National Security In The 'Age Of Impeachment' - WBUR

National security and the impeachment trial of President Trump. The president’s defense team says calling witnesses could compromise national security. House managers say it’s the president who’s the threat.

Guests

Barbara McQuade, law professor at the University of Michigan. (@BarbMcQuade)

Susan Hennessey, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. (@Susan_Hennessey)

From The Reading List

Foreign Policy: "Ukraine's Tragic Disappearance in the Fog of Impeachment" — "Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly posed a rhetorical question to an NPR reporter: 'Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?' By scheduling his own visit to Ukraine on Friday, Jan. 31, Pompeo is demonstrating that they should. Indeed, his visit is a timely reminder that this vast European country’s success in overcoming Russian aggression and reforming a corrupt politico-economic system is far more important to the United States than merely serving as a backdrop for U.S. domestic political battles.

"Ukraine is a nation of more than 40 million people, the largest country geographically that is fully within Europe, a potential agricultural and economic powerhouse, a barometer of the possibilities for success among other former Soviet states, and a country whose people share American values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and rule of law and who seek security in an existentially difficult environment. Ukraine’s success—as a reforming democracy, a future member of trans-Atlantic institutions, and a bulwark against Russian aggression—is therefore of immense national security importance to the United States. If the United States can stop and reverse Russian aggression in Ukraine, it can prevent it elsewhere—including against existing NATO allies, which the United States is obliged to protect.

"If Ukraine, the cradle of Slavic civilization predating Moscow, succeeds as a freedom-loving, prosperous, and secure democracy, it gives the world enormous hope that Russia itself can one day change. Just imagine if one day—instead of spending massive resources to defend itself and its allies against a belligerent Russia—the West can work together with a Russia that is focused on providing a better life for the Russian people. Imagine if Russia were to overcome its current plague of authoritarianism, corruption, aggression toward neighbors, subversion of NATO allies, and opportunistic support for disruptive forces and regimes globally. Amid these threats and opportunities, Ukraine is key."

Just Security: "A National Security Impeachment" — "The Articles of Impeachment voted by the House narrowly claim abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. At this writing, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has committed to hold an impeachment trial. Less clear is whether or how Trump plans to defend. What makes prediction hazardous is that two radically different impeachment processes are unfolding. The Democrats claim that President Trump welcomed foreign interference in the tight 2016 election and, after Special Counsel Robert Mueller declined to charge criminal misconduct, brazenly sought foreign interference to denigrate his 2020 electoral rival.

"When Congress investigated, he stonewalled subpoenas until they became irrelevant. Yet Trump’s base largely embraces the Republican counternarrative: that he is blameless, persecuted, and prevailed in the 2016 presidential election despite the interference of Democrats and corrupt Ukrainians. Each side gambles that its narrative will gain steam, forcing the other side to weaken politically. What this standoff also reveals is a deeper threat to our constitutional system, and a pathway forward for legislators to guard against abuses by this and future presidents.

"... Strangely lost in the impeachment drama has been the Articles’ core message: that 'President Trump used the powers of the Presidency in a manner that [1] compromised the national security of the United States and [2] undermined the integrity of the United States democratic process.' Trump is being impeached not just because he is a bad president, but because he is a glaring national security threat, who has sought to normalize both election insecurity and an extreme form of executive unilateralism."

Time: "House Democrats Try to Convince Senate Republicans Trump Compromised National Security — To No Avail" — "'I have news for everybody,' Mick Mulvaney told the world on Oct. 17, weeks after House Democrats launched a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. 'Get over it. There is going to be political influence in foreign policy.' In pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rival last July, Mulvaney argued, Trump was doing nothing his predecessors hadn’t.

"Democrats strongly disagree, and have based their impeachment case on the idea that Trump’s Ukraine gambit was an offense grave enough to warrant impeachment. Exactly when a foreign policy 'quid pro quo' is politics as usual and when it warrants removal from office was the question at the heart of Democrats’ arguments on Thursday as Trump’s Senate trial continued.

"Democrats have never claimed that Trump is the only President to use the power of his office for reelection. The taxpayer-funded Air Force One has been used for political purposes by both his Republican and Democratic predecessors — and not without controversy. But the Democratic impeachment managers hammered home on Thursday the argument that Trump’s conduct with Ukraine was different because he put his own political interests ahead of national security, compromising the latter for the former."

This program airs on January 29, 2020. Audio will be available after the broadcast.