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Butte-Silver Bow Judiciary Committee will review citizen-submitted impeachment resolution after presentation
Summary
A local resident presented documents urging the committee to find cause and recommend impeachment; after public comment and commissioner discussion, the committee voted to hold the communication for two weeks to review submitted material before deciding whether to forward a resolution.
The Butte-Silver Bow Judiciary Committee voted April 8 to hold in abeyance a citizen-submitted communication asking the county to find cause and recommend that the U.S. House of Representatives pursue impeachment of President Donald Trump.
Mark Philip delivered a binder of documents to the committee and spoke at the meeting, saying he had compiled exhibits including excerpts from the U.S. Law of War Manual, news reports, resignation letters and transcripts he said supported his view that recent federal actions and statements were unlawful. "I'm trying to respond to that by grounding my statements in what is the U.S. Constitution," Philip told the committee as he summarized the materials he provided.
Chairwoman Commissioner Shea read a separate written submission from Kenzie R. Baltazar into the record, in which Baltazar argued a local resolution on federal impeachment would be largely symbolic and outside the scope of local government responsibilities, and urged the council to focus on local priorities such as traffic-safety concerns she said had not received follow-up.
Commissioners responded to the materials and public comments. Commissioner Healey thanked Philip for the effort and said the issue "does affect everyone." Commissioner Callahan praised the documentation and moved to hold communication 2026-175 for two weeks to allow committee members time to review the binder and related exhibits; the motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote. Commissioner Gerbrandt said he believed the Constitution was being violated and indicated readiness to forward a resolution to the full council after review.
The motion to hold the communication did not record a roll-call vote in the transcript; the committee approved it by voice vote. Chairwoman Shea and committee members said they would review Philip's materials and arrange for him to return at a subsequent meeting if needed.
The committee’s action was procedural: it postponed a decision on whether to endorse or forward any resolution. No formal resolution endorsing impeachment was adopted at the April 8 meeting; the item will return for further consideration after the committee members have had time to review the submitted exhibits.
