Is it an impeachable offense for a president to resist impeachment? House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff told CNN last week that White House officials' refusal to testify in his committee's impeachment probe could lead to "Obstruction of Congress" charges against President Trump.
The Constitution authorized the House to impeach the president if it has evidence of "High crimes and misdemeanors," but it does not require the president, who heads an equal branch of government, to cooperate in gathering such evidence.
Although the Supreme Court unanimously rejected an assertion of executive privilege for all presidential communications in U.S. v. Nixon, it "Unmistakably implied," according to the OLC memo, "That the President does enjoy an absolute state secrets privilege."
The privilege for communications with the small group of senior White House staff who are the president's immediate advisers is equally well-grounded.
The privilege is premised on the Constitution's separation of powers: "The President is a separate branch of government," a 1982 OLC memo put it.
Ultimately, the courts must determine whether the president may invoke these privileges and whether his advisers must comply with the Intelligence Committee's demands.
Under Mr. Schiff's legal theory of what constitutes an impeachable offense, the House must demonstrate that the president has engaged in quid pro quo conduct vis-à-vis Ukraine, where U.S. military aid was allegedly withheld to secure cooperation in investigating Hunter Biden's association with Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy company.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/schiffs-obstruction-theory-11573776120?mod=hp_opin_pos_3
The Constitution authorized the House to impeach the president if it has evidence of "High crimes and misdemeanors," but it does not require the president, who heads an equal branch of government, to cooperate in gathering such evidence.
Although the Supreme Court unanimously rejected an assertion of executive privilege for all presidential communications in U.S. v. Nixon, it "Unmistakably implied," according to the OLC memo, "That the President does enjoy an absolute state secrets privilege."
The privilege for communications with the small group of senior White House staff who are the president's immediate advisers is equally well-grounded.
The privilege is premised on the Constitution's separation of powers: "The President is a separate branch of government," a 1982 OLC memo put it.
Ultimately, the courts must determine whether the president may invoke these privileges and whether his advisers must comply with the Intelligence Committee's demands.
Under Mr. Schiff's legal theory of what constitutes an impeachable offense, the House must demonstrate that the president has engaged in quid pro quo conduct vis-à-vis Ukraine, where U.S. military aid was allegedly withheld to secure cooperation in investigating Hunter Biden's association with Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy company.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/schiffs-obstruction-theory-11573776120?mod=hp_opin_pos_3
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