amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now. >> it was a real shock when all of us said in his hands were all over me. itit is when he started putting his hand up my skirt, that was it. that was it. amy: the 16 women who have accused president trump of sexual misconduct are back. now several of them are demanding that trump be investigated, as are several congress members. we will speak about what happened when she sat next to donald trump on the plane.

and we will speak to samantha holvey, a former miss usa contestant when trump owned the pageant. then, the movement to impeach. >> i think people are ready to stand up, and they need to, because this is an urgent matter. this is not something again that we can wait on or something we look at in 2019 or 2020. we need to lay the groundwork now for the call for impeachment proceedings against this president. amy we'll speak with : constitutional attorney john boniface. and, we continue our interview with dr. bandy lee, the yale psychiatrist who edited the book "the dangerous case of donald trump: 27 psychiatrists and mental health experts assess a president." >> we are pushing for in a valuation. we are warning about dangers. we are trying our best to educate the public so that people will be aware, they will be affirmed in what they are seeing, they will be educated on the depths of what they are seeing, and also that there is a way of dealing with the

situation . amy: we look at the duty to warn movement. all that and more coming up. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's democracy now! special by looking at the growing movement of people calling on president trump to resign over multiple claims of sexual misconduct, harassment and assault. the renewed calls come amid the international #metoo movement, in which women across the world have come forward to accuse a slew of powerful men of sexual harassment, assault and rape. in december, new york senator kirsten gillibrand became the fifth senator and first female senator to call for trump to step down over 16 claims he harassed or assaulted women. in response, trump attacked

gillibrand, tweeting " lightweight senator kirsten gillibrand, a total flunky for chuck schumer and someone who would come to my office begging for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against trump." senator gillibrand fired back, saying of the attack was sexist. >> it was a sexist smear attempting to silence my voice and i will not be silent on this issue. neither will the women who stood up to the president yesterday. neither will the millions of women who have been marching since the women's march to stand up against policies they do not agree with. amy: the usa today editorial board jumped in with an unusually forceful editorial headlined, "will trump's lows ?"er hit rock bottom

went on to write, "a president who would all but call senator kirsten gillibrand a whore is not fit to clean the toilets in the barack obama presidential library or to shine the shoes of george w. bush." meanwhile, three of the 16 women who have publicly accused trump of sexual harassment held a press conference last month in new york, demanding that congress take action. the women shared accounts in which they said trump groped, fondled and forcibly kissed them. the press conference was held by brave new films, which released the documentary "16 women and donald trump," in november. >> he groped me, he absolutely groped me. and he just slipped his hand there. touching my private parts. temple taggart: he turned to me and embraced me, and gave me a kiss on the lips. and i remember being shocked. and, because i would have just thought to shake somebody's hand but that was his first response with me. jessica leeds: it was a real shock when all of a sudden his hands were all over me. but that's when he started putting his hand up my skirt. and that was it.

that was it. kristin anderson: the person on my right who unbeknownst to me at that time was donald trump. put their hand up my skirt. he did touch my vagina through my underwear. lisa boyne: as the women walked across the table, donald trump would look up under their skirt, and, you know, comment on whether they had underwear or didn't have underwear. i didn't want to have to walk across the table. i wanted to get out of there. karena virginia: then his hand touched the right inside of my breast. i felt intimidated, and i felt powerless. mindy mcgillivray: melania was standing right next to him when he touched my butt. jessica drake: when we entered the room, he grabbed each of us tightly in a hug and kissed each of us without asking for permission. after that, i received another call from either donald, or a male calling on his behalf.

offering me $10,000. his actions are a huge testament to his character. that of uncontrollable misogyny, entitlement, and of being a sexual assault apologist. samantha holvey: and you know, i'm sitting there in my robe and having, you know, my makeup and hair done and everything and he comes walking in. and i was just like "oh my goodness, like, what is he doing back here? i saw him walking into the dressing room. tasha dixon: he just came strolling right in. there was no second to put a robe on, or any sort of clothing or anything. some girls were topless, other girls were naked. waltzing in, when we're naked, or half-naked in a very physically vulnerable position. summer zervos: and he came to me and started kissing me open-mouthed, as he was pulling me towards him. he then grabbed my shoulder and he began kissing me again very aggressively, and placed his hands on my breast. and i said, "come on man, get real." he repeated my words back me. "get reeeeeeal." as he began

thrusting his genitals. amy: that is an excerpt from robert greenwald's "16 women and donald trump." in december, juan gonzalez and i sat down with samantha holvey, a former miss usa contestant for north carolina when trump owned the pageant. i began by asking her about the first time she met donald trump. samantha holvey: so, the first time i met donald trump, we were in new york city doing a media tour, all 51 of the miss usa contestants. and we were at trump tower. they lined us all up, and so he could meet all of us. and i'm thinking this is going to be a meet and greet, you know, lots of eye contact. that was not the case at all. he walks by, and by every one of us, or at the very least me. he just looked me up and down like i was a piece of meat. there was no hi, how are you doing, are you excited to be here, none of that. i was just a piece of meat that was his property.

