It was hard to miss Larry Flynt’s ad in the Oct. 15 edition of The Washington Post. A full-page, all-caps ad that simply stated: “$10 MILLION FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO THE IMPEACHMENT AND REMOVAL FROM OFFICE OF DONALD J. TRUMP.” In this advertisement, Flynt, the publisher of Hustler magazine, detailed all the reasons he believes President Trump is unfit for office.
Flynt charged Trump with everything from “telling hundreds of bald-faced lies” to “gross nepotism” and “compromising domestic and foreign policy.” This is why, Flynt wrote, he is seeking a “smoking gun” that would lead to the impeachment of Donald Trump. Don’t we already have what we need? Let’s face the facts: it’s time to impeach Trump.
Trump has continued to fan the flames of hatred and bigotry in our country, something that has been ever-growing throughout his campaign and presidency. We can no longer wait for Robert Mueller to finish his investigation, the president’s behavior in light of recent events is no less than morally reprehensible, and it is unfathomable that members of Congress refuse to see the issues on hand.
The evidence of Trump’s criminality has not necessarily become much clearer than it was a day, week or even month ago. But any member of Congress wishing to do the right thing cannot, in good conscience, deny their doubts about Trump’s inability to fulfil his role as president of the United States. Members of Congress took an oath to defend and support the Constitution, and the country has entered a divisive time where those who are serious about their oaths must confront this issue head-on. Trump has abused power, most obviously in his conduct regarding investigations into his campaign’s collusion with Russia, he has failed to prove himself as morally stable and intelligent leader, and has abandoned even the most basic duties of his office.
It’s like Justice Joseph Story once said: “Impeachment is designed not to punish an offender by threatening deprivation of his life, liberty, or property, but to secure the State by divesting him of his political capacity.” Whether or not Donald Trump should be criminally charged is a separate question, but in order to secure the future of our country, it is time to take the reins from Trump, as he is unfit to lead.
At the end of Flynt’s ad, there is a number and email address, along with reassurance that he fully intends to pay the full sum of $10 million for good information. “Impeachment would be a messy, contentious affair, but the alternative — three more years of destabilizing dysfunction — is worse,” Flynt wrote. “I feel it is my patriotic duty, and the duty of all Americans, to dump Trump before it’s too late.”