To the Editor:

In 1804 a Republican-dominated House of Representatives voted impeachment charges against a sitting Supreme Court judge. The Senate had the wisdom to vote this down. This event is considered a landmark victory for the independence of the judiciary and for the separation of powers of the federal government. Up until the present there has not been another serious effort to attack these cornerstones of our democracy. This may have changed.

Rep. Mark Meadows is our Republican congressman from Asheville who represents North Carolina’s 11th District. He is the leader of the Freedom Caucus, the Tea Party faction of the House of Representatives. Under his leadership this group is threatening to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rob Rosenstein for refusing to turn over classified information relating to the Muller investigation. It is established law that investigators are not required to turn over classified information critical to an ongoing investigation. This principle was reaffirmed by a Supreme Court decision in the early 1940s.

Meadows and his Tea Party supporters are seeking the names of individuals currently under investigation by the justice department. Meadows is a close ally of Donald Trump. It is reasonable to assume that he is seeking this information to give to Trump. 

Rob Rosenstein has refused to release this information. He has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law. Meadows took an oath to support and protect the Constitution when he entered Congress. If our government leaders betray their oath to uphold our Constitutional democracy, it will be destroyed.

Meadows and his Freedom Caucus may push the country into a constitutional crisis if they continue this path. The founders of our Constitution showed great wisdom in creating a government where the executive, legislative and judicial branches are separate. In this way no one person or group of people could seize power and destroy our democracy. 

Meadows and his supporters are threatening to erase the separation between our branches of government. I am ashamed to think he is representing the great state of North Carolina and the district I live in.

Margery Abel

Franklin