From LA Progressive
In less than two weeks, a petition calling for Congress to censure President Donald Trump for misconduct and misdeeds has attracted more than 14,500 signatures.
One of the initiators of the petition is Richard Painter, a life-long Republican, professor of corporate law at the University of Minnesota, and chief White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush between 2005 and 2007. Discussing the petition, Painter said:
"The Constitution of the United States protects every citizen's right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. And Congress has the right to censure its own members as well as presidents. The behavior of President Trump in his first six months in office, as specified in our Petition, clearly warrants his immediate censure by Congress. I urge our fellow citizens to join us in our effort, and I implore every member of Congress to exercise his or her authority to censure President Trump for his gross misconduct in office as specified in our Petition."
A growing number of other prominent Americans have endorsed the petition, including former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, legal and human rights scholar and Tufts University Professor John Shattuck, political theorist Michael Walzer, and attorney and writer Richard North Patterson.
The petition, which can be found on its website, asks both the Senate and the House of Representatives to censure Trump and sets forth a description of misconduct and misdeeds that have occurred since Trump's inauguration, including:
- Firing FBI Director James Comey for his refusal to terminate the FBI's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election and his investigation of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn;
- Disclosing classified information to Russian representatives in the Oval Office on May 10, 2017;
- Disgracing the Office of President by repeatedly and knowingly making false statements to the press and public;
- Wrongfully admonishing Attorney General Sessions for recusing himself from the Russian election interference investigation;
- Continuing to receive profits and Emoluments from foreign governments in violation of Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitution;
- Ridiculing women on the basis of their looks and insinuating that they lack intelligence;
- Withdrawing from the Paris climate accords;
- Refusing to release his income tax returns;
- Defending the improper effort by his son, son-in-law and Campaign Chairman to obtain damaging information from Russian sources about Hillary Clinton.
The petitioners plan to collect more signatures and then present them to every member of Congress for appropriate action.
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