Duty Calls – The Congressional Oath of Office
Our Civic Responsibilities
“I, --, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” The Congressional Oath of Office
The oath places a solemn responsibility on Congress to put the US Constitution before party politics, before allegiance to the President, before the personal political interests of the Member of Congress.
The evidence is undisputed. The President and his personal attorney schemed for months to get the newly elected President of the Ukraine to investigate the President’s most feared rival, Joe Biden. They used US military aid and a White House visit as inducements.
Once the plot was uncovered, and the House began to investigate, the White House ordered all Executive Branch employees and staff not to testify, nor to provide any requested documents to House investigators.
The US Constitution gives the House sole authority over impeachments. The House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight Committees investigated the President’s conduct, held open public hearings where key fact witnesses testified. The witnesses’ testimony was both damning and compelling. The Intelligence Committee forwarded their findings, the testimony and documents to the House Judiciary Committee. In the Judiciary Committee, constitutional law experts testified as to the founders’ discussions, debates and decisions in establishing the impeachment mechanism, their intent in setting the standards and procedures for impeachment.
The President opted not to present any exculpatory evidence or testimony or documents, not to cross-examine witnesses or to participate in any manner shape or form in the House proceedings. His Republican party loyalists in the House did cross-examine and call their own witnesses and defended the President’s conduct in his absence. They sought to call, but were unable to secure assent to call, several other witnesses – the whistleblower, Representative Schiff and Hunter Biden.
To date, the members of both parties have been in lockstep. Only Representative Justin Amash, a Republican Party member recently turned independent, has indicated support for impeachment. Two Democrats in heavily Trump districts have indicated that they are likely to oppose impeachment.
The nation’s founders expected civic duty and virtue from the people’s elected Representatives, but they also knew and expected human frailty. They feared the path to an unaccountable Executive that we are now on. They feared foreign interference in our elections and with our politicians. They could well imagine a Donald Trump like figure in power who would seek every avenue towards authoritarian rule. They counted on the people’s House, Representatives like Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff, to be the bulwarks of our freedoms. The Speaker and the House Chairs have done an extraordinary job.
The founders counted on us, the citizens of the United States, to be stalwart in support of our own liberties. Will we rise to meet this challenge or be cowed by fear or sedated with indifference? I urge everyone of you to let your representatives know of your support (or opposition) to President Donald Trump’s impeachment.
Lucien Wulsin
12/12/19