It may not be necessary for an impeachment — we know that “high crimes” refers to presidential abuse of power — but at least this might shut up the bleating of Republicans who insist that unless the president broke the law, it’s not an impeachable offense. He did:
The agency, the Government Accountability Office, said the White House’s Office of Management and Budget violated the Impoundment Control Act when it withheld nearly $400 million this summer for “a policy reason,” even though the funds had been allocated by Congress.
The decision to freeze the aid was directed by the president himself, and during the House impeachment inquiry, administration officials testified that they had raised concerns about its legality to no avail.
“Faithful execution of the law does not permit the president to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law,” the accountability office wrote in an opinion released Thursday. “The withholding was not a programmatic delay.”
The GAO is a non-partisan agency (which means it’s the left-wing socialist Deep State according to the Republicans.) But it has no history of overtly political behavior, and it is one of the most unlikely agencies to interfere in an impeachment trial for partisan purposes.
Here’s the kicker:
“When Congress enacts appropriations, it has provided budget authority that agencies must obligate in a manner consistent with law,” said the ruling, which was signed by Mr. Armstrong. “The Constitution vests lawmaking power with the Congress.”
Armstrong also has some choice words for the State Department for refusing to answer questions about its own handling of money for Ukraine:
“We consider a reluctance to provide a fulsome response to have constitutional significance,” Mr. Armstrong wrote. The G.A.O.’s role, he said, “is essential to ensuring respect for and allegiance to Congress’ constitutional power of the purse.”
Notice he keeps talking about the Constitution. That’s not an accident.