Module 4: Threats to national security
Chairperson
This is the Indivisible San Francisco/Indivisible East Bay model impeachment hearing on the Article of Impeachment for abuses of power in foreign policy and national security. We are taking the roles of participants in a hearing by the House Judiciary Committee on one of the many Articles of Impeachment for President Trump. This is a simplified hearing, without parties or opposition. Impeachment is not just for regular crimes but also for abuses of power and for failures of responsibility. We believe that the real Congress must impeach on all of the president’s offenses in order to protect the country, for justice for all, and to rebuild our democracy. Now, on to the model hearing.
Representative __________ will preside over the hearing of the Article of Impeachment on abusing the office of the presidency to conduct foreign policy toward personal benefit of the president’s re-election and against the national interests of the United States of America.
Presiding member
Thank you Chair_____ __________. The clerk will read the article.
Clerk
In his conduct of the office of President of the United States, Donald John Trump, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute his office and to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has repeatedly abused the office of the presidency by conducting foreign policy against the national security interests of the United States, against American sovereignty, contrary to law, against democracy and justice, and predominantly in service of his personal agenda, that of re-election and personal enrichment. This conduct included the following offenses:
The president obstructed the investigations and denied the findings of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment and Mueller Report that showed that Russian intelligence services engaged in a widespread and systematic attack on US elections in 2016 thereby colluding with the attackers instead of defending our country by supporting these investigations.
The president engaged in abrupt shifts of US foreign policy that put the interests of Putin’s Russia above U.S. national security by
actively undermining the NATO alliance, contrary to 50 years of US foreign policy,
subverting US policy of defending the strategically important democratic government of Ukraine against Russian aggression with a myriad of corrupt actions,
and abruptly abandoning our Kurdish allies in Syria at the request of Turkish President Erdogan, without consulting U.S. military leaders, thus enabling the commission of war crimes and ethnic cleansing, and directly resulting in the expansion of Russian military control and influence in the region.
The president destroyed the US's steady, multilateral leadership role in nuclear arms control with erratic decisions made on his own.
The president repeatedly expressed wholesale public admiration for fascist and authoritarian leaders such as the heads of state of the Philippines, North Korea, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, contrary to long-standing US foreign policy and values.
The president monetized U.S. foreign policy by not establishing a blind trust to conduct the president’s international business operations.
The president monetized and politicized the U.S. military
The president administered the armed forces in a reckless and incompetent manner, against long-standing international commitments and the interests of democracy, through abrupt and poorly-informed policy changes.
The president maintained the most careless security procedures of any modern administration.
Presiding Member
Thank you.
This is a sobering list of actions that are frightening in their scope and impact on US security, and indeed, on world security.
I’d like to call the first witness to give testimony regarding the actions related to our decreased security due to acquiescing to Russian influence and undermining our intelligence services.
When did national security officials first become alarmed about Mr. Trump’s fundamental misunderstanding of U.S. national security?
Witness 1
In January 2017, the Intelligence Community Assessment announced their unanimous view that Russia’s intelligence services had interfered in the 2016 election. National security professionals saw this as a grave threat to our democratic processes. America was under attack. But Mr. Trump repeatedly called the findings of the IC a hoax, and fired the FBI director after being informed of their investigations into his campaign, which triggered the appointment of Special Counsel Mueller. Rather than supporting Mueller’s work in protecting our country, Mr. Trump derided it as a witch hunt. Mr. Trump preferred to accept Putin’s denials. He engaged in a public and widespread attack on the FBI, firing our leading investigators of Russian organized crime and encouraging his party to demean them publicly. He obstructed the Mueller investigation many times, documented in the Mueller Report. He sent his personal attorney and the US Attorney General on investigations designed to exonerate Putin for his attack on our country.
Our National Security Council and intelligence community viewed Putin as overseeing an outlaw regime. In addition to interfering in U.S. elections, the Kremlin was attempting to kill dissidents abroad, fomenting unrest across the democracies of Europe, and pursuing a zero-sum policy when it comes to the United States, meaning anything that hurt the U.S. and its allies was good for Russia. Yet Mr. Trump ignored their warnings and pursued dramatic changes in US policy as if he were reporting directly to Vladimir Putin.
Presiding Member
What was the first abrupt shift in U.S. foreign policy demonstrated by Mr. Trump?
