Adeyemi Oshunrinade
September 24, 2019
The founding fathers never foresaw anyone like Trump, how could they? With the Mueller investigation still a bone of contention and a subject of political division in Washington President Trump, has again done the unimaginable by holding hostage America’s foreign aid in exchange for dirt on a possible political opponent.
Trump admitted this week that he delayed aid to Ukraine before a call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while he pushed President Zelensky to look into his potential opponent Joe Biden and his son’s dealings in Ukraine. The President claimed he delayed the funds because he was waiting for European nations to contribute their fair share of aid. Meanwhile, there is no evidence of prior discussion by Trump with European leaders about aid to Ukraine but all indications, point to a quid pro quo as part of the move to withhold funding.
If the President has nothing to hide then, why is the White House preventing the whistleblower complaints from being passed to Congress for scrutiny? Why is the administration stonewalling in delivering key evidence to Congress? And why are Joe Biden and his son part of the conversation with President Zelensky since there is no evidence of wrongdoing by both?
The fact is, this President has acted in total disregard for how government works. What is wrong is, you can’t invite a foreign power to intervene in US elections not to talk of using America’s taxpayers funded foreign aid as leverage to get dirt on a political opponent. Such a move is flat out against the law. Trump is doing exactly what led to the Russia investigation, an outright abuse of power.
Nowhere in history has an American President tried to extort a foreign leader for political advantage. Mueller was right when he said that the actors of the Russian meddling are still at work, the difference this time is that, Ukraine has been added to the scene. The President has become emboldened because Mueller’s findings are yet to yield any negative impact on Trump and his administration.
If there was a quid pro quo then, there is a more serious allegation against this President than what Mueller dug in the Russia investigation. Using America’s foreign aid in exchange for information on a political rival is high crime that is on its face impeachable. Such things don’t happen in a democracy, maybe possible in a lawless nation.
The democratic led House must act without further delay. If facts point towards impeachment then, do so. This is not about political ramifications but about the oath to the Constitution, which all members of Congress signed to uphold. Failing to act would have worse consequences for the Democratic Party. Speaker Pelosi will not do herself any favor by sitting on the sidelines in the face of outrageous abuse of power by the President. Now that the whistleblower complaint is released, Congress must perform its Constitutional duties to the fullest.
Adeyemi Oshunrinade is an expert in general law, foreign relations and the United Nations. He is the author of ‘Wills Law and Contests,’ ‘Constitutional Law-First Amendment,’ ‘Criminal Law-Homicide’ and ‘SAVING LOVE’ available on Amazon. Follow on Twitter @san0670.
This article was edited to include audio of the whistleblower complaint after its release.
Categories: Current Affair, Politics
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