and i thought, goodness, i hope i never have to deal with him again. i don't want to be around him. and then finals night rolls around. and i'm, you know, in haiair r d makeup, curlers in my hair, nothing but a robe on. i'm just 20 years old, and he comes waltzing in to hair and makeup and is just looking around, not talking to us, asking us how we are doing. and by the way, you know, miss usa was not my first pageant. i have competed in other pageants, and the directors, no men were ever backstage. so this is not something that happens. so, i see him walk in to hair and makeup, and he's looking us all over, and then he waltzed right into the dressing room, where we have two big security guards making sure that nobody but female contestants and chaperones are allowed in there. but he walks right on in. and to hear him talking about how he's never met any of us -- you know, this is what happens every year.

just 2006. he bragged about this on howard stern. and silly me, i should have been watching howard stern, because he bragged about it the year before i competed at miss usa. so this was a known thing that he did. so it's just amazing to call me a liar when i am just verifying his own words. juan gonz?lez: well, white house spokesperson sarah sanders responded to the allegations against trump during monday's press briefing. this is what she said. ms. sanders: as the president said himself, he thinks it?s a good thing that women are coming forward. but he also feels strongly that a mere allegation shouldn't determine the course. and in this case, the president has denied any of these allegations, as have eyewitnesses. and several reports have shown those eyewitnesses also back up the president's claim in this process. and again, the american people knew this and voted for the president, and we feel like we are ready to move forward in that process. juan gonz?lez: well, samantha, your response to sarah huckabee

sanders statement? also, you initially raised these allegations, as did many of the women, last year during the campaign. what is the change now, the decision now to come to this press conference yesterday? samantha holvey: you know, it was a tough decision to come back out, because i did get a lot of backlash last year when i spoke out, and so i wasn?t sure -- wasn't sure if i wanted to go through all of that again. but when the idea was that all of us would come together, that all 16 women would come together, and seeing us as a group, seeing us there supporting each other, as well as telling our stories, there?s -- there's power in numbers. that's what i was hoping. maybe this year would be different since the climate is different. fromsamantha, you are north carolina. samantha holvey: i went to college in north carolina. i grew up in west virginia. i was born in texas. i am a southern girl.

amy goodman: so, which makes it even more relevant to talk about roy moore right now. your thoughts about president trump endorsing this accused pedophile, this accused child molester? samantha holvey: i was absolutely disgusted, but not surprised, because that is his ammo. -- mo. that is another testament to his character, the person he is. and, you know, it doesn?t matter -- doesn't matter that women came out with evidence. to make sureike, everybody knows, this is not a he said-she said thing. this is a he said, she verified what he said, and then he said that he didn't say that. so, you know, it's not a surprise that he came out for roy moore. but what i would love to see, i would love to see republicans take a stand, because women's issues, the treatment of women, that's not a partisan issue.

that's not something that only democrats should believe in. this is something that every woman in american and every man in america needs to stand up and say no, we are no longer accepting this type of behavior. amy: that was samantha holvey, a former miss usa contestant for north carolina when trump owned the pageant. in december, nermeen schaikh and i spoke with trump accuser: -- accuser jessica leeds. she recently retired after working 30 years as a stock broker. she is a mother of two and grandmother of eight. i began by asking leeds what happened to her when she encountered donald trump in the first-class cabin of a commercial flight in 1979. jessica leeds: well, i was traveling for a paper company as a sales rep. there were very few women at that time working on the road. so, it was not unusual for the stewardess to come back and ask me if i wanted to come up to first class. and i was delighted, because the food was better, the seats were more comfortable. so i came up. and the gentleman sitting on the window side and right at the bulkhead -- i sat down, and he introduced himself as donald trump. at that time, i knew nothing about the trump organization, donald trump or anything, because i did not work out of new york city.

i was based in connecticut. but i flew in and out of new york. well, they served the meal. and after it was cleared, he jumped all over me and started groping me and kissing me and this. and at the time, i remember thinking, why doesn't the guy across from the aisle come to my aid? why doesn't the stewardess come back? you know, but nothing was said. i didn't say anything. i don't remember him saying anything. amy: how did you first -- you had been talking at lunch, while you were eating? jessica leeds: a little bit, not a lot, not a lot. amy goodman: and he just turned to you? jessica leeds: yeah, yeah. amy goodman: and did what? jessica leeds: and started grasping me and pulling me and groping my breasts and trying to kiss me. it's when he started to put his hand up my skirt that i managed to wiggle out, because i am not a small person.

