Campaign Finance Laws Are Stupid by Jacob G. Hornberger!
(2019-10-04 at 14:47:04 )

Campaign Finance Laws Are Stupid by Jacob G. Hornberger

Let me see if I correctly understand one of the main impeachment arguments against President Trump:

By calling on Ukrainian government officials to conduct an official investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, President Trump supposedly committed an offense under United States campaign finance laws.

That is because an official investigation by a foreign regime against a political opponent can be considered a "benefit" to President Trumps political campaign, not only because it could cause Mr. Biden political difficulty but also because it could possibly turn up political dirt on Mr. Biden.

Since United States campaign finance laws make it illegal for President Trump to solicit a campaign contribution from a foreign regime, the argument goes, he has broken the law and should be removed from office because an official investigation and political dirt would constitute illegal contributions to his campaign.

That is just plain stupid, for several reasons.

Let us assume that the day before Mr. Biden announced that he was running for president, President Trump called on Ukraine to investigate Mr. Biden for official corruption. Would that have been a crime under United States campaign finance law?

I do not see how it could be. Since Mr. Biden would not be a political opponent of President Trump, then how could such an investigation be considered an illegal campaign contribution?

Thus, under the law President Trump could call for a foreign investigation of Mr. Biden during the days, weeks, and months before Mr. Biden announced for the presidency but would have to immediately cease and desist from doing so as soon as Mr. Biden announced his candidacy against him.

That is stupid, especially because all other United States of Americans who were not running against Mr. Biden could continue repeating President Trumps call for such an investigation. It would be only President Trump and all other presidential opponents of Mr. Biden who would have to stop calling for such an investigation.

The First Amendment

It is funny that no one in this controversy addresses a big elephant in this room: The First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Everyone simply assumes that the campaign finance laws enacted by the United States Congress are the supreme law of the land.

That is just not true.

At the risk of belaboring the obvious, the United States Constitution, including its amendments, is superior to legislation enacted by the United States Congress. That means that if Congress campaign finance law violates the Constitution, it is null and void.

The First Amendment states: "Congress shall make no law .. abridging the freedom of speech."

It is hard to get much clearer than that!

When President Trump calls on the Ukraine government to investigate Mr. Biden, is that not a clear-cut case of speech?

After all, President Trump is speaking when he makes the request! The First Amendment says that the United States Congress can make no law abridging the freedom of speech.

If the campaign finance law really criminalizes President Trumps speech requesting Mr. Biden to be investigated, that is not only stupid, it is also unconstitutional.

Some amusement within the controversy

One of the most amusing aspects of this controversy arose in an editorial published yesterday in the Washington Post. Claiming that President Trumps new call that China investigate Mr. Biden as well, the Post writes:

-Mr. Trumps claim that Hunter Biden took "billions of dollars" out of China is even more ludicrous.

Hunter Biden joined the advisory board of an investment fund with Chinese partners, but, his lawyer said, has earned no return or compensation.

Well, if Hunter Bidens lawyer says his client is innocent, I guess that settles the matter, right? What more conclusive proof of innocence than a lawyer who says his client is innocent? Let us just shut down all criminal investigations and just rely on what peoples lawyers say.

But that is not the only amusing aspect of the Posts editorial. It also states:

-If there were actual evidence of wrongdoing in these relationships, it should be investigated not by foreign authorities but by the Justice Department, which could properly ask other governments for cooperation, if any were needed.

In other words, if Mr. Biden really did engage in acts of political corruption in Ukraine and China, then, according to the Post, the Justice Department could exercise jurisdiction over such crimes.

Hey, why not?

Does the United States Empire not claim worldwide jurisdiction to invade and occupy any country in the world; kidnap, incarcerate, torture, and assassinate anyone in the world; and effect coups and regime-change operations anywhere in the world?

Why should it not also assume jurisdiction over criminal offenses committed in foreign countries?

Another big elephant in the room

Unfortunately, in their blind and desperate attempt to oust President Trump from office without an election, President Trump critics ignore one overriding aspect of this entire controversy: If Vice-President Biden had not been interfering and meddling in the internal affairs of other countries, this controversy would never have arisen.

For some reason, President Trump critics can easily recognize the wrongfulness of interference and meddling by Russian officials in Americas political system but are blindly indifferent to interference and meddling by United States officials in the affairs of other countries.

Impeach but only for the right reasons

Let us impeach President Trump but only for the right reasons: waging illegal and unconstitutional wars that have killed and injured an untold number of people; or assassinating people; or inflicting cruel and unusual punishments on people; or indefinitely detaining people, torturing them, and depriving them of due process of law, trial by jury, speedy trial, and trial by jury.

In the minds of President Trump critics, none of those things warrant impeachment and removal from office because, in their minds, there is nothing wrong with a president who commits such acts.

That is why they have never called for his impeachment for having committed these horrific and illegal acts.

In their minds, calling for a foreign regime to investigate a prominent United States of American Democratic politician who has meddled and interfered in foreign countries and who is now running for president is the grave "crime" that warrants impeachment and removal from office.

Reprinted here with permission from Mr. Jacob G. Hornberger of The Future of Freedom Foundation!! Their Great Website!!