Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Barr, Mnuchin Should Face Impeachment
The Mueller Report is set for release later today. After two years of investigation, indictments and incarcerations, the America people will finally get to see what it is all about, redacted of course by Attorney General William Barr, who has already misled the public regarding the contents of that report. Also, the House Way and Means Committe has legally requested the last six years' tax return of Donald Trump and Trump-related entities. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has refused. The behavior of both are grounds for impeachment. While the Democrats are wary of impeaching the president despite his malfeasance, they should embrace such proceedings against these two cabinet officers.
Mr. Barr wrote a four-page synopsis of the 400-page Mueller Report a couple weeks back. The first and only leaks from the Mueller team followed. They stated that his precis was inaccurate and deliberately misleading. The AG further testified in front of a House committee claiming there was "spying" going on against the Trump campaign in 2016. He has since walked that back, but the claim feeds the paranoia of the radical right.
Worse, Mr. Barr assured the public that the White House had not seen the report, that the administration lawyers and the president would see it the same moment the public does. That was a bald-faced lie. Mr. Barr and the Justice Department lawyers working the case have met frequently with the president's legal team. This is not a crime. It is a subversion of democracy, and therefore, Mr. Barr needs to go.
In the case of Mr. Mnuchin, the law is quite clear. When requested in writing by the chairman of Ways and Means, the IRS "shall furnish" the tax returns of any US taxpayer. Not might, not can, "shall."
In declining to obey the law, the Secretary of the Treasury wrote, "The committee's request raises serious issues concerning the constitutional investigative authority, the legitimacy of the asserted legislative purpose and the constitutional rights of American citizens. The legal implications of this request could affect protections for all Americans against politically motivated disclosures of tax information, regardless of which party is in power."
In Watkins v. United States, the Supreme Court held "there is no congressional power to expose for the sake of exposure." On the other hand, the president's business operations may well violate the emoluments clause of the Constitution and access to his tax returns would be able to establish whether they do or not, a compelling cause.
The case will clearly go to the court if the administration declines to furnish the returns next week. That should not deter the House from starting impeachment hearings in the matter of Mr. Mnuchin. It would allow the committee to get him on the record and under oath regarding the tax return issue, and it would thereby prevent the every-changing excuses that are the hallmark of this White House.
Nancy Pelosi is a smart enough politician to understand that the impeachment of the president is not going to succeed in removing him give the current make up of the US Senate. Removal of Mr. Barr and hearings into Mr. Mnuchin, however, will allow the Democrats to legitimately defend the Republic from the internal threats posed by these two men, and in doing so, they will enhance their own chances of keeping Mr. Trump to one term. His base will fight to the death for him, but they probably can't name the two cabinet members. As political and legal targets, they are not safe.
Above all, Mr. Trump believes that loyalty flows one way, toward him. Pressure on these two is likely to succeed if only because the president lacks the backbone to fight for either man if the temperature gets high enough.
© Copyright 2019 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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