Witness 1
The NATO alliance has been a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy for the past 50 years. Mr. Trump has undermined that alliance throughout his tenure, beginning with his first speech at NATO in which he did not affirm Article 5, our mutual defense commitment.
Presiding Member
The United States’ long standing policy has been to support the freedom and independence of Ukraine and its eventual membership in NATO was also changed dramatically, was it not?
Witness 1
Yes. Prior to Mr. Trump’s presidency, both the US House and Senate were committed to assisting Ukraine in defending itself from ongoing attacks by Russia, which included strong bipartisan endorsement of the imposition of sanctions on Russia after its invasion and annexation of Crimea, and providing billions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine. This policy continued until around 2018, when Mr. Trump created a shadow foreign policy team to bribe and extort Ukraine, as detailed in the House Judiciary Committee’s Articles of Impeachment.
Presiding Member
Can you cite some other examples of Mr. Trump misunderstanding U.S. national security policy of treating Russia as an adversary, to be dealt with carefully and strategically?.
Witness 1
Mr. Trump has openly admired President Putin and promoted his interests to the G-7, going as far to suggest that Russia should be readmitted, even though it is still occupying Crimea. By getting Congress to partially lift sanctions on Oleg Deripaska, to build an aluminum plant in Kentucky, he has benefited Senator McConnell’s re-election efforts. He has defied decades of national security protocol by conducting numerous conversations with President Putin in secret, with no official record of their discussions. We know Mr. Trump has long been interested in building a Trump Tower in Moscow, but do not know the full extent of the leverage President Putin may have over him.
Presiding Member
Thank you.
I’d like to introduce the next Witness, who will testify on the actions concerning nuclear weapons proliferation as well as Mr. Trump supporting and enabling fascist and authoritarian dictators.
The U.S. had been leading the international community in making significant strides toward reducing nuclear weapons proliferation, but it seems as though Mr. Trump has reversed that progress.
Witness 2
Since taking office in 2016, Mr. Trump has dismantled many of the security guardrails that restrained nuclear dangers for decades. He walked away from a successful Iran deal, killed Reagan’s treaty on intermediate-range nuclear weapons and may yet destroy New START – the only remaining limit on American and Russian arsenals.
Mr. Trump switched from threatening Kim Jong Un with “fire and fury” to being “in love,” even though Pyongyang has continued to ignore every effort by the U.S. and its allies to deter it from building a nuclear arsenal. He has only responded mildly to continued missile tests designed to intimidate our allies, Japan and South Korea.
The Trump administration has quietly pursued a wider deal on sharing U.S. nuclear power technology with Saudi Arabia, which aims to build at least two nuclear power plants.
Presiding Member
The U.S. has tried to maintain a positive relationship with Saudi Arabia, but has spoken out when its leaders publicly engaged in brutal conduct. Has Mr. Trump done the same?
Witness 2
Unfortunately, Mr. Trump has continued friendly relations with Saudi Arabia in spite of Mohammed Bin Salman’s role in the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. He sent thousands of U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia and plans to share sensitive nuclear technology with them in spite of Congress’ reservations due to the Khashoggi assasination. Mr. Trump’s businesses, and those of his son-in-law, have reaped substantial profits from Saudi Arabia.
Presiding Member
U.S. foreign policy has been to encourage democracy in Turkey, as a NATO ally. How has Mr. Trump responded to the installation of Mr. Erdogan, known to be an autocratic ruler?
Witness 2
He has praised and supported President Erdogan and congratulated him on winning a 2017 referendum that allowed him to rule by decree. In 2019, Mr. Trump abruptly ordered U.S. military troops to abandon our Kurdish allies in Syria, enabling the commission of war crimes and ethnic cleansing by Turkish troops, while U.S. troops were still on the ground. In spite of this, Trump recently invited Mr. Erdogan to the White House.
Presiding Member
Is this the extent of Mr. Trump’s enabling of fascist and authoritarian regimes?
Witness 2
No. He has expressed admiration for Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi, who rose to power in a bloody coup and civil rights have since been severely and violently curtailed. He has praised Philippine President Duterte despite Duterte’s extrajudicial killings, seemingly compromised by the conflict of interest of the Trump Tower Manila. He has consistently been more friendly toward these and other autocrats than toward our traditional democratic allies.
Presiding Member
Thank you.
I’d like to return to Witness 1 ________ to discuss the President’s monetization, militarization and interference of the US military.
Witness _______, How has Mr. Trump monetized and politicized the U.S. military?
