TRUMP TRIED TO BRIBE UKRAINE PRESIDENT AND SHOULD BE IMPEACHED
ACTION ONE: CALL YOUR SENATORS
SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR WYDEN AND MERKLEY:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because…
Thank you for supporting the impeachment inquiry. We need you to defend this process as constitutionally required. Also, I ask that you and others stop using the legalistic phrase “quid pro quo” and use clearer terms like “bribery” or “extortion.” Trump used his office to advance his own interests, not the nation’s.
CALL SENATOR MERKLEY
CALL SENATOR WYDEN
ACTION TWO: CALL YOUR HOUSE REPS
Not sure who your U.S. Representative is? Find out here.
SAMPLE SCRIPTS FOR REPRESENTATIVES:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because…
FOR ALL REPRESENTATIVES BUT WALDEN:
Thank you for supporting the impeachment inquiry. We need you to defend this process as constitutionally required. Also, I ask that you and others stop using the legalistic phrase “quid pro quo” and use clearer terms like “bribery” or “extortion.” Trump used his office to advance his own interests, not the nation’s.
FOR WALDEN:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code] . . . I am calling to ask you to stop trying to defend Trump. What he has done in the Ukraine matter is simply bribery, as honorable diplomats have testified. Defending Trump at this point only reinforces the lies Trump keeps telling. Please be honest with us, acknowledge what Trump has done, and finish your terms as an honorable man.
CALL SUZANNE BONAMICI (OR-01)
CALL GREG WALDEN (OR-02)
CALL BLUMENAUER (OR-03)
CALL PETER DEFAZIO (OR-04)
CALL KURT SCHRADER (OR-05)
ACTION THREE: HELP REGISTER VOTERS
Indivisible Oregon is organizing letter-writing parties using Swing Left tools to contact voters whose voter registration data may need updating. Find a letter writing party near you or organize one yourself at SwingLeft.org/events.
BACKGROUND:
This Wednesday, the House impeachment inquiry moves to television.
The main question: Did Trump abuse the powers of the presidency to advance his own personal and political interests?
Specifically, did he withhold needed military aid to force Ukraine’s president to announce several investigations including into Democratic rival Joe Biden’s son Hunter?
This is naked bribery. It shocked the administration’s diplomatic and national security teams. Trump has been trying to cover it up by hiding the call’s transcript and ordering staff to ignore Congress’s subpoenas.
This is not only a crime, but inviting foreign interference into a US election corrodes the very foundation of our democracy.
Republicans have not mounted any defense. The most recent fabrication (and coverup attempt) is that Trump didn’t order a stop on the aid but Trump’s acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, did.
After this emerged, Mulvaney’s attorney rushed to court asking if White House officials are legally obligated to respond to Congressional subpoenas or to the order of the President who has prohibited staff from testifying.
So this week, as Congress defends the Constitution, nearly all the president’s men are lawyering up to defend themselves.
No one is above the law. Trump must be impeached.
SOURCES:
The Atlantic, Nov. 8, 2019: “The Battle for the Constitution: The Founders Would Have Called Out Trump for Bribery” https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/impeachment-bribery/601591/
CNN, Nov. 9, 2019: “We read all 2,677 pages of impeachment inquiry testimony released to date. Here’s what’s clear.” https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/09/politics/impeachment-transcript-takeaways/index.html
Bloomberg, Oct. 30, 2019: “What You Need to Know About Trump, Ukraine and Impeachment” https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/what-you-need-to-know-about-trump-ukraine-and-impeachment/2019/10/30/022ebeea-facc-11e9-9e02-1d45cb3dfa8f_story.html
