New Delhi: The White House has triggered a constitutional crisis by refusing to cooperate with the on-going impeachment inquiry against US President Donald Trump. With this move, Trump has signalled that his strategy for dealing with the House Democrats-led impeachment would involve “minimum cooperation, maximum confrontation,” states a Politico report.
The impeachment inquiry is attempting to investigate whether military aid to Ukraine was held back by President Trump, in an effort to force it to investigate Trump’s political rival, Joe Biden.
What did the White House say?
White House counsel Pat Cipollone, in a letter addressed to House Majority leader, Nancy Pelosi and the chairs of the three House committees investigating the impeachment, categorically stated that Trump will not participate in the inquiry.
“Your unprecedented actions have left the president with no choice. In order to fulfill his duties to the American people, the Constitution, the executive branch and all future occupants of the office of the presidency, President Trump and his administration cannot participate in your partisan and unconstitutional inquiry under these circumstances,” said Cipollone in the letter.
How have the Democrats reacted?
Trump’s refusal to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry has led to sharp reactions from the top Democratic leadership.
Democrats argue that while the White House’s decision to stonewall the impeachment process might hinder them from interviewing key witnesses, it also “bolsters their list of impeachable offenses, adding the stonewalling of Congress to the tally”.
“The White House should be warned that continued efforts to hide the truth of the president’s abuse of power from the American people will be regarded as further evidence of obstruction,” noted a statement by Pelosi.
What does this mean for the impeachment process?
“The president’s decision to resist across the board is itself a potentially precedent-setting move that could have far-reaching implications for the inquiry,” noted a report in the New York Times.
Anthony Zurcher, North American correspondent for the BBC, writes, “While the White House’s written response to Speaker Nancy Pelosi took eight pages, the message was simple. No depositions. No documents. No co-operation whatsoever.”
According to Democrats, Trump’s failure to comply with demands of information could lead to its own separate article of impeachment.
At the end of the impeachment inquiry, the House Judiciary committee draws one or more articles of impeachment – that list the accusations against the sitting president.
Following this, the House Judiciary Committee and the whole House of Representatives vote on these articles. If even one article achieves a majority vote both in the committee and the House, the president is considered impeached.
What are the options available to the Democrats?
While the Democrats argue that obstruction to the investigation is a legitimate offense, the White House’s refusal to cooperate is a major investigative hassle for the House committees running the probe.
There are a few options available to them, going forward.
“They could attempt to accommodate the White House’s unspecified demands, hoping to encourage its assistance. Or they could try to use the courts to compel the White House to co-operate,” notes Zurcher.
Judicial adjudication over such a politically strife subject is completely “uncharted territory” and no precedent exists for such a situation.
Thus, there is no clarity over how judiciary might weigh in on such a matter – paving way for a possible constitutional crisis.