and i also managed to remember my purse and went to the back of the airplane. and that was the rest of the flight. amy goodman: to where the flight attendants are? you just? jessica leeds: right. amy: went back to the very back. jessica leeds: right, right, right. and when the plane landed, i made sure that everybody was off the plane before i did, because i didn?t want to run into him -- didn't want to run into him again. i did not complain to the airlines. i did not complain to my boss. that wasn't -- that was not done. there were all sorts of silly things that would happen on like guys saying, do you want to join a mile high club? i mean, you know, these were things that, at that time, we tolerated. so, fast-forward. i left and came to new york city. this is like in 1981, 1982. i got a job with the humane society of new york. and they were having this fundraising gala at saks fifth avenue. and i'm the new kid on the block, so i am really, really

thrilled to be involved with this. and it was a wonderful new york sparkly night, and i got to meet all these designers, who are now since gone, but oscar de la renta and bill blass and geoffrey beene and mary mcfadden and all of them. and up comes -- i met the tables at -- that gave out the table assignments. up comes trump with his wife ivana, who is very pregnant, and i look at him, and by this time, having worked for the humane society, i was aware of who this guy was. the trump family and everybody -- the society scene was very important to the humane society, to bring them in. so, i am remembering him. but i hand him this chip, and he looks at me, and he says i remember you. you are that -- and he used the c word -- from the airplane.

amy goodman: the c-word used to refer to a woman. jessica leeds: yes, yes. and it was like -- it had been a crowded scene around the table. but it was like, all of a sudden, everybody just sort of disappeared. and it's -- not that i felt threatened, but i felt very much alone. and he took his chip, and he went -- he went on. well, fast-forward to 2015 and 2016, when i realized that trump was actually going to run for president. i started telling everybody who would stand for it -- my family, my friends, everybody and anybody, my book club, my neighbors, everybody. i would say listen, let me tell you what kind of a person donald trump's. this was my experience with him. for the most part, they were women. and for the most part, they believed me. there were some that didn't, because it was a long time ago.

but coming up to the debates, it was the second debate, and when anderson cooper challenged trump, "have you ever groped a woman?" said, " no, no, no, no, let's ." k about syria and anderson didn't let him off the hook. have you ever groped a woman? no, no, no. well, i'm on my feet yelling at the tv, because you know, yes, you did! and i didn't sleep that night. and then i got up in the morning, and i picked up my newspaper, and i thought, i know what i will do. i will write a letter to the editor. and i opened up my computer, and my email was flying our the -- off the wall.

it just was incredible, all my got to saying you've something now. you've got to say something. so, i composed this letter to the editor. i sent it off to the new york times, went swimming, came back a couple of hours later, and there was a message from the times, with would i please call them? and i did. and this woman reporter, megan twohey, questioned me. i mean, we talked for over an hour. and then she said, can i send a reporter? this for a letter to the editor? so, yes, she sends a reporter. he and i talked for about two hours. and he took the names of the people that i had told, like my son, like my nephew, like my friends, like my neighbors. ,nd they called them and said and asked them, did jessica tell you the story over the past year? they all confirmed that's what i had done. , can we do aasked video? by this time i'm going, wow, this is getting pretty strange.

they did a video, and that came out wednesday night. and then, thursday morning, i open my door and pick up my newspaper, and it's below the full, but there's my picture. and i remember thinking, holy -- now, for about a couple of months -- and then there was this interview with anderson cooper. and i agreed to that because he was the guy who asked the question. and he treated me, i thought, very, very well. and we had a good conversation. but then my kids insisted that i leave the city, because there was people hanging around the door. and since i'm too old to know how to do the internet and the facebook and all that, i have no idea of the hate mail that came in. and we disconnected the phone, and i left town for a couple of days. i went out to a small town in pennsylvania. and the next day, we go to the post office, and the women in the post office come up to me,

and they say, "thank you. you are so brave." we go to the bank. the tellers at the bank, the customers in the bank come out and say, thank you, and you are so brave. we go to the farmers market. we go to the grocery store. the neighbors and robin's neighborhood all come in when they find out i'm there. and they all say the same thing. they say thank you and you are so brave. i come back to the city. i go to the y for swimming and for exercise. and the women started coming up to me, but they also said, i have a story. so i began to hear all these stories, some of them really horrific, some of them very

minor. this guy in my office came in and he [twisting gesture] my breasts. it was like, holy -- he did what? bennett went on for a while, -- so it went on for a while, and , then things calmed down. and then the anniversary of -- well, and trump got elected. and it was extremely disappointing. amy: you are now calling for a congressional investigation? jessica leeds: yes, yes. amy goodman: explain. jessica leeds: well, the problem with the political scene is the fact that trump really feels like he doesn't have anybody over him. there is nobody telling him, nobody is the boss of the white house except trump. it's up to congress to hall --

two bring him to task for who he is and what he is. i am hoping the mueller investigation will do it, but at this point i have to do -- have to continue doing what i feel is important about the sexual aggression issues. so it's up to -- i think it's up to congress to step forward. amy goodman: fifty-six women in congress. five senators, four of the men, one of them kirsten gillibrand, who he just verbally attacked, have called for his resignation. jessica leeds: yes. well, that would be something else, too. but he will never -- i think -- it's just like he doesn't remember these things anymore. as i said, he remembered me after a couple of years. and i'm not sure why. but he doesn't remember because he's it all his life. if some investigating power

