Page:Impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States — Report of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives.pdf/56

 executive departments, and authorize government funding for a slew of national security matters. In addition, the President cannot make a treaty or appoint an ambassador without the approval of the Senate. In those respects and many others, constitutional authority over the "conduct of the foreign relations of our Government" is shared between "the Executive and Legislative [branches]." Stated simply, "the Executive is not free from the ordinary controls and checks of Congress merely because foreign affairs are at issue." In these realms, as in many others, the Constitution "enjoins upon its branches separateness but interdependence, autonomy but reciprocity."

Accordingly, where the President uses his foreign affairs power in ways that betray the national interest for his own benefit, or harm national security for equally corrupt reasons, he is subject to impeachment by the House. Any claims to the contrary would horrify the Framers. A President who perverts his role as chief diplomat to serve private rather than public ends has unquestionably engaged in "high Crimes and Misdemeanors"—especially if he invited, rather than opposed, foreign interference in our politics.

3.Corruption of Office or Elections

As should now be clear, the Framers feared corruption most of all, in its many and shifting manifestations. It was corruption that led to abuse of power and betrayal of the Nation. It was corruption that ruined empires, debased Britain, and menaced American freedom. The Framers saw no shortage of threats to the Republic, and fought valiantly to guard against them, "but the big fear underlying all the small fears was whether they'd be able to control corruption." This was not just a matter of thwarting bribes and extortion; it was a far greater challenge. The Framers aimed to build a country in which officials would not use public power for personal benefits, disregarding the public good in pursuit of their own advancement. This virtuous principle applied with special force to the Presidency. As Madison emphasized, because the Presidency "was to be administered by a single man," his corruption "might be fatal to the Republic."

The Framers therefore sought to ensure that "corruption was more effectually guarded against, in the manner this government was constituted, than in any other that had ever been formed." Impeachment was central to that plan. At one point the Convention even provisionally adopted "treason, bribery, or corruption" as the standard for impeaching a President. And no fewer than four delegates—