Page:Impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States — Report of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives.pdf/354

 Democrats' second Article is the most dubious, the "Obstruction of Congress" allegation. Obstruction of Congress is weaker than the obstruction of justice story they bandied about for several years. It certainly is not a crime of moral turpitude, nor a "high crime or misdemeanor."

It is almost an admission that Democrats are aware of the paucity of evidence to support their claims that they bring this Article forward.

Democrats argue that President Trump's unwillingness to support their impeachment is, somehow, obstruction of Congress. Is the President required to acquiesce to process that is patently harassing and of dubious motivation? The principles of separation of powers and checks and balances demand that a president be permitted to resist orders of the legislative branch that are overly broad, burdensome, harassing, or violative of his constitutional privileges.

Democrats claim that by asserting his constitutional privilege President Trump usurped the constitutional imperative that the House has the sole power of impeachment. They demand obeisance to their commands. It is an absurdity to claim that by granting Congress the sole power of impeachment the president is required to cooperate in any and all congressional requests, no matter their merit. Disputes between our branches are a feature, not a bug, of our system. The branches typically engage in a process of accommodation to reach an agreement. When disputes between the legislative and executive branches cannot be resolved, the two can appeal to the courts to rule. Anything less threatens the separation of powers that is the very foundation of our Constitution.

Democrats choose instead to ignore both the accommodation process and the judicial process to resolve this impasse. With a certain degree of shamelessness, they assert that President Trump defied subpoenas issued by the House. President Trump chose to assert his executive privilege, a valid constitutional option. Democrats did not try to reach any accommodation with President Trump and refused to attempt to enforce their subpoenas in court. The courts would have determined the validity of the subpoenas and of President Trump's privilege claim. But Chairman Schiff and Chairman Nadler publicly stated that turning to the courts would take too long. Democrats are letting themselves be held hostage by the clock and the calendar rather than attempting to follow the constitutional structure that the Founders intended.

Democrats have argued that President Trump undermined the integrity of the democratic process by his efforts to ensure the new Ukrainian President addressed corruption. But really, it's Democrats relentless attacks on President Trump and attempts to overturn the 2016 election that are undermining the integrity of the democratic process.

Democrats spent months of their first year back in the majority focused on impeachment. Rather than address the real issues facing our nation-border security, mounting national debt, and skyrocketing health care prices, to name a few-they've spent all their energy and efforts perpetrating a sham impeachment. We should consider who is more of an obstruction to Congress – President Trump or House Democrats. It's safe to say, it's House Democrats.

BROKEN PROCESS

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