“Innocent verdict” history and the future President Trump impeachment trial February 6, 16:46
Presidential impeachment trial, third in American history. With the ruling opposition confronting the presidential election, the political undermining was deep, leaving a question whether the truth of the allegations of Ukraine was unraveled.
Opposition and Democratic parties have opposed the fact that the president and the Republican Party are hiding facts.
Despite the end of the Ukrainian allegations, the confrontation between President Trump and the Democratic Party in an election campaign will intensify in the future.
“Ukrainian allegations”
Trump's impeachment was triggered by a telephone talk between President Trump and Ukraine's President Zelensky last July.
The following August, allegations came to light after President Trump demanded an investigation into the opposition and Democratic Party's former Vice President Biden in exchange for military assistance to Ukraine. became.
In response, the Trump administration released a record of the call and claimed that there were no problems, but the Democratic-led House of Representatives was impeached in the leading House of Representatives for `` suspicion of wrongdoing ''. We have begun to investigate.
House of Representatives passes resolution on impeachment
Congressmen have said that President Trump has pressured Ukraine for his own political interests in `` abuse of power, '' including a series of testimony by government officials concerned in the investigation. In December last year, he drafted a resolution on impeachment, admitting that "parliamentary obstruction" had hindered Congressional investigations over the allegations, and was passed last December by a majority vote of the Democratic Party, which holds the majority of the lower house.
1: "Abuse of power"
According to the impeachment resolution passed by the House of Representatives, the "Abuse of Power" ruled that "President Trump improperly demanded the Ukrainian government to disclose an investigation into former political Vice President Biden." .
He also called for an investigation into the allegations that Russia intervened in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, alleging that Russia had intervened.
Further, Trump's publication of these investigations is a condition of US $ 391 million in military support and a summit meeting with President Zelensky at the White House,
Pointed out to the Ukrainian government.
President Trump also said that after these actions were revealed, he ultimately provided military support to Ukraine, but continued to openly demand Ukraine to conduct an investigation.
In all of this, President Trump abused his powers in all of these cases, saying, "We undermined important national interests, including national security, and unfairly gained political interests. "Forgive and betrayed the nation."
2: "Parliamentary obstruction"
He also found that "Traffic interference" was the only "President Trump has instructed the House of Representatives to completely ignore the summons by the investigative authority for impeachment, as never before."
Specifically, it instructed White House officials to ignore a legally enforceable Congressional subpoena and refused to produce the documents required by Congressional committees.
He also instructed government agencies to ignore the subpoena, and states that the Department of State, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense have refused to submit any documents.
He instructed government officials and former officials not to cooperate with Congressional investigations, saying nine government officials ignored the Congressional subpoena seeking testimony. No president has so far interfered with the investigative authority of the United States. "
“President dismissed from any public position”
For this reason, in the impeachment resolution,
"President Trump has hurt the American people by taking action that undermines the trust of the U.S. President and the government and the principles of law and justice."
"If President Trump continues to serve, it has proven to be a threat to the Constitution," he added.
"President Trump has been dismissed from office after an impeachment trial and must be expelled from any public position," he called for a dismissal of the president.
Flow of impeachment trial
The impeachment trial began on the 16th of December following a resolution sentenced by the lower house of parliament to the upper house of parliament, and entered into substantial hearing five days later, on the 21st.
Composition of the impeachment trial
In the impeachment trial,
▽ The Senate plays the role of court,
ツ Federal Supreme Court of Justice Roberts
All of the の 上 100 Senators served as juries.
The role of the prosecutor in pursuit of President Trump was the role of seven Democrats in the Democratic Party, including Shif Information Chairman of the House of Representatives who led the investigation into the impeachment.
President ▽ 's defense is led by a lawyer led by the White House Attorney Sipolone, who also includes prominent lawyers including former Independent Prosecutor Star, who led an alleged investigation during the impeachment of former President Clinton. I joined.
Both the prosecution and defense counsel made an “opening statement” for three days from the following day, 22 days, and then a two-day question was asked by a senator as a jury.
In the trial, the main focus was on whether to call former Bolton Assistant Secretary, who was in a position to know the core of the allegations, as a witness.
Mr. Bolton is reported to be publishing in a forthcoming book stating that President Trump has frozen military support to the Ukrainian government for political gain, and has himself prepared to testify. Had revealed.
The prosecutor sought a testimony and filed a motion to summon a new witness.In the vote, two of the 53 Republicans, moderate Romney and Collins, rejected and agreed The other 51 Republicans voted against it, and the motion was rejected with 49 in favor and 51 against.
The prosecutors' and defense's defenses each made a final argument on the 3rd of this month, ending the 11-day trial.
