Will Trump Be Impeached? 4 Grounds For President To Be Ousted, Courtesy Clinton’s Labor Secretary

President Donald Trump has been at the receiving end of criticism for many of the steps he has taken less than two months after entering office and, according to former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, these may be enough to bolster efforts to impeach the president.

Reich, who served under Bill Clinton’s administration, posted the reasons on Twitter, adding, “By my count, there are now four grounds to impeach Trump. The fifth seems to be on its way.”

A professor of public policy at University of California, Berkeley’s Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy, Reich has been critical of Trump before and after the election, listing out grounds on which the president could face impeachment.

Read: Hawaii Becomes The First State To Challenge President Donald Trump’s New Travel Ban

Reich’s first attack was on Trump’s accusatory remarks against former President Barack Obama, who he accused of wiretapping him — “an illegal (and impeachable) act” — before the presidential elections. The second ground listed by the former official was the possibility that Trump may be making money for his private ventures using his position as president.

Reich also mentioned Trump’s travel ban on citizens from six Muslim-majority nations, “which he initiated, advocated for, and oversees,” and his repeated attacks on the freedom of press as grounds for impeachment.

The fifth reason listed by Reich is the Trump administration’s alleged links to Russia, the country that — according to U.S. intelligence agencies — attempted to influence the result of the 2016 elections that got Trump elected as president.

Reich, however, does mention that impeachment is only possible if the “political will” exists, adding that it is currently absent because of the Republican control over the House of Representatives, where a motion for impeachment originates.

Read the full post below:

1. In taking the oath of office, a president promises to “faithfully” execute the laws and the Constitution. But Trump is “unfaithfully” executing his duties as president by accusing his predecessor, President Obama, of undertaking an illegal (and impeachable) act.

2. Article I Section 9 of the Constitution forbids government officials from taking things of value from foreign governments. But Trump is making big money off his Trump International Hotel by steering foreign diplomatic delegations to it, and will make a bundle off China’s recent decision to grant his trademark applications for the Trump brand — decisions Chinese authorities arrived at directly because of decisions Trump has made as president.

3. The 1^st Amendment to the Constitution bar and law “respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” But Trump’s ban on travel into the U.S. from six Muslim countries — which he initiated, advocated for, and oversees — violates that provision.

4. The 1^st Amendment also bars “abridging the freedom…of the press.” But Trump’s labeling the press the “enemy of the people” and choosing whom he invites to news conferences based on whether they’ve given him favorable coverage, violates this provision.

5. Article III Section 3 of the Constitution defines “treason against the United States” as “adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.” Evidence is mounting that Trump colluded with Russian operatives to win the 2016 presidential election.

The question is no longer whether there are grounds to impeach Trump. The practical question is whether there is the political will. As long as Republicans remain in the majority in the House (where a bill of impeachment originates), it’s unlikely.

Another reason why it’s critically important to flip the House in 2018.