Bribery Should be a Charge

   To me, the House Judicial Committee should have charged the president with bribery. They err by not doing so. The Constitution is specific. It calls for impeachment. It says if the president commits bribery, he shall be removed from office by impeachment.
  We revere the Second Amendment, but do not feel compelled to live by Article II, Section 4? If we honor this great document -- the Constitution -- then if it says the president shall be impeached and removed from office for bribery, then we impeach him and remove him from office if he commits bribery.
   Did the president commit bribery? Was it he, himself, or others who speak for him who have said there was no quid pro quo? They didn't have quid pro quo back when the Constitution was written, so that doesn't matter. By making that it wasn't quid pro quo your defense is somewhat of an admission that something was going on.
    And, the money was held back. Does anyone deny this? I believe it is well documented. Yes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did deny that he was aware the money was held back. I will only wonder how much sense that makes. You are president of the country. You need the $400 million and it isn't coming, and no one bothers to tell you? Somehow, you are unaware? Zelensky can say he wasn't aware, but, no, I'm not quick to buy that.
  So, you get on the phone and talk to President Trump. He says he wants you to do a favor for him. He wants you to look into a situation that connects to a political rival of his, Joe Biden. What he is asking for amounts to seeking dirt. He is holding back taxpayer money in exchange for dirt on a political opponent he might face in the upcoming election.
   How is that not wrong? How is that not bribery?
   Yes, a lot of things can be called "bribery." You can tell your kids you will give them candy if they will go to bed. The word can, indeed, be used to call that bribery. But, be mindful that even with that said, it remains the founding fathers specified that the president shall be removed from office if he commits bribery. What did they have in mind? If a president were to withhold taxpayer money in exchange for dirt on a political opponent, would that qualify?
   I believe it would.