could go back and check with his high school and college years, i bet the women that he dated then had the same experience. amy goodman: and, clearly, this is not just about dating. jessica leeds: no, no. this is the label sexual aggression. it really is. its control over something. he just -- i love it when he says he appreciates women. he doesn't. what he wants is some arm candy. nermeen shaikh: and you've talked about the massive discrepancy between women survivors remembering every single detail of what happened and male abusers completely forgetting. jessica leeds: yeah. women remember, in exquisite detail, when it happened, how it happened, where it happened, how they got out of it, how they got home. most of them talked about throwing their clothes away. most of them said that they felt responsible for what happened, and they women remember, in exquisite d'l anybody, even their parents or their spouses or everything. they remember it, whether they were eight years old or whether they were 30 years old. amy goodman: you said you never wore a dress on a plane again? jessica leeds: i stopped wearing

skirts. i started -- pantsuits were the -- amy goodman: because he reached up your skirt. jessica leeds: yeah, yeah. and i cut my hair from being long to short. it was one of those things where you as -- and this is what i object to. you, as the victim, take on the responsibilities to, somehow or another, prevent these situations from happening. amy goodman: do you want president trump to resign? jessica leeds: resign, be taken out, absolutely. amy: that was jessica leeds, who recently retired after working 30 years as a stockbroker. when we come back, we look at the movement to impeach president trump. ♪[singing in spanish]

amy grammy award-winning mexican : singer lila downs, singing "peligrosa," -- "dangerous woman" in the democracy now! studio. you can watch her full interview and performance at democracynow.org this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman on this democracy now! special. we turn now to the growing movement across the united states to impeach president trump, which many say is only slated to grow stronger in 2018. this fall, a half-dozen democrats introduced articles of impeachment against trump, accusing him of obstruction of justice and other offenses. co-sponsors include democratic

representatives steve cohen, luis gutierrez, al green, marcia fudge, adriano espaillat and john yarmuth. in december, the house rejected the effort, even as 58 democrats voted in support of the resolution, nearly a third of their caucus. meanwhile, at least 17 communities around the country are on record calling for impeachment proceedings against donald trump. well, last month, i sat down with constitutional attorney john bonifaz, co-founder and director of free speech for people. john bonifaz: to be clear, what we are doing here with this impeachment campaign that we launched with rootsaction on the day of the inauguration, because the president had refused to divest from his business holdings all across the world in defiance of the anti-corruption provisions of the constitution, what we are doing, amy, is designed to defend our constitution and our democracy. this is not about being dissatisfied about certain policies of the president. this is about the constitution and the basic fundamental principle in this country that no one is above the law, not even the president of the united states. and he walked into the oval

office that day already defying the rule of law, already refusing to comply with those two anti-corruption provisions of the constitution. amy goodman: explain exactly what those two anti-corruption articles of the constitution are and what he refused to do with his businesses. john bonifaz: so those two anti-corruption provisions are the foreign emoluments clause and the domestic emoluments clause. the foreign emoluments clause makes clear that the president shall not receive, nor any other federal elected official shall not receive, any payments or financial benefits of any kind from any foreign governments. the domestic emoluments clause applies only to the president and says he shall not receive any financial benefits or payments of any kind from the federal government or the state government other than his federal salary. this is a president who has 111-plus business interests all over the world, many of which involve illegal foreign benefits, foreign government benefits, to him personally, through his company, the trump organization, as well as having

properties all over the united states that involve state government benefits and the federal government, through the leasing of the post office square in washington, d.c., that is now the place where the trump international hotel resides. so, what we are dealing here with is a president who knew, prior to taking the oval office, warned by constitutional scholars, that he needed to divest from his business interests in order to comply with those anti-corruption provisions. he refused to, and he is engaged in treating the oval office as a profit-making enterprise at the public expense. amy goodman: how have things changed since january, when donald trump became president? john bonifaz: i think what has happened is we have seen a growing list of impeachable offenses that require an impeachment investigation in the u.s. congress parallel to the mueller investigation. this is not a question of having to wait and see whether or not the federal criminal investigation that is proceeding turns up violations of federal

criminal law by the president or any of his associates. that is a separate question. the question here are crimes against the state. impeachment is about, abuse of power, abuse of public trust, and not only through the violations of the anti-corruption provisions. there is now, of course, evidence of obstruction of justice. there is evidence of potential conspiracy with the russian government to interfere with the 2016 elections and violate deral campaign finance laws, among others. there is now evidence of abuse of the pardon power in the pardoning of former maricopa county arizona sheriff joe arpaio. there is recklessly threatening nuclear war against a foreign nation. there's misuse of the justice department to try to prosecute political adversaries. and there is the giving aid and comfort to neo-nazis and white supremacists. all of this -- all of this deserves an impeachment investigation in the u.s. house of representatives. amy goodman: so, in response to some democratic leaders warning against calls for impeachment

