Rep. Jared Golden is walking a tightrope. A Maine Democrat in a red-leaning district, Golden is trying to balance his constituents’ wishes with his party’s demands, and the result is a split vote on impeachment: One in favor of the first article of impeachment against President Trump, and one against the second article of impeachment.
The first article alleges Trump abused his power; the second, “obstruction of Congress.” The first is a cut-and-dry case, Golden says, but the second is less clear. “Even after looking at the evidence, I think one has to consider that if you think something wrong has been done, you have to weigh heavily whether or not it rises to the level of impeachment,” he said.
Golden’s split vote makes sense politically: His district elected Trump in 2016 by 10 percentage points, and both Republican and Democratic protesters have been camped outside his Maine office for the past few weeks. Though it does seem, as Republican National Committee spokeswoman Nina McLaughlin said, that Golden’s balancing act is nothing more than an attempt “to have his cake and eat it too.”
But Golden’s decision also makes sense in principle. There is sufficient evidence that Trump abused his power by withholding foreign aid from Ukraine, the intent of which was clearly to pressure the Ukrainian government into investigating Joe Biden. Even so, impeachment is not necessarily the solution. Presidents of both parties abuse their power constantly, and the answer is rarely to remove them from office, as the Washington Examiner editorial board has written.
The second charge against Trump, however, does not meet the high standard of “high crimes and misdemeanors” the Constitution has set. “Obstruction of Congress” is not even a crime, and even if it was, the Democrats do not have the evidence to prove Trump committed it. The only evidence the Democrats do have is the White House’s refusal to comply with the House’s subpoenas — a debatable action that must be decided in the courts, though it will likely fall under the broad umbrella of executive privilege.
Impeachment is supposed to be a last resort, and it’s good Golden has enough nuance to recognize this — if only for political reasons.
