Lynn N. Rivers: “I do not approve of nor defend, the behavior of the president that has brought us here. I have no interest in helping…”

“I do not approve of nor defend, the behavior of the president that has brought us here. I have no interest in helping him avoid the legal consequences of those acts. However, I have every interest in making sure those consequences are constitutional. The constitution tells us a President can only be impeached and removed by Congress for treason, bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors. The founding fathers were clear that the careful balance of powers between the branches could be altered in only the most extraordinary circumstances. Alexander Hamilton in The Federalist #65 argued that impeachment is meant to address "the misconduct of public men," "the violation of some public trust," or "to address injuries done immediately to the society itself." Wooddeson, a legal scholar whose writings in 1777 were nearly contemporaneous with the drafting of the constitution, and whose views on English impeachment provided the foundation for much of the impeachment discussion in Jefferson's Manual spoke to the use of impeachment to prosecute "magistrates and officers instrusted with the administration of public affairs [who] abuse their delegated powers to the extension detriment of the community, and. . . in a manner not properly cognizable before ordinary tribunals." The standards set forth by the founding fathers remain vital and immutable--we are not free to add to the list of impeachable offenses, no matter how worthy our additions.…”