before robert mueller's investigation has been completed , billionaire environmentalist tom steyer defended his $20 million ad campaign to impeach president trump, and blasted his critics, telling the wall street journal, the republican nominee wasn't really a republican. the person who energized the democratic party wasn't really a democrat. so, when i hear the washington to shuthment tell me up, i think, well, may be -- and i'm thursday, he tweeted, it doesn't surprise me that the political establishment in washington, d.c. can't imagine the idea of the american people having an independent voice. they are scared of any threat to

their control. but it's important to do its right. i want to play a clip of the ad that has been running on television. tom steyer: he's brought us to the brink of nuclear war, obstructed justice at the fbi. and in direct violation of the constitution, he has taken money from foreign governments and threatened to shut down news organizations that report the truth. if that is in the case for impeaching and removing a dangerous president, then what has our government become? amy: that's the billionaire tom steyer, who has spent millions on this ad campaign that's running on television. can you talk about what he is and whether you are working with him? john: well, we are in communication with tom steyer and his team about collaborating possibly, and we do think what?s -- what is important here is to elevate the national conversation.

he is obviously helping to do that. we fully agree with all he is saying about the need for this impeachment process to move forward in the house of representatives. and the more voices that come forward from the american people all over the country is going to help push that forward in congress. amy: so let's talk about what happened this november, these six house democrats announcing they've introduced articles of impeachment against president trump. this is congressman steve cohen making the announcement on november 15th. steve cohen: i am proud to stand here with my friend, congressman gutierrez, with other congresspeople who will be here, in announcing that we are introducing articles of impeachment to remove president trump from office. there will be, i believe, six signatories on the resolution. we have taken this action because of great concern for our country and our constitution, our national security and our democracy. we believe that president trump has violated the constitution, and we have introduced five articles of impeachment. congressn, that's member steve cohen of memphis, t -- tennessee, and joining him,

luis gutierrez of chicago, marcia fudge of ohio, adriano espaillat of new york, john yarmuth of kentucky and al green of houston, texas. explain what they are introducing. john: well, they have introduced five articles of impeachment, and they have done it as a group. it is significant because up until now there were two members of congress, al green being one of them, congressman al green from houston, and congressman brad sherman from los angeles, who had introduced articles of impeachment around obstruction of justice. these articles go beyond obstruction of justice, including that, but also the violations of the foreign and domestic emoluments clauses and the president's continued attacks on freedom of the press and on the independence of the judiciary. what is significant here, amy is , that these articles have been introduced by members of congress despite the continued opposition by their own party's leadership in the congress. minority leader nancy pelosi has made it clear she doesn't think impeachment should move forward at this time, and yet they are going ahead and moving this forward. i think they are asking for other members of congress to

join them, beyond those who already have stepped forward. and we, as americans, all across the country, should push for an impeachment investigation and should urge our members of congress to take the same kind of action. amy goodman: so, respond to nancy pelosi. i mean, what these democrats are saying is this is not the way to retake the house in 2018, that if you disagree with the president, the way to deal with that is through elections. explain why you see impeachment as key. john: we are a nonpartisan organization. we are not involved in the political strategy of any political party. what we are focused on is defending our constitution. at this particular moment in time, it is not acceptable to say that we will simply kick the can down the road and wait until after an election cycle to lay the groundwork for the impeachment proceedings. they may not happen tomorrow. they may not get started next month. but the fact is, we need to be laying that groundwork and making this call now. and members of congress, whether they are democratic, republican, independent, or what have you, need to be stepping up to protect and defend the constitution. that is the oath they took. in addition to the president taking that oath, to protect, defend and preserve the constitution. and the other point on this, amy, is that nancy pelosi has

been saying that we don't have the facts out, we don't have the mueller investigation completed. but what they're really saying is they want other facts out, because we already have the facts out about what this president has done with respect to the emoluments clauses, with respect to obstruction of justice and so many other impeachable offenses. and when we look at the mueller investigation, we are mixing apples and oranges. that is a criminal investigation, whether or not the president and his associates have committed violations of federal criminal law. the question of impeachment is about abuse of power, abuse of public trust, crimes against the state. and it is just wrong for any member of congress to suggest that a criminal investigation needs to be completed before an impeachment proceeding can begin. amy goodman: one of the people who has gone before the congressional committees is roger stone, one of president trump's oldest advisors. he issued what appeared to be a veiled threat, warning in august any politician who voted to impeach president trump would face a violent response.

