To the Editor:

Last week, the White House Counsel sent a letter to the House leadership that claims Trump is immune from congressional oversight and from impeachment. Trump said he can refuse to “participate in your partisan and unconstitutional inquiry.” He will reject all requests for documents and testimony, and ignore all subpoenas because he thinks Congress is not treating him “fairly”.

Trump is not saying that he has legal grounds to refuse congressional requests. He doesn’t even claim executive privilege. Instead, he says the entire inquiry is simply unfair, and therefore he can reject all of it. Trump asserts the House is violating his “civil liberties” and “due process” rights. Well, the Constitution says nothing about the particular processes by which the House has to carry out impeachment. The House can establish any rules it wants. Trump demands privileges, such as being able to cross-examine witnesses, which are a matter for the trial phase of impeachment, which happens in the Senate.

If Congress cannot exercise its power of oversight or its power of impeachment, it means Trump doesn’t have to answer to anyone and that essentially makes the president a king.

So will Republicans stand up to Trump’s assault on the very idea of checks and balances? Remember when they cried “Tyranny!” when Barack Obama signed an executive order, or shouted “Stonewalling!” if the Obama administration resisted a single document request from Congress. Remember when they called out the Constitution and the rule of law so seriously when they demanded Bill Clinton’s removal from office?

Why won’t the Republicans stand up to this assault on our democratic norms? Maybe they’re cowards, afraid of backlash from Trump himself and his most rabid supporters. Maybe they don’t actually believe in the Constitution if it isn’t delivering the outcomes they want. In any case, they are helping Trump drag our entire democratic system down.

John Barry

Franklin