Tuesday was a watershed day for those following the Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. elections. In Alexandria, VA Donald Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, was
convicted of 8 out of the 18 counts of financial fraud for which he was on trial while in Manhattan, NY Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's personal lawyer, pleaded guilty to eight felony counts of campaign finance violations. Both cases involve men very close to President Trump. If there was collusion with Russia, Paul Manafort is someone with the connections in Russia to have made that happen. Michael Cohen's guilty plea contradicts everything the President has hitherto said about his own involvement in paying hush money to the two women who have claimed to have had affairs with him. Why was Michael Cohen's paying money to these two women a crime? According to
The Atlantic, "Federal law limits donations to campaigns to $2,700 per election. Cohen's payments to the women qualify as in-kind donations, and far exceed those limits." These two courtroom events bring the investigation closer to President Trump. However, as it is long-standing Justice Department policy to not indict a sitting president, it will take a Senate impeachment and removal from office, or else the end of Trump's term for us to know just how close.
Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh has written that he does not believe that sitting presidents should be investigated, that the investigation should wait until the president is no longer in office so that the president is not distracted from the business of governing. The jail sentences of Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort would not have happened without the Mueller investigation. Think beyond our current president, do you think that presidents should be investigated while in office? How are the American people benefitted by your position?
I believe that presidents can be investigated while they're in office. I don't agree with Kavanaugh in that presidents shouldn't be investigated because it "distracts" them. First of all, I just feel like that delays the process even more and second, investigations do take up time but so do a lot of other duties the president must fulfill. It just doesn't seem right if the president isn't held to the same standards as everyone else. Just because they hold the title of president shouldn't mean they should be protected from being investigated no matter how "irrelevant" the case seems. The American people can benefit from my position because any findings from having investigated a president can contribute to public safety and reveal important information to the public that wouldn't have surfaced if the president wasn't investigated.
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ReplyDeleteRegardless of their title, presidents should be investigated while in office and should be held accountable for their actions as every citizen is. If the investigation distracts the president from the business of governing then maybe it would be in the citizens' favor to elect a president that is not in need of investigating. The American people could be benefited by my position because investigations often uncover vital information that could be useful to the public.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Kavanaugh. I feel like if a president has nothing to hide then they shouldn't be distracted anyway. Also, why not have there be an investigation for all presidential nominees before even becoming president. I feel this would be a good a good compromise for Kavanaugh if he is so apposed to there being an investigation of a president in office. It should be known by American citizens any past crimes or such that a potential leader has, as this would greatly affect people's views and support.
ReplyDeleteThat was me from the wrong account^^^
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Kavanaugh. I feel like if a president has nothing to hide then they shouldn't be distracted anyway. Also, why not have there be an investigation for all presidential nominees before even becoming president. I feel this would be a good a good compromise for Kavanaugh if he is so apposed to there being an investigation of a president in office. It should be known by American citizens any past crimes or such that a potential leader has, as this would greatly affect people's views and support.
The president should be investigated in office, because a fundamental part of our democracy is too keep the one's with power in check. We, as citizens of America, are given the right to vote so that the government is there for the people. If the president, the person that represents America the most, cannot be open about his doings, how do we know he is someone we can trust and keep? I feel like every citizen should think critically of the president. Yes, the president may be distracted with investigations, but what harm can he bring to us if we just let him be and not stop him when we sense something is wrong. Donald Trump's past words aren't lining up with what is happening right now, and I think it is important that we get to the end of this.
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ReplyDeleteI think the president should be investigated even while in office since all the decision the president makes will affect the entire country. If the president is indeed involved in issues so sensitive - like the one president Trump is involved in - then the intentions behind his/her decisions could be questionable. If the president is investigated after their term in office, the effect of those decisions can’t be redone. After all, our democracy gives us the right to keep those with power in check.
ReplyDeleteThe president should be open to investigation because I believe part of the president's job is to ensure the country (and it's people) safety and security. I disagree with Kavanaugh because if the president is doing something that warrants concerns over these matters, then the investigation will actually add to the business of governing. Furthermore, the American people voted for the president under the assumption he would not partake in these types of behaviors. If the investigation finds evidence of that, the American people have a right to know what their president is doing. For example, if we look into the past, Nixon’s Watergate investigation showed the misdoings of the president. We are supposed to learn from our mistakes, so if we do not hold the president under suspicion and investigate when there are concerns, we will not have learned from the past.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Brett Kavanaugh is a hypocritical puppet who is clearly biased towards his own political party. In 1998, when Clinton was being investigated for his affair with Lewinski, Kavanaugh stated that he was "strongly opposed to giving Clinton any break" on questions regarding the investigation. In 2018, he has completely flipped his opinion regarding criminal investigations concerning the sitting President (Trump). I find it hard to believe that Kavanaugh will be an impartial, unbiased Supreme Court Justice considering how easily he changes his opinions to suit his and his party's needs.
ReplyDeletePresident Trump should definitely be investigated as should all presidents if there is any suspicion of their qualification as president. Regardless of whether that president is office or not it is vital that our president is one we can trust. If the case is not resolved as soon as possible, the tension between the American people and the president would remain.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, Kavanaugh's argument on opposing investigations of the President contains a critical loophole. If the President fails to prove himself under such investigation, then his qualification of governing is apparently limited. Set aside Kavanaugh, the significance of the investigation lies not only on exposing the President's illegitimate actions, if there is any, but rather on endowing the right to know for the public. The transparency of the government is what truly matters to the American citizenry.
ReplyDeleteI think any president in office should be investigated if deemed necessary. There would be no reason to be distracted if the president is honest and transparent about what they do. There would be no need to investigate Trump if there wasn't any suspicion around him, but there is. Everyday citizens are investigated if they are accused of something suspicious that they did so why should it be different for the president? The American people have a right to know what's going on with the person leading their country. If we want a relationship built on trust between the citizens and government, there has to be honesty and transparency.
ReplyDelete-Shirley Lee
DeleteI believe that presidents should be investigated. Presidents would not be distracted by the investigations in the first place if they did not do anything suspicious. It does not make sense for the investigations to be conducted after the president's term. Especially if they are guilty anyway. Then it should not matter when the investigation occurs. What matters is that the president is living up to their qualification as president. The American people want to know if they can trust the government and the president.
ReplyDelete-justin leung
DeleteI think that the president should be investigated if something suspicious is happening because we have the right to know if something was occurring without our knowledge. If we have a fair and honest leader, there would be no need to consider such investigations. As citizens, we should have every right to know what is happening in politics and what our leader is doing for our country.
ReplyDeleteI believe we should be able to investigate the president while he's in office. If we delay from investigation until the president's out of office, it may do more harm than good. The president is supposedly the head of the US Government. The US Government is OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people. The US Government is not for anyone's personal agenda. If that ever starts to become unclear and when people start wondering "what is our president doing" something isn't right. No one is above the law, and the president is not an exception.
ReplyDeleteI believe the president should be investigated during office because we have a right to know what’s happening in our government. The president represents our country to the world and if he’s deemed untrustworthy it will make the United States seem dishonest as well. I think investigating the president after office is too late because if he’s found guilty he would’ve already made decisions that could change the course of history and these decisions can be hard to reverse.
ReplyDeleteAmber
DeletePresidents should be investigated while in office because they might be doing wrong and no one would know which would greatly affect the future of the US and communities. The American people wouldn't benefit a lot from me because I'm not interested in our government.
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