roger stone: try to impeach him. just try it. you will have a spasm of violence in this country, an insurrection like you have never seen. reporter: you think? roger stone: no question. reporter: you think if he got impeached, like the country would go to? roger stone: both sides are heavily armed, my friend. yes, absolutely. this is not 1974. the people will not stand for impeachment. a politician who votes for it would be endangering their own life. there will be violence on both sides. let me make this clear. i am not advocating violence, but i am predicting it. amy: that's roger stone speaking to tmz. he says there would be a violent response. john bonifaz? john bonifaz: it?s an outrageous statement, but it also highlights that we cannot allow fear to dictate our response to this lawless president. we cannot say that we are going to stay on the sidelines here while the constitution is being shredded, because of that kind of claim that roger stone or anyone else might make. amy goodman: so, explain how impeachment would work. what would the process look

like? john bonifaz: so, the first process involves the house judiciary committee taking up the question. the house of representatives would need to pass a resolution that would advance to the house judiciary committee the question of an impeachment investigation or articles of impeachment. you know, congressman al green has said that he wants to go to the floor with a privileged resolution immediately, that will force a vote in the house of representatives as early as in the next few days in this coming week. but, you know, beyond that process, the process of having the house judiciary committee take up this question would then involve subpoena power, would then involve taking witnesses. this is what happened during the nixon impeachment proceedings. i understand why people say -- well, the republicans control the house judiciary committee. they control the house of representatives. they control the senate. where do we think this process could actually go? but, you know, there were plenty

of people who argued on the day that we launched this campaign, on inauguration day, that there was just no way people would be standing up to demand this, and now we see millions of americans demanding it. now we see 17 communities on record, and now we see seven members of congress on record. and the facts continue to build that this president is defying the rule of law. we must place country over party here and stand up for the basic principle that no one is above the law. amy goodman: so, if you were arguing for the impeachment in congress, if you were laying out the case against trump over this almost a year that he has been in office -- not quite yet -- can you lay out the articles of impeachment? john bonifaz: yes. we would start with the violations of the two anti-corruption provisions of the constitution, the foreign emoluments clause and the domestic emoluments clause. this president is treating the oval office as a profit-making enterprise at the public expense. he is taking illegal payments and benefits from foreign governments in violation of the

foreign emoluments clause, and he's taking illegal payments from the state governments around the country, as well as from the federal government, in violation of the domestic emoluments clause. that's .1, or .1 and two, if you will, because they are two different clauses. then you have obstruction of justice. this is a president who first demanded loyalty of his former fbi director james comey. when he didn?t get that, he went ahead and fired him for not letting go, as he put it, of the flynn investigation, and this russia thing, as he said. that was obstruction of justice. that fbi director was involved in investigating the russian interference in the 2016 election and its potential connection to the trump campaign. it led to the appointment of special counsel robert mueller. and now we know, based on new reporting by the new york times, that soon after that, the president sought to stop the congressional investigations in the senate that were going -- that continue to go on with respect to that. so obstruction of justice, which was the first article of impeachment against richard

nixon, would certainly be part of this case. then we have the potential conspiracy with the russian government, potential collusion, to violate federal campaign finance laws and other federal laws and to interfere with our elections. that evidence continues to be built. but it is also an impeachment question, and the house judiciary committee should take that up. then we have the abuse of the pardon power. this is a power that is not unlimited by a president. and what the president has done with the pardon of former sheriff, maricopa county sheriff joe arpaio, is he has essentially undermined the due process rights of the thousands of people who were impacted by sheriff joe arpaio's illegal actions. this is the sheriff who was found in criminal contempt of court for refusing to stop his illegal practices of detaining people based on the color of their skin. and this president went ahead and used the pardon power in a

wrongful way to pardon him. then we have the giving aid and comfort to neo-nazis and white supremacists, not just what the president said after the charlottesville tragedy, but also his most recent tweets, tweeting or anti-muslim inflammatory anti-muslim videos. this president is giving that aid and comfort to white supremacists. then, you know, this president also has engaged in recklessly threatening nuclear war. now, the fact is that the president is the commander-in-chief. he does not have the power to initiate a war. that is established under the war powers clause, despite the fact that we have seen violations of it in the past. but this takes it to a whole new scale. this is a president who literally is engaged in recklessly threatening nuclear war against a foreign nation. that reckless and wanton disregard for the established norms and for essentially putting millions of lives at stake, threatening really the world, is an impeachable

offense. and then, finally, most recently, this president has talked about how he would like to see the justice department prosecute hillary clinton and other political adversaries. this misuse of the justice department, or attempted misuse, to prosecute political adversaries would be another impeachable offense worthy of investigation. amy goodman: how much support do you have around the country? john bonifaz: well, i think what we are seeing from the people both signing our petition at impeachdonaldtrumpnow.org and the petition at need to impeach that tom steyer has initiated is that there are millions already literally on record. millions of 1.3 plus million on our petition. he has over 3 million, and he?s that she is reaching a lot of -- he is reaching a lot of people through that ad campaign. and those members of congress, said that theyve

have been responsive to what they are hearing among their constituents. i think people are ready to stand up, and they need to, because this is an urgent matter. this is not something, again, that we can wait on for something we look at in 2019 or 2020. we need to lay the groundwork now for the call for impeachment proceedings against this president. amy: that's constitutional attorney john bonifaz, co-founder and director of free speech for people. up next, psychiatrist dr. bandy lee on president trump's mental health and the growing movement of mental health experts called duty to warn. ♪ duty to warn. [singing in spanish] ♪