Guilty or innocent
In the impeachment trial, the prosecution opposition and the Democratic Party alleged guilty, while the defense ruling and Republican Party allegedly acquitted them.
Each claim about "abuse of power"
Claims about "abuse of power".
`` We have frozen hundreds of millions of dollars of military support to get foreign aid for our own re-election, '' Trump dealt with U.K. Argued that he had abused his powers to gain information against Former Vice President Biden, a leading Democrat candidate for the presidential election.
"We have no right to end our elections and endanger American security for personal gain," he said.
Trump's lawyers, on the other hand, argued that the terms of the abuse of power in the impeachment resolution did not specify which law violated President Trump's actions, and that he was subject to impeachment. Treason, bribery, and other serious or misdemeanor crimes. "
`` The president has always acted according to the constitution and laws and in the interests of the U.S. state, '' said lawyer Sekuro, and the freeze on Ukrainian military support has been a bargaining on foreign and security policy. Claimed that he was not guilty as part of that.
Regarding the "Parliamentary Obstruction"
It is an assertion regarding "congressional interference".
`` President Trump has categorically refused to impeach the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment investigation in an unprecedented manner, and ordered him to completely block it, '' said Democrat Representative Schiff, a prosecutor. Pointed out.
Then, "If these actions are not worthy of impeachment, nothing can be impeached. If you do not remove President Trump, he will continue to act as if he were beyond law and parliamentary oversight. And will permanently change the balance of power. "He said that without removing the president, democracy would be at the core.
On the other hand, defense and the Republicans claimed that `` the president has the right to claim the privilege of protecting the confidentiality of decision making '', arguing that it does not fall into `` parliamentary obstruction '' because it is necessary to keep confidentiality only .
`` While the Democrats are trying to do the biggest blockade in U.S. history, we can't forgive it, '' Democrats politicized the impeachment process, said White House counselor Sipolone, who leads the defense team. Complained that he was using it.
"We will violate our constitution and history and give up our responsibilities to the next generation. If we hear the truth, we will know that the President has done nothing wrong." did.
Bolton witness interrogation not realized
During the impeachment trial, it was debated on March 31 whether to summon Bolton's Assistant Secretary-General, allegedly at the heart of the allegations.
A motion to summon a new witness was passed that day, but most Republican members disagreed and were rejected in favor of 49 and 51.
Republicans' moderates had shown their understanding over Bolton's summons, but the White House and party leaders seemed to have persuaded them, and only two members rejected the vote. The hearing was closed without witness interrogation.
Final argument Each claim is ...
On the 3rd, both the prosecutors 'and defenses' final defenses took place. First, Democratic Democratic Representative Schiff said, "If there is overwhelming evidence of Trump's guilt, if he stays in the presidency, In light of his continued search for foreign interference in his election, the verdict favors guilty and strongly urges the jury to remove him, "he said.
In response, Trump's defense counsel, the White House counsel, led the lawyer of Trump, arguing that the evidence was evident that the innocence of the president was clear. It is an attempt to overturn and interfere with the next election starting in Iowa today, "he criticized the Democratic Party.
The result of the verdict…
On July 5, a senator as a jury took steps to express guilty or innocent judgments for each of "abuse of power" and "block of parliament."
As a result, 48 people were guilty and 52 were acquitted of "abuse of power."
Regarding "Congressional obstruction", the conviction was 47 and the acquittal was 53, both of which were less than two-thirds of the attending members required to convict the president, He has been acquitted of President Trump.
This ends the trial. President Trump was not fired and remained in the presidency.
What do you think of "innocent verdict"?
How is an acquittal verdict accepted?
Evaluation is divided into two parts.
Many of Trump's supporters appear to have accepted President's claim that "suspicions are politically created and lie."
On the other hand, there are many voices saying that the verdict is merely a political undertaking.
The impeachment proceedings were led by Republican leadership, which has close ties to President Trump, throughout the year, and also dismissed witness interrogations by former Bolton assistant aide, allegedly at the heart of the allegations.
In the political speculation over the presidential election, the role of Congress to monitor the powers of the president worked, and it was questionable whether the truth was elucidated.
Democrats, on the other hand, have opposed the president and the Republicans in hiding facts, and have stated that they will continue to pursue them.
`` It was not a fair trial without calling witnesses, but it is clear that President Trump is guilty, '' said Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, in a statement that the acquittal was politically concluded. He asserted that Trump's injustice was obvious.
President Trump is expected to survive his biggest pending impeachment trial and accelerate his campaign for re-election.
Despite the conviction of Ukraine over the alleged indictment, the conflict between President Trump and the Democratic Party in an election campaign will become increasingly intense.
