All presidents have one element that distinguishes them from all their predecessors, but Donald Trump's case seems to be different. For a part of the opinion, Trump lacks the right that the rest of the citizens of the United States have to be president. And, in particular, for a part of the Democratic Party and the federal administrative structure (which Trump calls the 'deep state'), any measure is good against the businessman and politician.
The FBI has searched Donald Trump's Florida residence. According to progressive lawyer Alan Dershowitz, the measure must be very well grounded, because it should be a last resort. "A search is not made unless all other remedies have been exhausted, unless it is believed that the person searched will destroy the evidence." Dershowitz laments that "this Administration has used the justice system as a weapon against political enemies," and believes that "the presumption is still valid, but it only applies in theory, not in practice." The Republican Party sees the FBI's actions as typical of "a banana republic".
The full circumstances behind the FBI's action are not yet known, so it is too early to see whether it is politically motivated, or whether it is a misuse of the partisan system. But it would not be the first political operation against the former president without sufficient motivation.
Preventive impeachment
Calls for the impeachment of Donald Trump occurred from the very day of the presidential election. On November 11, 2016, three days after the election, The Washington Post published an article in which historian Allan J. Lichtman predicted that Trump would be impeached during his term, without being able to advance the reason.
John Lewis (D-Georgia), already knew Trump was an "illegitimate president" before he was sworn in. On January 16, Daily Kos published an article by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship previewing a recusal.
Müller: FBI again
In May 2017, U.S. Attorney Robert Mueller, who served as FBI director from 2001 to 2013, launched an investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. The investigation was based on the FBI's belief that Trump's contacts with Russians had led to the Putin regime's interference in the election to favor Trump over candidate Hillary Clinton.
But 675 days, $25 million, 40 FBI agents, half a thousand interviews, nearly 3,000 subpoenas and 500 court orders later, the famous Müller Report concluded that there was no collusion whatsoever between Donald Trump and his team and the Russian government. After two years of investigation, the only thing the report proved is that the investigation should never have taken place.
Attorney Cohen
In January 2019, another accusation was launched against Donald Trump that came to nothing. This time it has the virtue that the FBI is not involved. He was then accused of wanting to force Michael Cohen, his lawyer, to lie in court. The objective would be to cover up that he tried to do business with the construction of a tower in Moscow. Cohen was convicted of lying to Congress, but again the Müller report refused to claim that Trump had forced him to lie. The prosecutor then said that it should be up to Congress to decide the issue, but again it was not resolved against the president.
First impeachment process
If some asked for a preventive recusal, others at least waited until his first day in the Oval Office to request it. That said, it didn't take long. It was not Russia that prompted the articles of impeachment to be registered in Congress, but its neighbor Ukraine. The origin of this issue is in the presidency of Barack Obama. Then Vice President Joe Biden made some startling statements. His son Hunter was under investigation by a prosecutor in Ukraine for a local corruption matter.
What has been proven is that Biden was on the board of directors of thee Burisma, a gas company, since 2014. His father had been vice-president since 2008, so many pointed out that there could be a conflict of interest. In fact, Joe Biden said that on a visit to the country he said, "I looked at them." (to the then president and vice-president) "And I told them, 'I'm leaving in six hours. If you don't fire the prosecutor, you don't get the money.'"
The prosecutor was investigating Hunter's actions, and "the money" refers to $1 billion in federal government aid to Ukraine. "Well, you son of a bitch. He was fired. And they put someone else in his place."
Investigating Biden's corruption
With this background, and following these statements, Donald Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani sought compromising information from the paternal-filial tandem Biden to see if they could present to public opinion an argument to discredit the political rival. Giuliani even pressured President Zelenski to come forward with compromising information against Hunter. These events prompted Trump's first impeachment proceedings.
The process forced the president to publish his taxes, and he was eventually charged with abuse of power and obstruction of justice. The Democratic-majority House of Representatives calls for Trump's impeachment. The matter went to the Senate, which voted to acquit him on the first charge by 52 votes to 48, and on the second by 53 votes to 47.
Second impeachment
On February 9, 2021, when Donald Trump was former president of the United States, the second challenge against him for inciting rebellion against the process of proclaiming the new president was initiated, amid accusations of electoral fraud. The process seeks to hold him responsible for the assault on the Capitol. The process is still ongoing, and has not yet reached the Senate. In any case, the claim that there was a coordinated attempt to storm the Capitol is in question.
