WATCHING political developments in the United States (US) is both instructive and fascinating. As President Trump travels to the Middle East and Europe in a five-country trip, hometown critics keep bashing him for the many blunders he has committed; among them the court rejected Muslim travel ban and the failed repeal of the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. He is also being criticized for the complete reversal of his position on various issues relating to domestic and international affairs.
But arguably the most serious of these is the firing of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey who was then in the midst of investigating the alleged collusion of Trump’s 2016 campaign with Russia. Earlier, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned because of increasing evidence of his connection to foreign governments, including Russia, which started even before he joined the Trump campaign.
Liberal commentators have floated the possibility of Trump being impeached and they cited the firing of Comey as being equivalent to obstruction of justice since the FBI was investigating the connection of the US president to Vladimir Putin’s government. It did not help Trump any that he hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergei Lislyak in the White House and the Commander-in-Chief may have shared classified information with them. He may have also made incriminating statements to the Russian duo regarding Comey’s firing, details of which will come to light when the former director testifies in open session before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Impeachment is a complicated process that is initiated in the House of Representatives and decided in the Senate. Once started, impeaching the president can include examination of almost anything ranging from obstruction of justice to conflict of interest, and even Trump’s competence as US president.
With the Republicans completely in control of both houses of Congress, impeachment seems technically unlikely. But as more information regarding Trump’s wild management and decision-making habits, personal financial interests, not to mention the self-destructive Tweets he sends out and the war he has waged against media, anything can happen. Under pressure from Democrats in the House, the media, and the American people, Republicans may put the US nation’s interest above partisan politics and do the unthinkable. Particularly vulnerable are those facing the ballot in mid-term elections in 2018.
The impeachment process in the US is generally similar to that in the Philippine setting. Coincidentally, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been described as the Donald Trump of Asia and the parallelism of their careers is uncanny.
Just recently, Duterte easily survived an impeachment attempt filed by Magdalo representative Gary Alejano who had the misfortune of being publicly berated by Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas for submitting a case containing allegations without his personal knowledge.
The effort to oust Duterte because of alleged killings, corruption, and other illegal acts was doomed from the very beginning as the president holds a supermajority in both houses of the Philippine Congress. As the lawmakers are considered the people’s representatives in governance they act in accordance with the public sentiment and since Duterte’s popularity is still way above the threshold, none of the members of the ruling coalition broke ranks.
The fortunes of then President Joseph Estrada, enormously popular as the president of the masses, was the exact opposite when he was impeached in 2000 on charges of bribery and corruption. His erstwhile allies in the House of Representatives turned against him because of pressure from the public and big business as the Philippine peso and stocks plunged and the economy floundered as the process began. He was tried in the Senate but the trial did not end conclusively as prosecutors walked out when crucial evidence was not admitted by the impeachment court. This led to a mass protest dubbed Edsa 2 that extra-legally forced Estrada out of office.
Then Vice President Gloria Arroyo took over and went on to win another term in a highly controversial election that incidentally saw allegation of massive cheating.
The future of the Trump presidency is in the balance as evidence proving acts detrimental to the interest of the American nation and people pile up. There will come a time when his allies in Congress will make the hard choice of putting aside party loyalty in favor of the greater benefit of their country. As the approval rating of Trump among the electorate continues to slide, Republicans are no doubt weighing their options. It’s their political survival or Trump’s presidency and the truth that is at stake.