Why Should I Care About..? The Mueller Investigation
The first time you get to vote, it is possible that President Trump will be up for reelection and facing impeachment. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
By HILLARY MICHEL
A 72-year-old accused sexual harasser with multiple bankruptcies is now on the verge of presidential impeachment. Bet you’re wondering how he got into this situation.
There is growing evidence that Donald Trump’s presidential campaign worked with Russia, a hostile foreign country, to influence the 2016 election. Robert Mueller is a former FBI director who has been appointed to investigate this matter and any related crimes.
It is suspected that Russia posted numerous fake news stories to make Trump look better than his opponent Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign. The Russians also hacked into the Democratic Party’s email servers.
For teens today, this is a subject that should cause high alarm. If President Trump actually colluded with Russia, that means many Americans elected him based on false information. For future voters, it also means that other countries could control American politics and possibly get away with it.
President Trump has declared this investigation to be nothing but a “witch hunt.” However, along the way the Mueller team has found evidence of numerous scandals.
Over 30 people have been charged with crimes so far. Of these, Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, and Michael Flynn seem to be the key players.
Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, has been indicted on eight counts of tax and banking crimes. Two charges are campaign charges having to do with the fact that he paid off two women, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, to keep their alleged affairs with Trump secret.
Manafort was Trump’s former campaign chairman and has been indicted on 25 different charges. So far, these charges are mostly about him previously working with Ukrainian officials before the Trump campaign, making large sums of money from it, and hiding the money from the government. He pleaded guilty to charges such as conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, pleaded guilty to giving false claims to the FBI. Before former President Obama left office, Flynn talked to the the Russian ambassador about removing sanctions America had put on Russia and then lied about the conversation to investigators. After pleading guilty, he starting to cooperate with the investigation.
If the evidence keeps mounting up, President Trump might be impeached, which means he would go on trial in the Senate. If he is convicted or resigns, the rest of his term will be completed by Mike Pence, his vice president.
For many Midwood students, 2020 will the the first year we will be eligible to vote. It is possible that President Trump will be up for reelection and facing impeachment. It is also possible that Russia, or another hostile foreign country, might try to again influence the election, threatening our democracy.
To be an informed voter and play a role in our democracy, we should all keep up on developments in the Mueller investigation with an open and critical mind.