Baltimore Law Professor Calls for Trump to Resign, Says It Would Be “Patriotic”

January 5, 2020

Baltimore law professor Michael Higginbotham is calling for President Trump to resign, claiming it would be the patriotic thing to do.

Higginbotham expresses his wishes for Trump to call it quits in an Op-Ed for CNN where he praises disgraced ex-President Richard Nixon for what he characterizes as doing the right thing for the Country.

Higginbotham is running for Congress.

From CNN – By Michael Higginbotham

Recently, a majority of the House of Representatives voted to impeach Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Both articles arise from Trump’s alleged involvement in a scheme to solicit an investigation of political dirt against Joe Biden by Ukrainian government officials, despite no evidence of wrongdoing, in exchange for military aid to help Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia.

Prior to Trump, the impeachment provisions of the Constitution were initiated against three other presidents: Andrew Johnson, whose case fell one vote short of conviction in the Senate; Nixon, whose proceeding never came to a vote; and Bill Clinton, whose case failed to reach even a majority in the Senate, let alone the two thirds needed for removal from office. Of the three, Trump’s behavior most resembles Nixon’s.

Trump, like Nixon, is accused of participating in a cover-up involving the investigation of political opponents. But Trump’s alleged transgressions are worse than Nixon’s because they concern an attempt to involve a foreign power in the American political process.
Nixon and Trump also have in common fiercely loyal supporters. Nixon’s popularity in his second term had been quite high. He won reelection in 1972 with more than 60% of the popular vote and 520 electoral votes. The Watergate scandal reduced Nixon’s political support, but his hardcore supporters urged him to fight on.But Nixon emphasized country over personal considerations in deciding to resign. While most historians believe the full House would have voted to impeach, and the Senate would have secured the necessary two-thirds vote for removal, the trial process would have been extremely divisive and painful for the country.

In retrospect, we will never know whether a show of stubbornness — like Trump’s — might have switched the political dynamic and persuaded the Senate to not convict, but we can instead be grateful that Nixon did not put the system to the test.