Impeach Trump for His War Crime Threats

PRESIDENTIAL THREATS TO DESTROY CIVILIAN INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIRE IMMEDIATE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION As a constituent, I urge you to speak out immediately about President Trump’s threats against civilian infrastructure in Iran and to support urgent Congressional action, including impeachment proceedings. He has threatened to destroy Iran’s power plants and bridges and warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if his demands were not met. Legal experts warn that carrying out such attacks on civilian infrastructure could violate the laws of war. A PRESIDENT WHO THREATENS UNLAWFUL ATTACKS ABUSES THE POWERS OF OFFICE Congress need not wait for an unlawful order to be carried out before it acts. When a President openly contemplates attacks that could amount to war crimes, he uses the authority of the office to make illegal force easier to accept, show contempt for legal limits, and weaken the protections that shield civilians in war. That is an abuse of Presidential power, and it warrants a constitutional response, including impeachment. THESE THREATS ALSO PLACE U.S. TROOPS AND COMMANDERS IN JEOPARDY These statements do not only endanger civilians abroad. They also place American commanders and service members at risk by raising the possibility that they could be ordered to carry out unlawful strikes or forced to refuse illegal orders during active operations. Congress should not leave U.S. forces trapped between Presidential recklessness and the law of armed conflict. THE CONSTITUTION REQUIRES CONGRESS TO CONFRONT THIS ABUSE The House has the sole power of impeachment, and the Senate has the sole power to try impeachments. Those powers exist to address grave abuses of Presidential authority, including conduct that signals readiness to violate the laws of war and erodes Constitutional limits on military power. CONGRESS MUST CONDEMN, INVESTIGATE, AND BEGIN IMPEACHMENT I urge you to take the following actions: (1) Publicly condemn these threats immediately. (2) Call for urgent hearings on compliance with the laws of war. (3) Support the initiation of impeachment proceedings based on this abuse of power. (4) Require clear assurances that U.S. forces will not be used to carry out unlawful attacks on civilian infrastructure. If Congress fails to respond, it will make future unlawful uses of force more likely, weaken the rule of law, and place both civilians and American service members at greater risk. Congress must act now so that no President can use the power of the United States to threaten unlawful violence against civilians without Constitutional consequence. Thank you.