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By David L Snelling
Miami – President Donald Trump has been in political office for only two weeks and already efforts are underway to impeach the polarizing figure for the third time.
Free Speech for People, a nonpartisan organization, is calling on Congress to file criminal charges to impeach Trump as he begins his second nonconsecutive term.
FSFP is a national nonprofit working to renew democracy, challenge big money in politics, and fight for free and fair elections.
The group investigated Trump and discovered the president violated the U.S. Constitution that should have banned him from taking office.
The group claims that Trump is disqualified from the presidency over his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots under the 14th Amendment, which states that anyone, including the president, who takes an oath of office to uphold the Constitution and then engages in insurrection is disqualified from future public office.
The organization contends the United States Supreme Court ruled that Trump had immunity from criminal prosecution for allegedly sparking the insurrection to overturn the 2020 election lost to President Joe Biden.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges against him but they weren’t pursued, which frustrated prosecutors and the case was subsequently dropped.
FSFP said Trump abused his power when he pardoned thousands who were arrested for their role in the insurrection.
“We have now added to our campaign Trump’s abuse of the pardon power as an impeachable offense following his pardons of his fellow January 6 insurrectionists,” FSFP said on social media. “Free Speech for People is calling on Congress to launch an impeachment investigation against Donald Trump for offenses that have already occurred and that will continue in the days to come.”
The group also noted that Trump is a convicted felon after he was found guilty on all 36 counts in his hush money trial and sentenced to unconditional discharge without punishment 10 days before his inauguration.
In his first week in office Trump signed a flurry of executive orders including launching the largest deportation operation for illegal immigrants, ending a migrant parole program for people from Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela and Ecuador to prevent millions from entering the United States, and ending DEI in the federal government, private workplace and educational institutions.
The ban on affirmative action reversed the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 signed by then-Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson.
According to the group, which is the parent organization of the “Impeach Trump. Again” campaign, Trump’s return to the White House poses an unprecedented threat to democracy.
The FSFP also claims that Trump violated the emoluments clauses of the Constitution, which limits what gifts and titles federal officials can receive.
“Trump has refused to sell his ownership stake in companies through which he is assured to receive substantial payments from foreign governments in violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause,” Free Speech For People claims.
“At least five foreign governments pay a combined $2 million per month in fees for their units in Trump World Tower; and because all five of these foreign governments are currently paying Trump these monthly fees, Trump is in violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause from the moment he took the oath of office.”
The Trump Organization previously said that Trump would hand over daily management of his multibillion-dollar real estate, hotel, golf, media and licensing portfolio to his children when he enters the White House.
FSFP listed additional allegations including campaign finance violations (offering tax and regulatory benefits to oil and gas executives in exchange for $1 billion in contributions), concealing legal services payments and accepting illegal contributions from Elon Musk through X and a lottery scheme.
Though citizens and organizations can’t directly impeach the president of the United States, they can collect evidence of violating the Constitution and contact their representatives in Congress.
In the case of FSFP, which was founded in 2010, the group circulates petitions as the first step of challenging government corruption and invites their representatives in Congress to town hall meetings.
There, the group’s legal representatives put on a trial and list all the evidence they gathered as their representatives listen as if they are a jury, calling for Congress to file criminal charges against the president.
James S. Lawrence, a constitutional law attorney in Washington D.C., said it’s a long shot but can be done.
Lawrence said the first step is citizens can file a lawsuit in the United State District Court against the president seeking an injunction against specific actions including lying which violates the constitution.
“You will need to be extremely specific about what were the lies, what is your proof they are lies, and which provision of the constitution was violated by telling the lies,” Lawrence said. “I know of no provision of the US Constitution that requires all people to always tell the truth; that is how the lawsuit against President G.W. Bush was dismissed, for purportedly lying about having secret information providing a basis to invade Iraq.”
During his first stint in the White House, Trump was twice impeached by the Democrat-controlled House, the first time in 2019 over his alleged attempt to pressure Ukraine to investigate then-candidate Joe Biden and the second in January 2021 over his role in the Jan. 6 attack.
He was acquitted by the Senate in both cases.
One Republican senator sides with FSFP on disagreeing with Trump’s decision to pardon those involved in the insurrection.
Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Meet the Press that he believes it was a mistake for Trump to pardon those who were convicted of violent crimes or pled guilty to committing violent crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.
Hours after Trump was sworn into office, he pardoned about 1,500 supporters who pleaded guilty or were convicted for their actions during the riot.
“Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently, I think it was a mistake, because it seems to suggest that’s an okay thing to do, ” Graham said. “I don’t like the idea of bailing people out of jail or pardoning people who burn down cities and beat up cops, whether you’re a Republican or Democrat.”
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