An Open Letter to the United States Senate
Re: Impeachment Trial of President Donald J. Trump
Dear Senators:
I write to urge the Senate to subpoena the Trump Administration documents and officials involved in the decisions to withhold duly authorized military aid from Ukraine and to pressure Ukrainian investigations to smear Vice President Joe Biden, a potential electoral opponent of President Trump. These types of actions encouraging foreign interference in our nation’s elections are the very sorts of abuses of power that our founding fathers particularly feared, and for which they included the traditional English parliamentary impeachment remedy in our Constitution. I also urge a full blown evidentiary hearing either before the full Senate or a duly delegated Committee to hear the relevant evidence from all sides. Short of a declaration of war, this is the most consequential act facing any Congress and should be taken with the greatest caution, careful debate and utmost wisdom.
I have listened to most of the testimony, read the Committee reports from both the majority and minority. I think there is an overwhelming prima facie case that the President has committed the two impeachable offenses contained in the House’s Articles of Impeachment. In the Senate, President Trump should and will be afforded ample opportunity to rebut these charges and provide all relevant exonerating evidence.
A very large minority of Americans remains unconvinced that this American President has committed impeachable offenses warranting his removal from office. Most Republican elected officials are doubtful about convicting the President and removing him from office. A full blown evidentiary trial with relevant Administration witnesses in the Senate and ample opportunity for questions could go a long way to resolving all reasonable doubts on both sides of the aisle and healing our nation’s ever sharpening partisan divisions.
The President and his counsel have blocked his cabinet members, his political appointees and all executive branch employees from testifying or providing the relevant documents that show the President’s guilt or innocence in these matters. They have yet to put forward witnesses to exonerate the President or explain his actions. If such an approach of blocking access to all executive branch personnel and documents is sustained, it is likely to become impossible for this or future Congresses to hold this or indeed any future President to account for serious misconduct, of whatever nature, in office.
For all these reasons, I would urge Senate subpoenas for the relevant Administration officials and documents. I would urge a full evidentiary hearing before a special Senate Committee designated to hear and report the evidence to the full Senate. Based on all the evidence adduced to date unless explained and rebutted by the President’s counsel to your satisfaction, I hope that you will vote to remove the President from office.
Thank you for your consideration and leadership.
Sincerely,
Lucien Wulsin, JD
January 7, 2020