Action 59 - Censure President Trump

Background:  Presidents can and have been censured by Congress - at least 12 of them since 1800.  This process lets them know they have crossed the line, but the votes aren’t YET there to impeach (majority of the House) and/or convict (2/3 of the Senate). But they had better watch out, it’s coming.  Resolutions for censuring Trump were introduced each year of his first administration (1).  All of the resolutions except one died in Committee.  The grounds were:

2017 failing to condemn the white supremacist rally in Charlotte

2018 making hateful comments about certain countries in Africa and S America

2019 using abusive language in his tweets

2019 abusing the powers of the presidency for his personal gain re: pressuring Ukraine

2020 sanctioning the use of tear gas and rubber bullets to clear Lafayette Square.

Given the far worse actions Trump has committed during the first two months of his second term, these grounds for censure seem almost quaint.  His response was always to whine that he was being treated “so unfairly”.  That excuse is increasingly not credible, even among his diehard supporters, as they start to experience what he and his thugs have done to them.  The current grounds for censure would, in a hopeful world, lead to Trump being “ICED” – no, not killed: Impeached, Convicted, Evicted from the white house, and possibly Deported (Maybe Russia would take him!).   Some possible grounds are listed on the next page and could form the basis of a censure resolution (if not impeachment and removal from office, and a prohibition from ever holding another office.)

 Action: Let our Senators and Representatives know in no uncertain terms that we support a censure resolution. Ask them to introduce a resolution themselves, or at a minimum to cosponsor any that are introduced. If they show the slightest interest, share the attached list of reasons – you can add more. Tell them Maine is being unfairly targeted for Trump’s revenge and we insist that they fight back with all they’ve got, or we will find replacements who WILL fight for us. Build a groundswell. Talk to your friends in other states.  If you belong to a group like Indivisible, or can leave a comment in a progressive blog, introduce the concept there. 

 Contact:

Senator Susan Collins: Email: www.collins.senate.gov/contact/email-senator-collins/form

            Phone: (202) 224-2532 (DC office), (207) 945-0417 (Bangor office)

 Senator Angus King: Email www.king.senate.gov/contact

            Phone: (202) 224-5344 (DC office), (207) 945-8000 (Bangor office) 

Representative Jared Golden: Email: golden.house.gov/contact

            Phone: (202) 224-3121 (DC office), (207) 249-7400 (Bangor office)

Representative Chellie Pingree: Email: https://pingree.house.gov/contact/

            Phone: (202) 225-6116 (DC office), (207) 774-5019 (Portland office)

 Urgency:  Let’s get the phone calls made by March 12

 Extra Credit: 

(1)  Curiously, one of the resolutions listed here, and another one that led to actual impeachment in December 2019 (for trying to get Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election), were introduced by Tulsi Gabbard when she was a Democrat.  See CRS document https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45087

Sample format for a Censure Resolution:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-concurrent-resolution/5/text

SOME Reasons for Congress to Censure Donald Trump

He has willfully failed to faithfully execute the laws of the United States and to protect and Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.

 He has, by countless actions and statements, opposed or denigrated the rule of law upon which our constitutional government, civil society, and economy rest, including by:

·      ignoring court orders

·      unilaterally dismantling government departments and agencies of government created by Congress by terminating staff and impounding funds

·      continuing to claim, all evidence to the contrary, that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him

·      enriching himself and his cronies through public office

·      arresting and deporting undocumented aliens, without due process required by the Constitution

·      attempting to revoke “birth right citizenship” unequivocally granted in the Constitution

·      announcing the cessation of enforcement of money laundering laws

·      using law enforcement agencies to pursue private vendettas.

·      constraining law enforcement by federal agencies including the EPA, the SEC, and others

 He has violated the constitutional “separation of powers” and “checks and balances” between the branches of government by:

·      ignoring fiscal, organizational, and procedural mandates of Congress

·      ignoring court orders that he abide by Congressional mandates.

He has, in violation of the Constitution, abrogated treaty commitments of the US including by:

·      threatening without cause to leave our NATO allies to the depredations of Russian aggression

·      imposing unilateral tariffs on Canada and Mexico

·      siding with Russia when it faced condemnation for its flagrant violation of the UN Charter occasioned by its invasion of Ukraine

·      threatening to seize Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada for US territorial expansion in violation of various treaties and the UN Charter, “threats” being “acts” when issued by the President of the most powerful nation on earth

·      threatening to seize GAZA and permanently expel all Palestinians in violation of international laws against genocide to which the US is party

He has, through gross malfeasance, undermined the order and tranquility of the nation by:

·      staffing his administration with incompetent, vengeful, destructive people, whose highest loyalty is demonstrably to President Trump personally rather than to the Constitution and the welfare of the American people, and whose main aim appears to be the dismemberment of the American government

·      delegating executive authority over the finances, personnel, and operation of federal agencies to unauthorized private individuals who have sown chaos throughout the government, in apparent violation of numerous laws

·      whimsical day-to-day vacillations in ungrounded policy declarations over domestic and foreign affairs, playing fast and loose with the lives of US citizens and foreign allies alike

He has compromised the defense of the US by:

·      undermining morale by reinstituting racism and misogyny in hiring and career advancement in the services

·      on personal initiative, with no input from Congress or public process, jeopardizing NATO and irreparably antagonizing our closest, historic allies in North American and Europe in favor of developing ties to Putin’s Russia and other authoritarian regimes that are antagonistic to our democratic values and offer, apart from China, little of economic importance

·      destroying goodwill toward the US in the developing world by shuttering USAID and impounding foreign aid, leaving a toll of death and suffering in affected countries

·      terminating cybersecurity employees at the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) while placing unqualified DOGE employees with known Russian ties on the staff of CISA

·      instructing employees at the Defense Department US Cyber Command to ignore all Russian threats to or interference with US government operations, public or private data, business, infrastructure, elections, or public opinion

·      indiscriminately terminating experienced and knowledgeable personnel at US intelligence agencies including the FBI, CIA and the NSA

·      terminating 300 employees at the Department of Energy whose responsibilities included monitoring of the US nuclear weapon stockpile.