Brookline Calls for Trump Impeachment Investigation

BROOKLINE, MA — Brookline voted yesterday to support efforts to look into the possibility of impeaching President Donald Trump, joining the likes of Cambridge, Richmond, VA, and Alameda, CA.

Two Brookline residents brought the resolution before the May Town Meeting to have the Town of Brookline call on Congress to start investigating an impeachment process. The topic was the final vote of a meeting that had carried on for three nights. Although it was just before 10 p.m., 173 (of the 240) Town Meeting Members stayed for this one.

The vote: 158 voted in favor, 2 opposed the idea and there were 13 abstentions.

Town officials clarified many times during the meeting that this was not a vote to impeach the president per se, but authorization to encourage leaders in in Washington to look into it. Before the electronic vote began, the Town Meeting Moderator Sandy Gadsby again took a moment to remind Town Meeting Members that this was not a vote to support the impeachment of Trump, but a vote supporting a legal investigation, brushing aside concerns that people were voting for or against Trump.

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The movement to impeach the 45th president of the United States is gaining momentum, argued the petitioners. And resolutions such as theirs can help build public support for impeachment and help the House of Representatives understand that their constituents favor starting the impeachment process, according to the proposal's explanation.

"Honestly, I don't understand why more people aren't outraged by this," said Lisa Kolarik, one of the petitioners of the warrant who along with Alexandra Borns-Weil secured the 200 signatures the town required to bring the resolution to a vote for Town Meeting on May 25.

The resolution cites violations of the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution as one of the impeachable offenses.

"It is our duty as citizens to make sure that the Constitution is enforced," reads part of the petitioner's explanation.

A Presidential Impeachment is the process by which the House and then the Senate formal levels charges against a high official of government. Impeachment does not necessarily mean removal from office.

Congress has initiated impeachment proceedings against several presidents, however only Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton have been impeached by the House of Representatives, and both were later acquitted by the Senate. Richard Nixon resigned his office before the vote of the full House for impeachment.

In the November 2016 Presidential election only 28,922 Brookline voters showed up at the polls, but of those only about 3,134 voted for Trump. The population of Brookline hovers around 60,000.

This is the first time Kolarik has gotten involved in town politics, read more about why she did here: Brookline Residents Want the Town To Get Behind Impeaching Trump

The House of Representatives has initiated impeachment proceedings over 60 times, but only 19 cases have moved on to the Senate, watch this video:

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Photo at top of a Town Meeting Member voting by Jenna Fisher/ Brookline Patch Staff