{"id":10827,"date":"2017-05-13T18:15:33","date_gmt":"2017-05-14T00:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/impeach_bush_blog\/?p=10827"},"modified":"2017-05-28T17:48:59","modified_gmt":"2017-05-28T23:48:59","slug":"by-firing-comey-trump-put-impeachment-on-the-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/impeachforpeace.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/by-firing-comey-trump-put-impeachment-on-the-table\/","title":{"rendered":"By firing Comey, Trump put impeachment on the table"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"impeachVox<\/b> – The old saw that the cover-up is worse than the crime often obscures more than it reveals. But in the case of President Donald Trump\u2019s firing of FBI Director James Comey<\/a>, it carries an important element of truth. It escalates the administration\u2019s Russia scandal, and, for the first time, provides indications of impeachable offenses.<\/p>\n

Nothing we\u2019ve seen credibly reported thus far about Trump and Russia would amount to an impeachable offense, and indeed, it\u2019s not really clear what allegations of \u201ccollusion\u201d on the campaign trail would really amount to even if proven.<\/p>\n

Firing the FBI director in order to obstruct an ongoing investigation would be different.<\/p>\n

That obstruction charge is, of course, unproven as of Wednesday afternoon. But the probable cause is everywhere. And it makes a sham of the notion that replacing Comey with a well-qualified director or continuing with existing congressional inquiries is a sufficient remedy.<\/p>\n

There needs to be a separate investigation \u2014 featuring sworn testimony from the key players and subpoenas of documents \u2014 into why Comey was fired. Was it because Trump suddenly decided in mid-May that Comey\u2019s handling of the Clinton emails was unforgivable, or was it because Trump was trying to obstruct justice?<\/p>\n

The answer makes a huge difference.<\/p>\n

Media reports suggest obstruction of justice<\/h3>\n

Anonymously sourced journalism is not the same thing as sworn testimony or hard evidence. But it\u2019s also indispensable to uncovering official wrongdoing. And Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning already brought forth plenty of evidence of wrongdoing:<\/p>\n