Nicholas Sarwark
In response to proposed articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, Libertarian National Committee Chair Nicholas Sarwark released the following statement:
It’s time for Congress to tell the President, “You’re Fired!”
With the conclusion of the House impeachment inquiry, the House of Representatives will consider two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. As Chairman of the Libertarian Party, I urge the House to approve the articles of impeachment and send them to the Senate for a trial. This will start the process of telling the president those words he’s so familiar with, “You’re fired!”
The Libertarian position on impeachment is unfettered by the tribal bickering between the Republicans and Democrats, trying to figure out what the political ramifications will be, rather than applying the Constitution. Our party has not yet elected a president. Most presidents, like this one, offer a few good policies and actions, offset by many policies and actions that work contrary to our goal of a country where peaceful people are free to pursue happiness in whatever way they choose. Like the plurality of Americans who don’t identify with a political party, we are not on Team Red or Team Blue, but we are hurt by the bad policies of both.
That’s why the Congress should impeach and remove the current president. He has shown disrespect for the Constitution, spending money without congressional approval, sending troops into war without a congressional declaration, and refusing to cooperate with congressional requests and subpoenas. The president must be removed because Congress needs to exercise their power as a separate branch of government to chastise this president and warn future presidents not to abuse the power of the office.
Impeachment is not a criminal trial. Nobody can be sent to jail for a single day from an impeachment, nor can they be ordered to pay any fine. The only penalty available is removal from office and a prohibition on holding future federal office. If the president is removed, it does not overturn his policy agenda, it just puts the vice president in charge for the rest of the term. What impeachment does is say that the president, regardless of his political party, is expected to use the office for the benefit of the American people, not for himself. We expect him to obey the laws, like the Impoundment Control Act, not to routinely violate them and then attempt to cover up the violations.
Libertarians would remove many powers that the president and Congress have, but that does not mean that Libertarians should stand silent when those existing powers are abused and exercised in a corrupt manner. This is not an issue of policy disagreement or personal animosity. When someone doesn’t have the ability to do the job properly, they need to be fired.
