Harvard Law professor John Coates said President Trump has shot himself in the leg by claiming on Twitter that there will be civil war if Democrats succeed in removing him from office. The president had quoted a Southern Baptist pastor, Robert Jeffress, who claimed during a media interview that there will be trouble if the president is impeached over his engagement with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
“If the Democrats are successful in removing the President from office (which they will never be), it will cause a Civil War like a fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal,” Trump tweeted on Sunday night.
While people across the US want Twitter to ban Trump for his inflammatory remarks, the micro-blogging platform said the president’s words have not violated its terms and conditions.
Thousands of people across the country hit back at the president following the tweet, saying he was arrogant and self-conceited. Professor Coates said the law provides for his impeachment based on such a statement.
“This tweet is itself an independent basis for impeachment – a sitting president threatening civil war if Congress exercises its constitutionally authorized power,” Coates tweeted on Monday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for an impeachment inquiry when a whistleblower reported that Trump pressurized President Volodymyr Zelensky on phone to investigate former Vice-President Joe Biden, a top 2020 presidential candidate, and his son Hunter Biden.
The whistleblower complained that Trump used “the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 US election.” Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and Attorney General William Barr, were implicated by the whistleblower in the complaint.
Following Speaker Pelosi’s call for an inquiry, insiders said up to 218 lawmakers – the actual number of votes required to impeach Trump – want more action on the impeachment proceeding. Independent Representative Justin Amash and 217 reportedly want the impeachment inquiry to proceed to its legal conclusion.
Since the House is proceeding with the impeachment inquiry, it is left to them to decide on impeaching the president after the conclusion of their inquiry. If lawmakers proceed with impeachment, Republican representatives will either exonerate Trump or agree to his removal from office.
Civil war in Africa and anywhere in the world is not something to desire.
