THE LEGAL CASE FOR THE IMPEACHMENT AND CONVICTION OF ANTONY BLINKEN
My submission for third article of impeachment alleging commission of impeachable offenses by Antony Blinken:
Antony Blinken, as U.S. Secretary of State has and continues to provide material diplomatic support to a foreign terrorist organization, namely the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (B)(i)(bb), (iv); 18 USC 2339 (B) (a) (1); (d) (E); (2); 18 USC § 2339A and therefore should be impeached by the House of Representatives and convicted by the U.S. Senate.
Read more below.
Impeach and convict Blinken and passing the buck stops!
On August 16, 2021, President Joe Biden trying to explain the catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal declared, “I am the president of the United States, the buck stops with me.”
Impeach and convict Blinken and passing the buck stops!
In my August 22, 2021 commentary “DUMP ANTONY BLINKEN BECAUSE HE IS “UNQUALIFIED” AND “DANGEROUS TO AMERICA” (AND TO ETHIOPIA)!”, I argued Antony Blinken should resign or be removed from office for gross incompetence and gross dereliction of duty.
It was my great pleasure to see five days later on August 27, 2021 that Republican House Representatives Andy Harris of Maryland and Ralph Norman of South Carolina had introduced a Resolution to impeach Antony Blinken and remove him from the offcie of U.S. secretary of State for, among other things, gross incompetence and dereliction of duty.
“Impeachment” is an American constitutional process and procedure for the removal of the “President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States” from office in a two-stage process.
In the first stage, the House of Representatives undertakes an investigation into the alleged impeachable offenses of the president or civil officer of the U.S. and passes a resolution of Articles of Impeachment by a simple majority vote formally leveling charges. The Articles are the equivalent of a grand jury indictment (criminal charges) making potentially provable allegations of impeachable offenses (which upon conviction result only in removal from office.).
In the second stage, the U.S. Senate holds a “trial” on the House Articles of Impeachment. The “trial” is unlike a criminal trial where the defendant enjoys substantial procedural due process protections. In an impeachment trial, the Senate sits as a “High Court of Impeachment to consider evidence, hear witnesses, and vote to acquit or convict the impeached official.” If two-thirds of the Senate votes to “convict” (finds the House Articles sustained), the impeached (accused) official is removed from office and disqualified from holding any U.S. office in the future. An impeachment conviction by itself does not result in criminal conviction.
Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution specifically provides:
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article I, section 2 provides, “The House of Representatives shall… have the sole Power of Impeachment.”
Article I, section 3 provides, “The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments” and the outcome of conviction is “removal from Office and disqualification to hold any Office under the United States…”
Can Antony Blinken be impeached and convicted under Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution?
In American history, there have been 20 “presidents and U.S. officers” who have been impeached (9 accused but not convicted in the Senate; 8 convicted and removed from office and 3 who resigned before impeachment proceedings were completed) including President Donald Trump twice.
There are two central constitutional questions relevant to the impeachment of Antony Blinken:
1) Is Blinken a “civil officer” within the meaning of Art. II, sec. 4?
2) Did Blinken commit acts or omitted to act within the meaning of the “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” clause of Art. II, sec. 4?
While the impeachment clauses of the Constitution are clear about the “President and Vice President”, the “civil officers” clause is undefined.
However, there is clear practice and precedent in the U.S. House of Representatives that a high-level executive officer may be a proper subject of an impeachment proceeding.
On March 2, 1876, the Committee on Expenditures in the War Department of the House of Representatives submitted a resolution (pp. 902-947) “That William W. Belknap, late Secretary of War, be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors…”
The House drafted five detailed articles of impeachment against Belknap charging him with “high crimes and misdemeanors while in office.”
It is important to note that impeachment is a rarely used constitutional mechanism of removal from office.
If the Secretary of War can be impeached in 1876, there is no reason why the Secretary of State cannot be impeached in 2021.
In Federalist Papers (the most authoritative primary source of interpretation of the Constitution) No. 66, Alexander Hamilton, one of the framers of the U.S. Constitution explaining impeachment powers argued for the necessity of an impeachment trial in the Senate as a check to hold the executive branch accountable.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 1997 (pp. 662-663) has also made the constitutional distinction between “civil officers” appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate and “Inferior officers” appointed without the necessity of Senate confirmation.
