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Why Dems see 'bribery' among Trump's potential offenses
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/why-dems-see-bribery-among-trumps-potential-offensesWhy Dems see ‘bribery’ among Trump’s potential offenses
11/13/19 08:00 AM—Updated 11/13/19 09:08 AM
By Steve Benen
Ask the typical American what the Constitution says about impeachment, and you’ll likely hear a familiar phrase: “high crimes and misdemeanors.” But Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution actually says a little more than that.
It reads, “The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
With this in mind, note the phrasing House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) used yesterday during an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep, as the Democratic leader described Donald Trump’s scheme to trade military aid to Ukraine for investigations into his political rivals.
“Bribery, first of all, as the founders understood bribery, it was not as we understand it in law today. It was much broader,” Schiff said. “It connoted the breach of the public trust in a way where you’re offering official acts for some personal or political reason, not in the nation’s interest.”
To prove bribery, Schiff said, you have to show that the president was “soliciting something of value,” which Schiff thinks multiple witnesses before his committee have testified to in private.
To prove bribery, Schiff said, you have to show that the president was “soliciting something of value,” which Schiff thinks multiple witnesses before his committee have testified to in private.
snip//
“It’s a nice military aid package we have here with your name on it,” the Republican effectively told his counterpart in Kyiv. “It’d be a shame if something happened to it.”
But Schiff’s reference to “bribery” yesterday goes a step further, suggesting there’s a case to be made that Trump was soliciting a bribe by extortion.
As the proceedings in the House get underway, keep an eye on this angle.
Postscript: A couple of months ago, as the scandal was taking shape, Ian Millhiser wrote a good piece on the possible crimes committed through the Ukraine scheme, and it included a section on Trump’s actions possibly constituting bribery, even under the narrow definition recently adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court.
