many times in the past. The Majority has neglected to do so. The Majority's claim that the current administration's "total" declination to participate in the effort to unseat him either by the President himself or other Executive Branch officers-is somehow unprecedented is, simply, incorrect. The Majority has engaged in a 14