Until the Emperor is Dressed
The Invisible clothes of the American Emperor
Welcome back, my fierce defenders of justice.
Lately, my thoughts have often wandered back to childhood—to the warm, familiar corners of memory, filled with joy, innocence, and the stories that shaped my understanding of the world. One story in particular has echoed louder than the rest: The Emperor’s New Clothes. As a child, I found it funny. Silly, even. A foolish king, hoodwinked into parading naked before his people. But as I’ve watched the Republican defense of the recent articles of impeachment submitted against Donald Trump, that old tale has transformed from fairy tale into eerie reflection. Only now, the stakes are far greater, and the emperor’s nakedness is not a source of laughter—but of national shame.
America’s power of impeachment finds its roots in 14th-century English Parliament, where it served as a means to hold the king’s cronies accountable. Our Founders, steeped in this tradition, understood the necessity of checking power—particularly executive power—with a mechanism to guard against corruption and abuse.
Alexander Hamilton—our most musical Founding Father—outlined in Federalist 65 that impeachment was distinct from civil or criminal court processes, as it arises “from the abuse or violation of some public trust.” Our revolutionary forefathers also discussed impeachment in cases of “maladministration” and “corruption.” It was so central to the Framers' vision that impeachment powers appear in Article I of the Constitution, even before presidential powers are defined in Article II. As Elbridge Gerry aptly put it, “A good magistrate will not fear [impeachments]. A bad one ought to be kept in fear of them.”
Yet even then, they wondered—as this author does now—whether Congress would have the courage to honor their oaths and hold a president accountable, despite the temptations of executive favor, funding, and appointments.
Historical examples of “high crimes and misdemeanors” are few, but the phrase was a familiar British legal term used when officers of the court betrayed public trust—trust given by both crown and people. While the American system narrowed its scope, James Iredell of North Carolina (later a Supreme Court justice) described the standard as one for crimes not easily defined, but plainly “a high crime and misdemeanor against government,” the kind whose damage to the community is unmistakable.
Perhaps we should also heed the warning of our first Attorney General, who argued that impeachment is appropriate for a president violating the Foreign Emoluments Clause—a safeguard specifically designed to prevent corruption from foreign influence.
In more recent history, we saw President Clinton impeached for lying under oath to a grand jury. Some may recall that Rep. Lindsey Graham, back when truth mattered to him, served as one of the House Managers during that case.
It’s within this historical and moral framework that we must consider Rep. Shri Thanedar’s articles of impeachment. While seven articles may seem excessive, the breadth of evidence—much of it from the Orange Offender’s own mouth, tweets, and unfiltered digital tantrums—is staggering.
Take Article One: Obstruction of Justice and Abuse of Executive Power. Our self-proclaimed "stable genius" openly claimed no one asked him to release certain prisoners—yet a basic Google search of recent Supreme Court cases reveals otherwise. Worse still, multiple U.S. citizens—children—have been deported, some while receiving life-saving medical care, over the objections of their families.
Violation of First Amendment rights? That, too, is obvious. Student visas have been canceled not due to threats or security risks, but simply because students dared speak out against the administration’s inaction in the Middle East. This is speech protected by the Constitution—so long as it happens on American soil. Meanwhile, the president attacks the media relentlessly, seeking not just to discredit them, but to criminalize dissent.
Abuse of Trade Powers and International Aggression is another damning charge. The markets have been whiplashed by Trump’s erratic policies, and his militaristic posturing—complete with veiled threats—against allies and neighbors alike. The Constitution reserves the power to declare war for Congress. In a world always a heartbeat away from catastrophe, threats from the commander-in-chief endanger not just soldiers, but civilians, and in this writer’s view, border on treason.
As for Bribery and Corruption—must we really enumerate it? This is an administration that sold sponsorships for the White House Easter Egg Roll. (Didn’t Jesus have something to say about merchants in sacred places?) There are appointments made not on merit but on donations, favorable Justice Department treatment in exchange for political loyalty, tariff carveouts granted to inaugural donors... The list is too long and too grotesque. Suffice it to say, this is corruption not just in theory, but in grotesque, gleaming practice.
Even his legal team can’t seem to keep their arguments straight—contradicting themselves in one brief after another, offering little more than indignant disbelief that anyone would dare question their Dear Leader. This is not how a functioning executive branch should operate. It is crying out for Congress to reassert its authority.
Now, dear readers, is the hour. The beacons are lit; the warning echoes from the very birthplace of our revolution: tyranny is at the door. Before the Founders defined what a president should be, they defined what he must not become. And before they empowered him, they enshrined the tools to remove him.
It’s time for the people to act.
Let your Representatives—Democrat, Republican, Independent—know that you support Rep. Thanedar. He has said “enough.” He has stood up and called this what it is: a perversion of our ideals. He is bold. And he must not stand alone.
This is not business as usual. This is an attack on democracy. The man squatting in the People’s House is not just a conman, but a convict, a fraudster, a conjurer of cheap tricks, and a charlatan devoid of substance. A greedy, narcissistic parasite who has more than earned impeachment—with cause.
I leave you with this:
As a child, The Emperor’s New Clothes always left me delighted, and little puzzle
d. The idea that someone could be duped into marching naked through the streets always struck me as absurd. Who pays for invisible work? But now I ask—what if the emperor hadn’t just marched, but executed the first person who laughed?
Truth is not subjective. It can be complex, even uncomfortable, but it is not up for debate. Will we allow this orange emperor to parade his naked corruption through our streets, mocking us, and call it leadership?
I say no. And I say this to the GOP and their enablers: there’s a snowball’s chance in hell you’ll convince us otherwise.
👉 Download the Five Calls app and make your voice heard. Tell your Representatives it's time to support the Honorable Shri Thanedar and defend the Constitution from those who would unravel it for personal gain. Democracy is not a spectator sport.
Until our next bold move,
Lady LiberTea
Editor-in-Chief, Lady LiberTea