The House Judiciary Committee released its report to accompany the impeachment articles against Donald Trump, and the committee’s conclusion is that even though impeachment doesn’t require proof of crimes, Trump’s actions were in fact “both constitutional and criminal in character.” In fact, they say, the abuse of power article of impeachment is an umbrella that covers “multiple federal crimes,” including criminal bribery and wire fraud.
The full report does a deep historical dive to establish the intent of the framers of the Constitution, but it also puts Trump’s actions in the context of today’s anti-bribery laws, noting that “criminal bribery occurs when a public official (1) ‘demands [or] seeks’ (2) ‘anything of value personally,’ (3) ‘in return for being influenced in the performance of any official act.’ Additionally, the public official must carry out these actions (4) ‘corruptly.’” The report walks through these elements one by one, showing how Trump’s actions meet the standard for criminality.
Where does wire fraud come in? Because Trump “knowingly and willfully orchestrated a scheme to defraud the American people of his honest services as president of the United States. In doing so, he betrayed his position of trust and the duty he owed the citizenry to be an honest fiduciary of their trust. That offense is codified in the federal criminal code, which imposes up to twenty years’ imprisonment for public officials who (by mail or wire fraud) breach the public trust by participating in a bribery scheme.”
That said, the Judiciary Committee anticipates key Republican objections, writing that “The Framers were not fools. They authorized impeachment for a reason, and that reason would have been gutted if impeachment were limited to crimes” and that “It is inconceivable that our Framers authorized the removal of presidents who engage in treason or bribery, but disallowed the removal of presidents who attempt such offenses and are caught before they succeed.” However, to date, Republicans just don’t care. At this point the question is whether two or three Senate Republicans will have enough investment in looking like honest brokers to at least force a real trial in the Senate rather than allowing Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to cut it short as part of his “total coordination” with the White House.