Witness 1
He has exhorted US troops to lobby on his behalf, used them as props for his political campaign videos, and intends to have the Lieutenant he pardoned, against the advice of the Secretary of the Navy, participate in his campaign rallies.
He also directed the US military to use the airport near his Scotland golf course to refuel, thus assisting his resort. He reallocated funding Congress had intended for repairs to US military housing and other military projects to build the wall which he believes will benefit his 2020 campaign.
Presiding Member
Has Mr. Trump also monetized U.S. foreign policy?
Witness 1
Our founding fathers were particularly concerned with the dangers of foreign influence on our government, leading to the inclusion of the Emoluments Clause in our Constitution. This concern has been respected by previous presidents through putting their business interests and property into blind trusts, and presenting their tax returns for review. Mr. Trump has defied that precedent, by staying in close contact with his sons and daughters who were tasked with running his companies. This has enabled foreign governments to seek favorable treatment by patronizing his properties, notably his hotel in Washington D.C. Foreign governments and foreign-government-linked individuals have made hundreds of visits to his properties, and his children have continued international business and won international contracts during his tenure.
Presiding Member
Has Mr. Trump respected the US Military’s chain of command and discipline?
Witness 1
He has pardoned US personnel convicted of military crimes, which undermined military discipline procedure, justice, and respect for the law. He fired the Secretary of the Navy for publicly opposing the pardon.
In addition, he has impulsively tweeted out military commands, leaving the Pentagon unprepared to competently execute the commands in an orderly fashion.
Presiding Member
Thank you.
And finally, I’d like to return to Witness (2)_________ to discuss national security procedures in this current administration.
Mr. Trump campaigned against Secretary Clinton by exaggerating critiques of her handling of personal email. Has the Trump administration carefully adhered to national security procedures during their tenure in the White House?
Witness 2
The Trump administration has been the most careless about national security procedures of any in recent memory, allowing White House officials, his cabinet and political appointees to conduct official business on cell phones, personal email and unofficial applications like WhatsApp.
He revealed top secret Israeli intelligence information to Ambassador Kislyak and Foreign Minister Lavrov, at a meeting in the Oval Office in March 2017, to which a Russian film crew was invited. He has conducted meetings and telephone calls with numerous heads of state that have not been witnessed and transcribed for official U.S.government records, but some of those sensitive conversations were made on cell phones subject to foreign surveillance.
He gave security clearances to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump and others, overriding the Department of Defense security recommendations.
After meeting with President Putin in Helsinki in 2018, Mr. Trump directed Secretary of State Pompeo to meet with Russian officials to discuss cooperation on cyber-security issues, which was opposed by national security officials, but which appear to have recently resumed.
Presiding member
Thank you.
Our founders, ever concerned with the potential for tyranny posed by unchecked power, designed a governmental system requiring the president to work with Congress to pursue foreign policy and national security goals. The Constitution does not give the President exclusive control over foreign affairs and national security. Article II makes the President the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, but under Article I, Congress has the power to authorize conflicts, to raise and support our forces, to authorize spending on national security and, indeed, a host of other national security and foreign affairs-related matters.
Our Founders were particularly wary of foreign countries gaining leverage over our President and therefore, included bribery among high crimes and misdemeanors warranting impeachment.
The threat is ongoing. If he is not held accountable, Mr. Trump will continue to corrupt U.S. foreign relations and put the country’s national security interests at grave risk. Mr. Trump’s actions are inflicting lasting damage to American alliances, security partnerships, and standing in the world.
Regardless of all of the other high crimes and misdemeanors that the House of Representatives is investigating, this set of abuses is on its own more than enough to warrant the impeachment, conviction, and removal of Donald John Trump from the presidency.
Chairperson
Thank you Representative _________. We will now vote on the committee recommendation for the article of impeachment on conducting foreign policy against the national security interests of the US . All in favor, say “aye.”
Committee
Aye.
Chairperson
All opposed, say “nay.”
Committee:
[Silence]
Chairperson
The clerk will record that the “ayes” have it. The article of impeachment on conducting foreign policy against the national security interests of the US is hereby referred to the floor of the House with a recommendation of “do pass.” [Bangs gavel]
Chairperson
Thanks for watching. We encourage you to call your US Representative and Senators today to let them know that you support the impeachment and removal of Mr. Trump from office. Please also participate in town halls and impeachment rallies near you. Our system of government only works with your engagement, and your calls really can make a difference.