The word impeachment was raised on the floor of the House of Representatives Thursday, and it’s hard to argue with what Wisconsin Democratic Congressman Mark Pocan had to say.
During time allotted for general speeches, Pocan displayed a map of the seven majority-Muslim countries that have been the subject of Trump’s recent travel ban. Pocan pointed out that Trump didn’t ban travel from any Middle Eastern countries where he has business holdings, and then added:
“These countries were excluded from the executive order despite being home to many of the terrorists who carried out 9/11. I’m not saying we should ban people from these countries. I firmly oppose any ban based on nationality or religion. But it is unacceptable that business interests have played potentially a role in such a destructive policy, a policy that also makes our country less safe in the long run.”
But Representative Pocan was far from finished, focusing in on Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns:
“It’s time for the president to stop defending his divisive and unconstitutional executive order and start being transparent about his business interests. Every president in the modern era has released tax records to ensure the American people that their actions will not be impacted by financial holdings.”
Without the tax returns, Pocan noted, Trump had potentially been “in direct violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution on day one.”
Then Pocan addressed Trump directly, telling him:
“Mr. President, it’s time for you to fix this. One, divest your business holding immediately to remove any suggestion of conflicts in your decision-making. Two, show us your tax returns so financial interests are transparent to the American people. And three, get rid of your unconstitutional executive order, which will make us less safe and only serve to embolden our enemies.”
Finally, the Wisconsin Democrat used the dreaded word, impeachment:
“Short of that, we’ll have to take other actions, including legislative directives, resolutions of disapproval and even explore the power of impeachment.”
Thank you for saying it, Congressman Pocan. We can all hope that others will soon join you and rid us of this nightmare named Donald Trump.
Featured Image Via Alternative Media Syndicate
