Whether or not President Trump is impeachable or should be impeached is an important political question. But putting politics aside, the impeachment inquiry has provided detailed and substantial evidence of President Trump’s continued casual disregard of the legal and traditional expectations of our presidents.
This is not an issue of disagreement with the president’s policies. This is an issue of competent and ethical conduct of the office. If this was only a question of decisions regarding Ukraine it would be serious enough. But reflecting on the conduct of immigration policy, legislative affairs and foreign policy, I am struck by the unnecessary chaos and harmful consequences the president produces.
The activities surrounding our recent relations with Ukraine were conducted against the advice of the military, the national security establishment and the diplomats immediately involved. Those responsible for carrying out the president’s wishes were placed in the hands of the president’s personal lawyer, who had an agenda inconsistent with established national policy.
The president is entitled to set policies for his administration and to choose his officials to carry out those policies. But accountability is a basic and essential element of our democracy. Among the many promises the president made during his campaign for office and at his inauguration was a promise to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. The duty to hold the president accountable falls first to the Congress. It is that process that we are witnessing.
RICHARD A. HESSE
Hopkinton