Tag: Impeachment

How One of Trump’s First Appointees Set Impeachment in Motion

Weeks before the whistle-blower’s complaint against Donald Trump’s now infamous Ukraine call became public, the complaint was reviewed by not only members of the CIA, but also by CIA general counsel, and Trump appointee, Courtney Simmons Elwood. Elwood, as well as other senior officials who had reviewed the complaint, concluded that there indeed was a crime committed during the phone call, leading to Elwood officially filing a criminal referral.

Before her nomination, Elwood served as a clerk for Chief Justice William Rehnquist in 1995, then for Judge J. Michael Luttig on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Afterward, she joined the firm of Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick. Simmons was appointed by the Trump administration in March of 2017, and confirmed by the senate on June 6th of that year, after a 67-33 vote. A vote that split heavily down party lines, with only 16 of her 67 yea votes coming from Democrats.

On August 14, 2019 Elwood filed a criminal referral with the Justice Department. along with general counsel at the National Security Council, John Eisenberg. The belief of the two, and others in the I.C. was that a crime had absolutely been committed by President Donald Trump in his coercion of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, by withholding promised military aid until an investigation was announced by the Ukrainians into the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, his son, Hunter Biden.

Not long after the August 14 call to the Justice Department, Acting Director of National Intelligence and Inspector General for the Intelligence Community, Joseph Maguire, who had only just assumed the role, referred his own allegations to the Justice Department, expressing the very same concerns as Elwood and Eisenberg.

The Justice Department’s determination into the referral made by Elwood, Eisenberg, Maguire, and numerous other high ranking and senior members of the I.C., was that no crime had been committed. The referrals made were based on federal laws prohibiting “contribution, donation of money, or other things of value” from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election. The Justice Departments determination was that an investigation did not count as a contribution, monetary donation, or other thing of value, because it was not quantifiable.

As is evident by the impeachment inquiries of November, and this week’s approval from the House of Representatives to draft articles of impeachment, Elwood’s actions helped to put into motion the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Since the initial report, several other facts have come to light implicating President Donald Trump, and several others, including House Intelligence Committee member, Devin Nunes (R-CA).

As of this writing, the articles of impeachment are in the process of being drafted, and have not yet reached the Senate Judiciary Committee.