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◼ AGENDA
● Trumpbehavesabominably,butimpeachmentis a
seriousprocessandshouldn’tbepoliticsasusual◼BLOOMBERGOPINIONWrittenbytheBloombergOpinioneditorialboard ILLUSTRATIONBYARNEBELLSTORFHouseSpeakerNancyPelosi’sdecisiontoopena formal
impeachmentinquiryis a momentousstep.Withoutsome
caution,it couldalsobea perilousoneforAmericandemoc-
racy.Theimpetuswasa whistleblowercomplaintbya U.S.
intelligenceofficialthatallegesmisconductbythepres-
ident.Trump’sadministrationtrieditsbesttopreventthe
fullcomplaint from being shared with Congress, which
Pelosi said was the last straw. As the details of the case have
emerged, it’s become evident why the president wanted to
suppress them: They show a flagrant abuse of power.
In July, Trump had a phone call with Ukraine President
Volodymyr Zelenskiy. According to the complaint, Trump
attempted to cajole his newly elected counterpart into digging
up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump’s chief rival
in the 2020 election, in an effort to help his reelection bid.
In fact, the whistleblower described the call as part of a
pattern and even detailed efforts within the White House to
“lock down” records of the conversation, suggesting that offi-
cials knew full well it was improper. The inspector general
for the intelligence community agreed: He thought such con-
duct could amount to a “serious or flagrant” abuse under the
applicable statute and might even expose the president “toProceed With Caution
serious national security and counterintelligence risks.”
More facts are still needed. Unfortunately, though, this
incident isn’t all that surprising. It’s of a piece with how
Trump has conducted himself throughout his presidency.
He has abused his power, degraded his office, obstructed
justice, undermined the Constitution, impeded legitimate
oversight, defied court rulings, enriched his family on the
public dime, ignored inconvenient laws, asserted nonexis-
tent privileges, and declared spurious emergencies to justify
his whims. At times, it’s as if he’s begging to be impeached.
As Democrats go down this road, they must focus on legiti-
mate grievances and proceed with caution. They shouldn’t let
their inquiry devolve into a partisan circus. That means they
must avoid grandstanding, resist delving into unrelated contro-
versies, and establish evidence of clear wrongdoing that both
parties will be able to oppose. Democrats on the campaign trail
should show restraint and let Congress do its work. The Biden
end of the story, too, shouldn’t remain immune from scrutiny.
Republicans, for their part, should be willing to follow pro-
cedural norms, accept facts, and uphold their principles of
executive restraint and rule of law. If they oppose impeach-
ment, they should be able to defend the president’s actions on
the merits, not resort to conspiracy theories.
All this may sound like a tall order. But the framers of the
Constitution never intended impeachment to be a tool for
scoring partisan points or sending a message to the president.
It’s a grave measure meant to secure his ouster. Much more is
at stake than politics. <BW>The Trump administration plans to host Vice Premier
Liu He and other senior Chinese officials for trade talks
on Oct. 10 and 11, just days before another threatened
increase in U.S. tariffs on imports from China is due to
take effect.▶ The Federal Open Market
Committee will release
the minutes from its last
meeting on Oct. 9, shedding
light on the logic behind the
latest quarter-point rate cut.▶ Portugal goes to the
polls on Oct. 6. Surveys
give current Prime Minister
Antonio Costa’s Socialist
Party a comfortable lead.▶ The inaugural ANOC
World Beach Games begin
in Doha on Oct. 12. They’ll
feature 1,200 athletes
from 97 nations competing
in 12 sports.▶ The 40th annual Oil
& Money conference, in
London Oct. 8-10, will focus
on climate change and
energy transition strategies.▶ Finance Minister Lim
Guan Eng presents
Malaysia’s 2020 budget
on Oct. 11. as he tries to
insulate the country from
the trade war’s impact.▶ The annual RM Auctions
sale of classic cars at
Pennsylvania’s Hershey
Lodge starts on Oct. 9. One
of this year’s 337 lots is a
1931 Marmon Sixteen.▶ Trade War Opponents Meet Again
Bloomberg Businessweek October 7, 2019