President Donald Trump’s effort to extort Ukraine by withholding military funding is an impeachable offense. While not necessary to constitute a high crime and misdemeanor under the Constitution, the way Trump withheld the aid was also illegal, as it violated the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA).
While violations of the ICA do not implicate criminal law, they do implicate the President’s constitutional obligation to ensure the laws are faithfully executed. Moreover, the White House was alerted that the hold was illegal but continued it anyway.
The above excerpt was originally published in Just Security.
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