Impeachment

Panther Prowler • Feb. 18, 2020 Donald Trump acquitted by Senate

Carter Castillo Opinion Editor

President Donald Trump was acquitted by the Senate on Feb. 5, 2020 on both articles of impeachment. In order for the Senate to remove a sitting president from offi ce, they must vote guilty with a two-thirds majority. Th e vote was 48 guilty to 52 not guilty on the charge of abuse of power and 47 guilty to 53 to not guilty on the charge of obstruction of Congress. All Democratic senators voted to remove Trump from offi ce. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, became the fi rst senator in US history to vote to remove a president from offi ce who is in the same party, fi nding Trump guilty of abuse of power, but voting not guilty on the charge of obstruction of Congress.

Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives on Dec. 19, 2020 on the counts of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Th e charges refer to an alleged quid pro quo between Trump and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the impeachment articles, Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine until the Ukranian justice department investigated Hunter Biden, the son of presidential candidate and former vice president Joe Biden.

In Romney’s speech explaining his guilty vote, he stated, “As a Senator-juror, I swore an oath, before God, to exercise ‘impartial justice.’ I am a profoundly religious person. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential. I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the president, the leader of my own party, would be the most diffi cult decision I have ever faced. I was not wrong.”

Romney continued by giving the Senate the specifi cs of what he found Trump guilty of: “Th e grave question the Constitution tasks senators to answer is whether the president committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a ‘high crime and misdemeanor.’ Yes, he did.”

Romney then provided the evidence that he believed mad Trump guilty, “Th e president asked a foreign government to investigate his political rival. Th e president withheld vital military funds from that government to press it to do so. Th e president delayed funds for an American ally at war with Russian invaders. Th e president’s purpose was personal and political. Accordingly, the president is guilty of an appalling abuse of the public trust.”

As Trump was not found guilty in the Senate, he will continue serving the rest of his term.

Jacob Malone / Prowler

Sanders and Buttigieg battle for early Democratic lead

Carter Castillo Opinion Editor

Jacob Malone

Back Cover Editor

On Feb. 3, 2019 the Iowa state democratic party held the fi rst nominating caucuses of the 2020 election cycle. Aft er several complications, 100 percent of precincts are now reporting and Pete Buttigieg is in the lead with 13 delegates. Th e results from the Iowa caucus were delayed due to problems with the app that was supposed to speed up the counting process. Th e app was not reporting the full results, and thus the Iowa Democratic party was forced to go back and look over each vote at each caucus site manually with the paper ballots. Further adding to the confusion, the Party had to release three diff erent statistics instead of the usual one, the total fi rst round votes, the second round votes and the total number of delegates awarded. Aft er all the votes were tallied, Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend Indiana, is projected to have gained 13 delegates and Bernie Sanders, Senator from Vermont, claimed second place receiving 12 delegates. Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts, received eight delegates, Joe Biden, former Vice President, received six delegates, and Amy Kloubuchar, senator from Minnesota, was the only other candidate to receive delegates from Iowa, gaining only one. However, both Sanders and Buttigieg are calling for an audit of the results of the caucuses, as they are hoping to score an extra delegate to give them the advantage. Th e New Hampshire primary took place on Feb. 11, 2020 and unlike the Iowa Caucus, the votes were all accounted for with Sanders receiving 26% of the vote. Buttigieg followed with 25% and Klobuchar came in third place with about 20% of the vote. No other candidates received enough votes to gain any delegates. New Hampshire “felt the Bern,” as Sanders won the plurality of the vote and received nine delegates. Buttigieg also received nine delegates and Klobuchar received six. Th e delegate count from New Hampshire showed both SAnders and Buttigieg projected to gain nine delegates, and Klobuchar receiving six delegates. No other candidate received enough votes to gain any delegates. Th e California primary election is going to take place on Mar. 3, 2020. Currently, the RealClear Politics average, which is an aggregate of numerous diff erent polls, shows Sanders with a fi ve-point lead over Biden, followed by Warren as of Feb. 13. No other candidate is projected to have enough support to gain any delegates.

Jacob Malone / Prowler

District hears from GSA clubs at all CVUSD high schools

Emily Nagamoto Editor-In-Chief

Instead of a normal Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) Club meeting last Friday, Feb. 7, CVUSD offi cials visited the club to hear from the students about their experiences. Lisa Miller, Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services, Brian Mercer, Director of High School Education and Assessment, and Kenny Loo, Director of Middle School Education and Professional Learning, asked students at the meeting about times they felt supported by the school district and about when they did not.

“We feel a responsibility to make sure that every student in our school district feels safe, and that there (are) places to go for support. And in order for us to do that, we also recognize that we then need to provide training and guidance to our staff ,” Miller said as she addressed members of the club. “We need to hear from you, as the students, about your experiences.”

District staff visited GSA clubs at Westlake and Th ousand Oaks high schools to receive confi dential feedback from students of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies.

“Th e district approached us with this idea,” Lily Lindros, senior and club secretary said. “Th ere’s a lot of harassment that goes on that is kind of not approached by administration on a normal case. So the district is coming to say, ‘how can we train teachers to be more inclusive and... to get student input on that.’”

Micah Snodgrass, freshmen felt that the meeting accomplished what he hoped it would. “I liked the feedback, that it will be supportive to me and what it can be, and I’m really excited to see what comes of the future,” Snodgrass said. “I think it’s an important issue for the safety of people’s lives because I’ve had friends who have been threatened or who have gone through a lot of harsh things throughout their life and I just don’t want that to happen to anybody else.”

Club advisor Lisa Lemieux, English teacher, said that she believes “it’s a sign that the district is moving in the right direction.”

GSA works throughout the year on fi nding ways to be inclusive of all students, and club members said they were happy for a chance to speak with the district.

“We’re always advocating, whether it seems like we are or not,” Lemieux said. “We’re constantly talking to other kids saying, ‘Come on in, it’s safe,’ or we’re advocating on a higher level for change.”