In the wake of the January 6 assault on the Capital by a seditious mob acting at the urging of Donald Trump, the Four Freedoms Democratic Club has called on its Senators and Congressional Representative to take all steps to support the impeachment and conviction of Donald Trump. The text of letters sent to Senator Schumer and Representative Maloney, and to Senator Gillibrand appear below. The FFDC will continue to advocate for the conviction of Trump for all other measures appropriate to respond to the actions Trump has taken to undermine our Constitutional foundations.
Sen. Charles Schumer
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Rep. Carolyn Maloney
2308 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Re: Removing President Trump From Office
Dear Sen. Schumer and Rep. Maloney:
We write to thank you for your efforts so far in responding to what can only be described as a failed coup attempt incited by President Trump and urge you to continue seeking to remove him by any and all legal procedures available, including the 25th Amendment and impeachment.
The Four Freedoms Democratic Club (“FFDC”) extends President Franklin D. Roosevelt's vision into the 21st century by providing an active, progressive Democratic organization in the 76th Assembly District (“AD”) of New York. In just six years FFDC has become the largest Democratic Club in the 76th AD and has been an important part of numerous east side and regional elections.
We are grateful for the leadership you have shown to this point. On Wednesday, President Trump’s voluble and repeated lies about election fraud predictably led to violence against our government, making clear that he is unfit to be president and would rather attempt to overthrow our democracy than vacate his office. Tragically, five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died as a result of Wednesday’s events. Just hours after rioters overran the Capitol, you returned to carry out your duties in certifying the election results and ensure President-elect Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021. Further, you appropriately called for President Trump’s immediate removal by the 25th Amendment or impeachment. We thank you for taking these actions to protect our democracy.
However, President Trump remains an ongoing threat and every single day he occupies the White House is a grave danger to our country. Twitter has banned him and warned of future violence. In light of the circumstances, continued, sustained efforts to remove President Trump are needed immediately. With respect to impeachment, specifically, the House must move forward without delay, despite that the inauguration is only days away. As Prof. Tribe wrote in The Washington Post, “…the Constitution does not require slow motion at times of crisis, especially when the nation witnesses an impeachable offense in real time.” Even if it is not possible to complete an impeachment trial and convict President Trump before the inauguration, impeachment may deter President Trump from further disrupting the transfer of power and would serve as a rebuke to his actions for the historical record. Further, if President Trump is convicted, he could be barred from holding office again, whether the conviction is obtained during or after his presidency.
In any event, we urge you to continue to use all available legal means to remove President Trump from office until he is no longer president. To do otherwise would be to allow a dangerous and erratic man, with all the powers of the presidency, to continue threatening our country and its democratic institutions.
*****************************
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
478 Russell
Washington, DC 20510
Re: Removing President Trump From Office
Dear Sen. Gillibrand:
We write to urge you to join Sen. Schumer and Rep. Maloney in calling for President Trump’s removal by the 25th Amendment or impeachment and seek such removal by any and all legal procedures available until President Trump is no longer in office.
The Four Freedoms Democratic Club (“FFDC”) extends President Franklin D. Roosevelt's vision into the 21st century by providing an active, progressive Democratic organization in the 76th Assembly District (“AD”) of New York. In just six years FFDC has become the largest Democratic Club in the 76th AD and has been an important part of numerous east side and regional elections.
On Wednesday, President Trump’s voluble and repeated lies about election fraud predictably led to violence against our government, making clear that he is unfit to be president and would rather attempt to overthrow our democracy than vacate his office. Tragically, five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died as a result of Wednesday’s events. Just hours after rioters overran the Capitol, you returned to carry out your duties in certifying the election results and ensure President-elect Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021. We thank you for fulfilling your role in the constitutional process and helping to protect our democracy.
However, President Trump remains an ongoing threat and every single day he occupies the White House is a grave danger to our country. Twitter has banned him and warned of future violence. In light of the circumstances, continued, sustained efforts to remove President Trump are needed immediately. With respect to impeachment, specifically, the House must move forward without delay, despite that the inauguration is only days away. As Prof. Tribe wrote in The Washington Post, “…the Constitution does not require slow motion at times of crisis, especially when the nation witnesses an impeachable offense in real time.” Even if it is not possible to complete an impeachment trial and convict President Trump before the inauguration, impeachment may deter President Trump from further disrupting the transfer of power and would serve as a rebuke to his actions for the historical record. Further, if President Trump is convicted, he could be barred from holding office again, whether the conviction is obtained during or after his presidency.
We note that you wrote a thoughtful op-ed in The New York Times about your experience when the Capitol was seized. In that op-ed, you stated that President Trump must be held responsible for his actions and that, “[e]very option available, from invoking the 25th Amendment to impeachment and removal to criminal prosecution, should be on the table.” While we agree that every option should be on the table, we ask that you take the further step of joining Sen. Schumer and Rep. Maloney in explicitly calling for use of the 25th Amendment and impeachment.
Finally, in addition to calling for President Trump’s removal, we urge you to seek such removal by any and all legal means available until he is no longer president. To do otherwise would be to allow a dangerous and erratic man, with all the powers of the presidency, to continue threatening our country and its democratic institutions.
********************
The Four Freedoms Democratic Club is an active, Progressive Democratic Club based in NYC's Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island, and dedicated to promoting the ideals of President Franklyn Roosevelts "Four Freedoms" Speech:
Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Worship
Freedom from Want
Freedom from Fear