amy: chicano batman performing in the democracy now! studio. you can watch their full performance and interview on our website, democracynow.org this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we end today's democracy now! special by looking at president trump's mental health, and a growing movement among mental health professionals called "duty to warn." last month, president trump slurred his speech and mispronounced words during an address on israel. mr. trump: let us rethink old assumptions and open our hearts and minds to possible and possibilities. and finally, i ask the leaders of the region, political and religious, israeli and palestinian, jewish and christian and muslim, to join us in the noble quest for lasting peace. thank you. god bless you. god bless israel. god bless the palestinians. and god bless the united states.

thank you very much. amy: white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders responded to questions about trumps slurred speech by announcing he had scheduled a physical health exam. news sanders: the president's throat was dry, nothing more than that. he does have a physical scheduled for the first part of next year, the full physical that most presidents go through, that will take place at walter reed. and those records will be released by the doctor following that taking place. amy meanwhile, new york times's : chief white house reporter maggie haberman commented on trump's behavior when she was interviewed on cnn last month. maggie haberman: something is unleashed with him lately. i don't know what scott is a get. i don't know how to describe it. it may be pressure from -- alisyn camerota: oh, you see a difference in the past what? days? weeks? maggie haberman: i think the

last couple of days tweets have been -- alisyn camerota: unhinged. maggie haberman: markedly accelerated in terms of seeming a little unmoored. amy this all comes as pentagon : leaders told a senate panel they would ignore any unlawful order by the president to launch a nuclear strike. the testimony came as part of the first congressional hearings in more than 40 years on the president's authority to start a nuclear war. well, last month, i sat down with psychiatrist dr. bandy lee to talk to her about president trump's mental health and the growing movement of mental health experts called "duty to warn." dr. bandy lee is a forensic psychiatrist on the faculty of yale school of medicine, and an internationally recognized expert on violence. she edited the book, "the dangerous case of donald trump: 27 psychiatrists and mental health experts assess a president." the book became a best-seller when it was published in october. i began by asking her about her concerns about president trump's

mental health. is actuallye: it historically unprecedented that so many mental health professionals have come forth with their concerns, under any president, of any party. so it really is the first time that this many mental health professionals are coming together in a coalition. we even have a website now, dangerouscase.org, where the public and lawmakers can discourse with us. there are thousands of us at this point. amy: so let's talk about -- layout what your concerns are as a psychiatrist. dr. bandy lee: so, our concerns are that someone with this level of mental instability and impairment has this much power, in the office of the presidency. basically, the power to start a devastating war, to launch nuclear missiles, without any inhibition. you saw from the hearings that there is very little inhibition in place right now. within five minutes of the

commander-in-chief's orders, nuclear missiles could be launched without question. amy goodman: and how does that relate to his mental fitness? dr. bandy lee: and, of course, his decision-making capacity, having such levels of impulsivity, having a loose grip on reality and being so fragile in his ability to cope with ordinary stresses, such as basic criticisms or unflattering news, will tend to unravel, especially in times of heightened stress, such as under the special counsel's investigations. amy goodman: just last week, tony schwartz, author of -- well, co-author of trumps book, "the art of the deal," told msnbc's ari melber that the circle iss inner

worried about his mental state. tony schwartz: i know that two different people from the white house, or at least saying they were from the white house, and that turned out to be a white house number, have called somebody i know in the last several weeks to say we are deeply concerned about his mental health. ari melber: wait a minute. you are saying you have knowledge of people calling from a white house line raising that question. why would they do that? how do you know that? tony schwartz: i know that because i know the person that they called. and this is a person who i absolutely trust, who has great integrity. amy goodman: so, that was tony schwartz, who i think ghostwrote the book the art of the deal, very close to trump for a period of time. what are your thoughts about what he said? dr. bandy lee: well, as you know, he has a chapter in the book, even though he is not counted among the 27 experts. we do have three others who have been included for their special insight, their special experience with mr. trump. and we included him because he has special insight into these matters. and i would agree with his assessment. we speak often. we share our observations.

and we are both deeply concerned. amy goodman: the chapter that tony schwartz wrote in your book, i wrote the art of the deal with donald trump. his self-sabotage is rooted in his past. explain his point here. bandy lay: well, there is actually a lot that's outlined. it's a reprint of an article that he wrote, i believe, for the new yorker. he outlines very much his interactions and experiences with the president. and he describes, most markedly, this emptiness, this -- what he calls a black hole level of self-esteem or self-worth that is missing, whereby he can have all the admiration of the world, all of the successes, and he will -- his thirst will never be quenched, because of that

intense need. and that is what we are seeing, over and over. and what is most concerning for us is that his way of coping with this critical sense of need at every moment, so much, to the point where he cannot think of the past or the future or consequences, his main urgency is to quench the need at the moment. and the way he does this is by burnishing his power, by going to belligerent language or and othersonflicts world as ae threatening place where you have to be violent. amy goodman: this is republican senator lindsey graham of south carolina speaking about, well, then-candidate donald trump. this was back in 2016.