Specifically referring to the State Department, the Supreme Court explained:
On July 27, 1789, Congress established the first Executive department, the Department of Foreign Affairs. In so doing, it expressly designated the Secretary of the Department as a “principal officer,” and his subordinate, the Chief Clerk of the Department, as an “inferior officer”.
There is no question Antony Blinken as the “principal officer” of the State Department is a “civil officer” within the meaning of Art. 2, Sec. 4.
Antony Blinken can be subject to an impeachment investigation by the House of Representatives and brought to trial on Articles of Impeachment in the U.S. Senate.
The Norman-Harris House impeachment case against Blinken- The evidence
The second question is whether Blinken committed impeachable offenses.
Has Blinken committed or failed to commit acts that amount to “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” under Art. II, Sec. 4?
There is a divergence of legal and scholarly opinion on acts and omissions by “U.S. civil officers” constituting impeachacable offenses under Art. II, Sec, 4.
The Norman- Harris resolution lays out a substantial body of facts and compelling legal theories in support of the two allegations of impeachment.
The crux of the Norman- Harris impeachment resolution revolves around three statutory provisions.
The three allegations of impeachment essentially allege Blinken in the Afghanistan withdrawal
engaged in gross dereliction of duty;
performed his duties with gross incompetence bordering on criminal negligence;
exhibited depraved indifference to the lives of American citizens and servicemen and women;
failed to undertake due diligence and exercise reasonable care in the evacuation process resulting in inexcusable chaos;
callously disregarded` his statutory duty of informing the Congress and the American people in a timely manner of problems and issues involving the withdrawal and knowingly providing false assurances knowingly or in reckless disregard for the truth;
recklessly abandoned American military equipment, property and weapons to the enemy; and
engaged in inexcusable and willful disregard of credible intelligence information and data on enemy actions resulting in great harm to U.S. citizens and service men and women.
NORMAN-HARRIS IMPEACHMENT ALLEGATION I
The Norman-Harris resolution alleges
1) violation of 22 U.S.C. 7 4802(b) which details the responsibilities of the Secretary of State in maintaining security and protective operations in U.S. missions abroad;
2) violation of 22 U.S. Code § 2715 which provides, “In the case of a major disaster or incident abroad which affects the health and safety of citizens of the United States residing or traveling abroad, the Secretary of State shall provide prompt and thorough notification of all appropriate information concerning such disaster or incident and its effect on United States citizens to the next-of-kin of such individuals.”
3) violation of 22 U.S.C. 2680(b) by failing to inform the “Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives fully and currently informed with respect to all activities and responsibilities within the jurisdiction of these committees.”
Allegation I of the Norman -Harris impeachment resolution factually alleges Blinken as Secretary of State “engaged in a pattern of conduct that is incompatible with his duties as an Officer of the United States”.
Blinken “failed to faithfully uphold his oath and has instead presided over a reckless abandon of our nation’s interests, security, and values in his role in the withdrawal of American forces and diplomatic assets from Afghanistan.”
Blinken failed to undertake due diligence in the safe and orderly withdrawal of American citizens and troops from Afghanistan. Specifically, Blinken knew on April 14, 2021, that the U.S. was scheduled to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan starting May 1, 2021, and that the removal of troops would be completed by September 11, 2021 but failed to make adequate preparations.
Blinken failed to keep the American Embassy safe and operational by failing to recognize dangers posed by a resurgent Taliban and in flagrant disregard of credible intelligence.
Blinken failed to make adequate preparations in vacating Bagram Air Base and proper security for the on-site prison on site housing over 5,000 Taliban and suspected terrorist prisoners who are ready, able and willing to harm U.S. citizens and interests.b
Blinken’s failure to manage an orderly evacuation left Taliban and other terrorists as well as significant stockpiles of American weapons and equipment unguarded resulting in the eventual liberation of prisoners and seizure of weapons and equipment by Taliban forces.
Upon advice and counsel of Blinken, on July 8, 2021, President Biden stated ‘‘there’s going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy of the United States from Afghanistan. It is not at all comparable.”
On August 12, 2021, State Department spokesman, Ned Price, serving under the authority of Secretary Blinken stated, ‘‘The embassy remains open, and we plan to continue our diplomatic work in Afghanistan.’’
On August 15, 2021, the American Flag at the United States Embassy in Kabul was taken down.
On August 15, 2021, Kabul and the Green Zone–the heart of the American diplomatic presence in Afghani1stan–was recaptured by the Taliban and remains under its control.
On August 25, 2021, because of Blinken’s failure to plan orderly evacuation American citizens were unable to reach the Kabul airport to leave Afghanistan.
