Maddie Kysilko
In the past couple of weeks, the nation has been buzzing with talk of the possible impeachment of President Donald Trump. Since T.C. is in close proximity to the nation’s capital, students are closely tied to the issue and have mixed feelings about the impeachment investigation.
In mid-September, it was alleged that President Trump was withholding military aid from Ukraine. It was later revealed that a complaint was filed by a whistleblower implicating Trump in a July 25 phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. In the call, Trump asked Zelensky for help investigating his political opponent Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, who was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.
When the call’s transcript was released, it was revealed that Trump said to Zelensky, “I would like you to do us a favor, though.”
This line has been used by Democrats as evidence for a “quid pro quo”– doing a favor in return for something else. Trump was allegedly asking another government to interfere in the U.S. election for his own political gain, which would be considered unconstitutional. The Democratic majority in the House of Representatives have started an impeachment inquiry, although Republicans, especially Senate Republicans, continue to support Trump.
Impeachment is a process in which a public official is charged for misconduct. Carried out in the House, it does not remove a president from office.
The articles of impeachment are then reviewed by the Senate, who vote on whether or not to remove a president from office. In the past, three presidents have undergone the impeachment process. President Richard Nixon resigned before the process ended in 1974. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were both impeached, but neither was removed from office.
Trump’s impeachment investigation is moving quickly, which can make it difficult for students to keep up. Senior Owen Cardwell gets his news from FiveThirtyEight, The Washington Post, the New York Times, and sometimes Fox News. Senior Alex Bautista follows the impeachment investigation in his AP classes. “Everyone’s going crazy talking [about the impeachment],” he said.
T.C. students’ opinions on whether the president deserves to be impeached seem as mixed as where they get their news. Some students say that the president should not be impeached.
“I think that there is not really a reason for him to be impeached. Other presidents have done things that he has done before… and people are taking it more seriously [now] than before,” said an anonymous student.
Other students agree with House Democrats and the impeachment investigation. “There is no possible world where Donald Trump does not deserve to be impeached. He has violated countless aspects of the Constitution… the ‘Muslim bans’ he placed blocking immigration, Robert Mueller’s special investigation, and obvious violations of the 25 Amendment,” said junior Ellie Nebolsine.
A third group of students remains undecided.
“I don’t know [whether or not Trump should be impeached, impeachment is] just a political tool between the Democrats and Republicans,” said Cardwell.
It seems the only thing T.C. has somewhat consensus on is if the president will actually be impeached. The answer is a resounding no.
“It is not going to happen. Plus, he only has one year left, so why would it happen?” said Bautista.