mr. graham: i am not going to try to get into the mind of donald trump, because i don't think there's a whole lot of space there. i think he's a kook. i think he's crazy. i think he?s unfit for office. amy goodman: so that was graham in 2016. but senator graham sounded different last month, when he spoke to cnn. lindsey graham: you know, what concerns me about the american press is this endless, endless attempt to label the guy as some kind of kook, not fit to be president. amy goodman: so, that is senator graham now. what about what he is saying? dr. bandy lee: i think the laypersons, the public or lawmakers, would be prone to underestimating the dangers of this president, because most people are used to seeing individuals who are healthy. it's only professionals who see those who are impaired, day in and day out. and so, the natural tendency will be to interpret what they

are seeing in terms of a normal range, a normal variation of human choices, decision making and behavior. what we are -- what we feel pressed to do is to warn about the situation where someone is not acting within normal range, where one is normalizing what is in fact a malignancy in one's interpretation of reality. amy goodman: on wednesday, the house voted not to impeach president trump. the vote failed 364 to 58, with all republicans voting against the measure. the democratic leadership also came out against the impeachment vote. the measure was introduced by congressmember al green of houston, who said on the house floor, donald john trump, causing such harm to the society of the united states, is unfit to be president and warrants impeachment, trial and removal

from office. and then, in april, maryland congressmember jamie raskin introduced a bill that would create a commission to determine if the president is mentally or physically unfit for office. this is congressman raskin, also professor of constitutional law, explaining how the bill is based on the 25th amendment. jamie raskin: section 4 of the 25th amendment says that the vice president of the united states can act with a majority of the cabinet to determine that there is a presidential incapacity, or the vice president can act with a majority of any body to be set up -- and congress never set up the body that's called for in the 25th amendment. so this is us essentially following through on our constitutional obligation to set up a body in the event of a presidential disability. and that's something that would be determined by the body, but, of course, only with the vice president of the united states. so, we?re talking about a body that is nonpartisan, that's independent and that acts with

the vice president, who, of course, is reporting directly to the president. so it would be in the most extreme cases where there?s a -- there is a consensus that has developed that the president is incapable of discharging the duties of office. amy goodman: so, that is congressman jamie raskin. you just came from capitol hill, where you are talking to democratic and republican congress members. what about this? or brandy lee: senator representative raskin was one of the members that i got to meet, but, unfortunately, he was called to vote, so we didn?t get to talk much. he definitely wishes to follow up. and we, among ourselves, have also been advocating for an expert panel, that would be separate and independent and appointed by the national academy of medicine, so, in fact, we could work on figuring out what the solution might be for us to be able to form an independent panel that can give recommendations that he could receive through a commission.

amy goodman: let me ask you about this unusual article i just read that's sort of going all over the internet. could trumps hair drug threaten his physical and mental health? and it said -- this is from months ago -- this week, president trump's doctor disclosed that the president takes finasteride, a drug marketed as propecia, to treat male pattern baldness. while it is tempting to make jokes about trumps hair and even the sexual side effects that accompany the drug, it also has many disturbing side effects that neither the president nor any other man should risk. in the 19 years since propecia was approved to treat hair loss from male pattern baldness, side effects have been so concerning that the term post-finasteride syndrome (pfs) has been coined and hundreds of lawsuits have been brought. in addition to its sexual side effects one drug's

cognition, mood and mental states have been documented in the scientific literature. a 2013 study in journal of sexual medicine noted 'changes related to the urogenital system in terms of semen quality and decreased ejaculate volume, reduction in penis size, penile curvature or reduced sensation, fewer spontaneous erections, decreased testicular size, testicular pain, and prostatitis." many subjects also noted a 'disconnection between the mental and physical aspects of sexual function,' and changes in mental abilities, sleeping patterns, and/or depressive symptoms." do you think this is relevant? dr. bandy lee: most definitely. mental function is not separate from physical function, and many medications have profound effects on the minds capacity. and so, this is one of the reasons why an evaluation would be so critical, because mental impairment can be just as debilitating as physical impairment, and the both are connected.

so, to have all the medical records, as well as to be able to get a list of medications and to do a medical exam, would be essential to doing a mental health exam. amy: that was dr. bandy lee, who is on the faculty of yale school of medicine, and an internationally recognized expert on violence. a forensic psychiatrist. she edited the book, "the dangerous case of donald trump: 27 psychiatrists and mental health experts assess a president." the book became a best-seller when it was published in october. that ds it for our show. democracy now is produced by rene fel, dea guer nermeen shaikhcarla wills, laura goesdier, sam alcoff, john hamilton, robby karran, hany massoud, charina nadura,

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