On August 26, 2021, Blinken’s failure to execute his duties to evacuate safely and efficiently of all United States government personnel, dependents, and private United States citizens when in danger directly gave rise to a dangerous scenario at the Kabul airport enabling terrorists to execute a deadly attack that killed eleven marines and a Navy medic and further undermined his abilities to execute his duties under 22 U.S.C. 7 4802(b).
Blinken’s actions and omissions, including ignoring critical intelligence received from the embassy in Kabul and United States intelligence agencies, have left American property, military equipment and weapons in the hands of enemies of the United States, left American citizens stranded in life threatening situations in dereliction of his duties as Secretary of State. These actions have eroded American interests and security as well as our credibility and relationships amongst our closest allies.
Wherefore, Antony John Blinken, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
NORMAN-HARRIS IMPEACHMENT ALLEGATION II
Allegation II of the Harris-Norman impeachment resolution asserts Blinken, in his conduct while Secretary of State, engaged in a pattern of conduct that is incompatible with his duties as an Officer of the United States.
On August 10, 2021, as the crisis in Afghanistan was evident and worsening, Blinken’s spokesman, Ned Price, stated that ‘‘the United States continues to have leverage… and the Afghan Government has tremendous leverage.” This assertion now proven obviously erroneous constitutes provision of false information to the Congress and American citizens.
On August 15, 2021, the Taliban captured Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Over one week later, on August 25, 2021, Blinken gave his first public briefing or interview since the collapse of Afghanistan. This is in direct violation of his statutory duty to keep the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives fully and currently informed with respect to all activities and responsibilities within the jurisdiction of these committees (22 U.S.C. 2680(b)).
On July 13, 2021, nearly two dozen American diplomats, still remaining in the Kabul embassy, sent a memo directly to Secretary Blinken through the State Department’s ‘‘dissent’’ channel. Upon receiving the dissent cable from the Embassy, Blinken had a moral duty and was statutorily obligated to inform the Congress and American public (22 U.S.C. 2680(b)) that President Biden’s remarks needed to be clarified to prevent any confusion at home and abroad.
Throughout the month of July and into August, prior to the collapse of the Afghan Government, the United States Intelligence Community warned President Biden and his top advisors, including Secretary Blinken, that the situation in Afghanistan was worsening, the Afghan military was ill-prepared to deal with the Taliban, and a preemptive removal of American troops was ill-advised.
In direct conflict with the intelligence and advice provided by his own diplomats and the intelligence community, Blinken failed to advise and counsel the President accordingly and did not inform the Congress nor American citizens at home and abroad of the dangers posed by the advancing Taliban of which he was explicitly aware.
As a result, the Afghan Government collapsed in the month of August 2021 and American forces have been struggling to retrieve American civilians and allies, and a humanitarian crisis has erupted at Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul. Secretary Blinken has not informed the American public nor Congress of what actions will be taken to ensure the safety of all Americans and American allies in Afghanistan.
Wherefore, Antony John Blinken, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
[MY SUBMISSION TO REVISE THE NORMAN-HARRIS RESOLUTION TO IMPEACH ANTONY BLINKEN WITH A THIRD IMPEACHMENT ALLEGATION]
IMPEACHMENT ALLEGATION III
Antony Blinken, as U.S. Secretary of State has and continues to provide material diplomatic support to a foreign terrorist organization, namely the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (B)(i)(bb), (iv); 18 USC 2339 (B) (a) (1); (d) (E); (2); 18 USC § 2339A and therefore should be impeached by the House of Representatives and convicted by the U.S. Senate.
The TPLF was officially designated a Tier III terrorist organization by the U.S. Government until it was granted an exemption by Homeland Security on June 15, 2014, in a Policy Memorandum which stated:
The TPLF qualifies as a Tier III terrorist organization under INA section 212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(III) on the basis of its violent activities before it became part of the ruling coalition and the government of Ethiopia in May 1991.
The Ethiopian Government has outlawed the TPLF as a terrorist organization for numerous acts of terrorism it has committed. The TPLF falls within the meaning of 18 U.S.C §2331 (A), which defines “international terrorism” as activities that “involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or of any State…
The TPLF is a terrorist organization listed in the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).
The TPLF is a terrorist organization listed in the Terror Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC).
Blinken has been a mouthpiece for the terrorist TPLF following the TPLF’s terrorist attack on the Ethiopian Northern Command on November 4, 2020.
