As the case against impeaching Donald Trump begins to ratchet up a notch, the president and his followers have been doing everything they can to change the narrative.
One bold strategy from Trump involves making t-shirts that say 'read the transcript' which is a novel approach to a very serious subject. One which is only likely to succeed in raising more money for his campaign rather than help him build a case against impeachment.
However, the writing looks to be on the wall for Trump, with the Democratic speaker of the House declaring that hearings will start this month against the president.
It remains to be seen what will actually happen in those hearings as this is mostly uncharted territory for Congress: no president has ever been successfully impeached.
The case against Trump however is strong and it is perfectly represented by a quote that Atlantic journalist Yoni Appelbaum shared on Twitter on Friday.
He starts by writing:
I want to share one strongly argued case for impeachment, from a leading constitutional scholar, that I stumbled across the other day.
However, as the thread goes on the long quote reveals something quite eye-opening about the case for impeachment.
2 "[The president’s] defenders describe the unthinkable disaster of impeachment. But it should not be unthinkable.… https://t.co/KCQ4RYwB4s— Yoni Appelbaum (@Yoni Appelbaum) 1572615811
4. “It becomes clear that the White House has never before been occupied by such a reckless and narcissistic advent… https://t.co/p465SzFf2k— Yoni Appelbaum (@Yoni Appelbaum) 1572616094
5. “We are regularly lectured about a constitutional crisis if the House goes forward with hearings and ultimately… https://t.co/cz5GBebWhD— Yoni Appelbaum (@Yoni Appelbaum) 1572616227
6. “….But if we ratify [his] behavior in office, we may expect not just lack lack of distinction in the future but… https://t.co/3DtPyQQ7nX— Yoni Appelbaum (@Yoni Appelbaum) 1572616325
7. The fire-breathing radical in question? Former U.S. Solicitor General and Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork, in… https://t.co/A173LBgvTn— Yoni Appelbaum (@Yoni Appelbaum) 1572616491
That's right. This isn't even a new quote. It's from 21 years ago and was featured in a book review for High Crimes and Misdemeanors, a book by Ann Coulter which presented a case against then-president, Bill Clinton.
Also, if you are wondering who Robert Bork is, he's a former judge and government official who served as Solicitor General to the United States between 1973 and 1977, so it's fair to say that he knew what he was talking about.
Incidentally, the US constitution states:
The president shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and misdemeanors.
Appelbaum's thread has since gone viral with many people thanking him for unearthing this gem of a quote.
@YAppelbaum Excellent, thank you for sharing and of course. Not sure why everyone feels so sad about having to enac… https://t.co/oB9wLsPaqS— Cynthia Sestito (@Cynthia Sestito) 1572643334
@YAppelbaum We never should have been in this situation. Election security, Suppression, Gerrymandering as well as… https://t.co/KVjfh17ASD— David R. Fisher (@David R. Fisher) 1572621345
A thread worth reading... https://t.co/eWjmR2IhUS— Bill Kristol (@Bill Kristol) 1572619670