Searcy, AR (LP) — Last September, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, announced that Congress would open formal impeachment hearings with the statement that “no one is above the law.” However, whether or not such hearings should even proceed has been a topic of great debate. The problem is that this matters more than many care to admit. The leader of the free world is facing the chopping block of the century: impeachment. While the President would only be unable to continue his term, he would still find re-election incredibly difficult if found guilty by both the Senate and House of Representatives. So, now that impeachment hearings are reaching their next stage, the question has to be asked: Should the impeachment inquiry happen at all and is it fair?
The main reason for the impeachment, according to the prosecution, is a call made by President Donald Trump to Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, during July of 2019. After some initial pleasantries, Trump asked Zelensky about corruption concerning Hunter Biden and Burisma Holdings, an oil company in the Ukraine. However, Republicans and Democrats disagree on the reasoning behind the inquiry. The GOP states that the call was made due to Trump’s desire to end political corruption and saw an opportunity in Zelensky’s then-recent win of the Ukranian presidency. Meanwhile, the Democrats claim it was due to the success of Joe Biden, a major player in the democrat primary. The success of Joe Biden supposedly scared Trump, causing Trump to need dirt on the Biden family. However, Mrs. Calandra Cook, a English teacher at SHS, puts it in common sense terms, “On the one hand, if a president has done something illegal–or there are suspicions of illegal behavior–then I think there should be an investigation, as called for in the Constitution.”
Many question the validity of the impeachement hearings due to alleged faults in due process. Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana states, “Rounds one and two by Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Adam Schiff are as rigged as a carnival ring toss, and we both know that. Have they allowed the president to call his own witnesses? No. Have they allowed him to have his lawyer present? No. Have they allowed him to offer rebuttal evidence? No. Have they allowed him to cross-examine the witnesses that were hand-picked by Speaker Pelosi? No.” This raises a problem for Kennedy in that he feels a breach of due process has been made. “Whether you like the president or don’t, we both I know agree with due process. Nobody is above the law, but nobody is beneath the law. The Bill of Rights is not an a la carte menu,” says Kennedy. However, Mrs. Amanda Simpson, a history teacher and self-proclaimed moderate, dismisses any such distress as many democrats do, “I believe in the rule of law and that one of the functions of Congress is to hold the executive branch accountable for following the laws of our nation. If the President (regardless of who it is) violates the law he should be held accountable.”
For the full July phone call transcript, visit this link: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-ukraine-call-transcript-read-the-document