Blinken, beginning on or about November 14, 2020, has championed the cause of the terrorist TPLF by providing diplomatic support resulting in incalculable damage to the bilateral relations of the U.S. and Ethiopia.
On November 14, 2020, Susan Rice, Biden’s Domestic Policy Advisor, frantically sounded the alarm to save the terrorist TPLF for the first time tweeting: “We need principled leadership on this @StateDept. @AsstSecStateAF Please and fast.”
On November 18, 2020, at 8:15 PM, Secretary of State-to-be Antony Blinken imperiously commanded in a tweet that the Ethiopian government should sit down and negotiate with the TPLF. “Deeply concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, reports of targeted ethnic violence, and the risk to regional peace and security. The TPLF and Ethiopian authorities should take urgent steps to end the conflict, enable humanitarian access, and protect civilians.”
On November 18, 2020, Rice retweeted Blinken’s tweet of the same day.
On November 24, 2020, National Security Advisor-to-be Jake Sullivan tweeted imperiously commanding “immediate dialogue”. “I’m deeply concerned about the risk of violence against civilians, including potential war crimes, in the fighting around Mekelle in Ethiopia. Civilians must be protected, and humanitarian access must be opened. Both sides should immediately begin dialogue facilitated by the AU.”
On June 29, 2021, Robert F. Godec, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs, falsely or in reckless disregard for the truth testified the U.S. has never recognized the TPLF as a terrorist organization.
Because of Blinken’s insistence the Ethiopian Government negotiate with the TPLF terrorist group, diplomatic relations of the two countries have reached a new low.
Well-informed commentators have observed, “Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last week [early August 2021] rebuffed a request to meet face to face with a top Biden administration official [USAID Administrator Samantha Power ] to address the country’s civil war and worsening humanitarian crisis in the Tigray region, dealing a blow to U.S. efforts to tamp down a conflict that threatens to fuel famine and destabilize the wider Horn of Africa.”
On August 13, 2021, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced President Joe Biden is sending his special envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman to Ethiopia to get the Ethiopian Government to negotiate with the terrorist TPLF. Given his mission to legitimize a terrorist group, Feltman was unable to have a face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
On August 25, 2021, it was suggested in the press that the U.S. will remove Ethiopia from its AGOA program if it refuses to negotiate with the TPLF terrorist group.
Until recently, Ethiopia was America’s strongest ally working together on a variety of issues including the global struggle against terrorism.
Given the Afghanistan debacle and the abysmal state of bilateral relations between Ethiopia and the U.S. over the Biden administration’s support of the TPLF terrorist group and the special role of Blinken, U.S. interests in the Horn region and beyond will be severely affected.
Blinken’s diplomatic support for the terrorist TPLF is the equivalent of giving diplomatic support for ISIS-K which attacked and killed 13 and wounded at least 18 American service personnel and over 150 Afghans.
Wherefore, Antony John Blinken, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
How I wish Senator John McCain was here to lead the impeachment case Antony Blinken!
No one can say, “I did not know Blinken was incompetent and dangerous to America.”
Senator John McCain was right on the button when he opposed Antony Blinken’s nomination to become Barack Obama’s Deputy Secretary of State.
Senator McCain prophetically spoke of the disaster Blinken was to bring about.
McCain predicted what could happen under Blinken’s watch.
What McCain feared in December 2014 actually happened in August 2021!
In 2021, we have witnessed the total collapse of U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the triumphant seizure of Kabul by the Taliban because of Antony Blinken’s ineptitude, incompetence, denial of stark reality and total cluelessness.
ANTONY BLINKEN MUST BE IMPEACHED AND CONVICTED BECAUSE HE IS UNQUALIFIED AND DANGEROUS TO THE PEOPLES OF AMERICA AND ETHIOPIA.
For full video of Senator McCain’s speech (24:19 minutes), click HERE.
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CALLING ON ALL ETHIOPIAN AMERICANS IN MARYLAND AND SOUTH CAROLINA TO JOIN REPRESENTATIVES ANDY HARRIS (MARYLAND) AND RALPH NORMAN (SOUTH CAROLINA) IN THE IMPEACHMENT AND CONVICTION OF ANTONY BLINKEN!
CONTACT AND OFFER YOUR SUPPORT TO:
Congressman Andy Harris
2334 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-5311
Congressman Ralph Norman (R-SC)
569 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5501
FAX: (202) 225-0464
IMPEACH AND CONVICT ANTONY BLINKEN!
