Rumblings about impeachment haven’t been this loud since 1998, when President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives for lying under oath and obstruction of justice. In the history of the United States, only two presidents have been impeached, Johnson in 1868 and Clinton 130 years later. 

Now, Democrats are poised to have Trump be the third president to be impeached. Without a formal vote, they have opened an impeachment inquiry following a whistleblower complaint about President Trump’s phone call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Democrats allege that in the phone call, Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine unless the country investigated Hunter Biden, the son of the former vice president and current Democratic front-runner, Joe Biden. Hunter was previously under investigation by a Ukranian prosecutor who was mysteriously fired in 2016. 

With Congress back in session following a brief recess, House Democrats will seriously look into the whistleblower report that started this new election interference saga, with arguably very little evidence to base an investigation with other than a phone call that neither incriminates or exonerates the president. 

Impeachment is an extremely divisive process, yet polls show how divided many Americans are on the issue. This includes the Democratic base, of which a shocking 70% support impeachment. Independents, a group of Americans that must be won over for any party to win an election, are mainly opposed or unsure about impeachment. Despite this, the Democratic Party is determined to move full-steam ahead with impeachment, though it might create an even greater divide between the left and right. 

The problem is, Democrats have very little evidence to base their inquiry on. The whistleblower complaint does not prove anything, as shown by House Intelligence Committee Leader Adam Schiff (CA-28), who also allegedly worked in cahoots with the whistleblower before the information about the initial report came to light. In the committee hearing with Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, Schiff parodied some of what the transcript says for his own political benefit including saying, “I have a favor I want from you,” Schiff said while appearing to read from a paper. “And I’m going to say this only seven times, so you better listen good. I want you to make up dirt on my political opponent, understand? Lots of it, on this and on that.” None of this is even remotely close to what the transcript says and by doing this, Schiff is attempting to mislead the American people and gain support within the mainstream media.

The evidence made public so far is vague, but does not exonerate or incriminate the president. If evidence needs to be pariodied or worded entirely differently, it has no business being at the center of an impeachment inquiry. Any evidence of a quid pro quo is scarce at best up until this point, barring any new evidence obtained by Congress following a subpoena of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani as well as other key administration officials. 

With the current set of evidence, the only way Democrats have conjured up the idea of Trump withholding Ukranian aid is based on their view of the president who they clearly are not fond of. Impeachment is too serious of a process for it to be based solely on hearsay and poorly understood transcripts. Having said that, though, if the Trump administration has nothing to hide, then it should be no issue to let the impeachment inquiry proceed and make its way to a Republican majority in the Senate where it is highly unlikely that President Trump would be removed from office. For Trump, letting the process play out if there is no wrongdoing can be considered a reputation booster that would no doubt help him in the 2020 elections.

The game Democrats are playing is lazy. If Trump truly did something that warrants him being accused of a high crime or misdemeanor as highlighted by the constitution, then Democrats and Republicans should come together and do the right thing and protect the Constitution as they swore to do. However, that’s not the case we have here. What we do have though is explicit admission by former Vice President and current Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden who admitted to withholding aid to Ukraine unless they got rid of the prosecutor who just happened to be investigating his son Hunter, in 2016. Now, while this can’t be directly tied to why the prosecutor was fired, it is suspicious that of all the corrupt officials in Ukraine, Biden chose to go after a prosecutor as opposed to those who supported previous corrupt presidents like Igor Shchepotin. Worse for Biden, he himself has been connected to working with the anonymous whistleblower, which significantly damages his credibility as a candidate. 

Having said all this, the entire Ukraine saga that has developed over the last number of weeks is extremely concerning. Quid pro quo aside, the American people have watched our president directly ask numerous countries to investigate his top political opponent. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, this is a very pressing issue that undermines our electorate and the sanctity of our vote. The president above all needs to realize that it is his duty to carry out the will of the electorate and let the election results speak for themselves without any solicitation of aid from foreign countries. 

This Ukraine situation proves that politics is dirty on both sides. Even if Trump manages to stave off any impeachment or removal, even still, it might just be best if he does not win a second term. Republicans of course do not want to see this become the reality. However, the controversy started by this administration has done this country more harm than good. For Republicans, this inquiry, if it proves something at all, should be reason to look at the 2020 ballot and make a decision that would be wise for the country, not just wise for the party. 

No matter what happens, whatever new evidence comes to light that favors or incriminates the president, Americans are sure to face a bumpy ride ahead that will test our strength and will as a nation to stand up for our values and our Constitution.