Expert "Non-cooperation victory"
Professor Shinichi Shima of Surugadai University, who is familiar with the U.S. judicial system about the acquittal of Trump, said, `` Innocent convictions were expected from the outset because the ruling party supporting innocence is the majority in Congress. The fact that the abuse of power itself was not a crime or that there was no direct evidence such as audio tapes to support the allegations was a major cause of innocence. "
He also noted that the testimony of Bolton's allegations that the trial was known to be at the heart of the allegations was unfulfilled, saying that `` the hurdles for guilty were high when Mr. Bolton testified, '' "The trial could not be heard without evidence, and important witnesses should have called to Congress to reveal the truth. President Trump and the White House had taken a thorough and uncooperative attitude. The result was a victory. "
"If the president is not acquitted of not cooperating without sufficient testimony, there is a risk that the impeachment trial itself will be watered down. It is the American people who judge this, and the presidential election in November will be watched. "
Public opinion is in half
The impeachment has once again highlighted the savage American public opinion over the pros and cons of President Trump.
According to an average of various public opinion polls compiled by US political information site Real Clear Politics as of May 5, 47.8% of respondents agreed "for" and 48.1% "opposed" for President Trump's impeachment or dismissal. , Public opinion was split in half.
Looking at this by supporting political parties,
で は "Response" is 9.2% and "Reverse" is 88.7% among Republicans
で は Among Democrat supporters, “Approve” was 85.3%, “Disagree” was 10.9%,
You can see that it is greatly influenced by the views of political parties.
In addition, among the non-partisans, 45.3% of respondents agreed and 46.8% disagreed, indicating that opinions on impeachment and dismissal were divided among those who did not support a particular political party. .
Meanwhile, President Trump's approval rating is 45.0% for "I support" and 51.9% for "I do not support".
Despite the controversy through the impeachment trial, the pros and cons of impeachment and the trend of President Trump's approval rating have not changed significantly, suggesting that the American society has become more divided.
Past impeachment trials
The U.S. President was sentenced to impeachment by 17th President Andrew Johnson in 1868, 42nd President Bill Clinton in 1999, Johnson in 1868, Clinton in 1999, and then Trump Is the third person in history.
Impeachment is a system prescribed by the US Constitution as a means of judging the President.
If the House of Representatives finds that the conduct of the President is an offence, the House of Representatives will vote on the matter and if the majority agree, the President will be prosecuted.
And if more than two-thirds of the members present are found guilty by a verdict in an impeachment trial held in the Senate, the president will be dismissed.
In impeachment, President Johnson was found to be in breach of law in 1868 when he dismissed the then-secretary of the Army over the rebuilding of the South following the Civil War.
President Clinton was also accused of perjury in 1998 for his false affair with a former White House trainee.
However, as a result of the ruling in the Senate, the two-thirds of the members of parliament required for impeachment were not agreed, and their dismissal was avoided and they remained in the presidency.
On the other hand, Richard Nixon, the 37th president, was not charged with an impeachment trial in the `` Watergate Case '' where the involvement of the Democratic headquarters in attempting to tap eavesdropping, etc. He was forced to resign before being prosecuted.
Difference between Trump and Clinton trial
This is the third time the United States President has been impeached for the first time in 21 years since President Clinton in 1999.
In the impeachment trial between President Trump and President Clinton, differences were noted in the nature and evidence of the prosecution, and in the manner in which the trial proceeded.
(Prosecution details)
President Clinton was charged with "perjury" for lying on a grand jury testimony over an affair with a White House trainee. "Perjury" is a federal law prescribed by the United States as a serious offense.
In contrast, President Trump's prosecution "abuse of power" is not specified in the provisions governing the impeachment system, and there is no criminal provision in federal law. For this reason, the Republicans argue that "it is neither a crime nor a violation of the law and does not meet the constitution's impeachment requirements."
President Clinton has been charged with similar content for "parliamentary obstruction," which allegedly hindered Congressional investigations, but has shown an acquittal verdict.
This time, the Republicans argue that "the president has the power to keep the confidentiality of decisions."
(witness)
Regarding witness testimony, President Clinton's impeachment trial was conducted by videotaping the testimony of three important witnesses and showing them at the trial. At this time, the ruling and opposition parties did not have a major issue regarding the testimony of witnesses, and the procedure of the trial was unanimously decided.
(evidence)
On the other hand, it has been pointed out that the impeachment trial has less direct evidence than President Clinton.
In the case of President Clinton, the affair with the former trainee was supported by evidence, and the president himself cooperated with the investigation by listening to the grand jury.
There was also evidence that the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives was interrogated for prosecution.
On the other hand, this time, Mr. Trump's hearing was not realized, and no audio tape or the like that directly proves the allegations has been revealed.
(period)
Clinton's impeachment trial, which began on January 7, 1999, was acquitted on February 12, a month later.