Were you under the impression that Mueller had the authority to remove Trump from office?
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No and I never suggested so.
Characterizing the Mueller report as something that had “zero results” just because it didn’t instantly bring about Trump’s removal from office seems a tad unfair then.
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I never mentioned the Mueller report.
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If a police officer witnesses a person committing a crime, doesn’t that cop have a moral and legal duty to do something about it even if he knows the criminal is likely rich and well-connected enough to beat the charge?
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Let Lindsey Graham explain what impeachment is all about (from his speech to the senate during Clinton’s process)
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Such certainty. I’d like to remind everybody that early in the process with Nixon’s removal from office the Senate was controlled by his party and largely in his favor., By his resignation many authorities had the conviction count in the Senate at or above the needed 60. Now, people could mention how it’s all different now and the media situation this and that. But it’s ALWAYS different.
Part of the point of impeachment in the House is to get the information out there and thereby move the needle by force.
And the political fallout issue is more complicated than the centrists make it out to be. There’s large segments of the population that aren’t counted among the “likely voters” that (with the help of party apparatchiks) create that elusive “electability”. But if we can convince more people that we are actually going to help them, then enthusiasm may follow.
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60 votes isn’t even close. Impeachment requires a 2/3 vote in the Senate.
You’re right that that is short of the 66 needed, but that is close.
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Politically, I think this might be the better scenario. There are a lot of contested Senate seats for the GOP in 2020 (the opposite of 2018, where there were more contested Dem seats). Force a vote prior to the election, and every GOP senator in a blue or purple state is going to be spending their whole campaign defending their vote.
“Senator X, why wasn’t evidence of money laundering enough to vote for removal?”
“Senator X, why wasn’t evidence of tax evasion enough to vote for removal?”
“Senator X, why wasn’t evidence of obstruction enough to vote for removal?”
“Senator X, why wasn’t evidence of emoluments violation enough to vote for removal?”
“Senator X, if all of the evidence against President Trump wasn’t enough to vote for removal, what are you hiding?”
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Sure. But if a prosecutor doesn’t believe a jury will convict they very well may not proceed to trial.
I’d much rather see Congress spend their time investigating Trump AND his entire corrupt administration. If the House votes for impeachment, that’s fine. I don’t believe it will get the outcome we both want. As I’ve said, I’d be thrilled to be wrong.
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They have been. That’s one reason so many of them have been forced to resign.
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Right. That’s why I’d like to see them continue on that course.
Impeachment is both a process and a vote, and the vote occurs in both the House (which votes to impeach) and the Senate (which votes to convict). The vote comes at the end of the proceedings that accumulate any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the president. You can’t have a vote without the proceeding, and the proceeding (which, again, would be the part where the House investigates the president in an even more thorough capacity than it currently is) is the thing that Democratic leadership is stonewalling. Plus, an impeachment proceeding doesn’t mean all of the other investigations have to stop. They’re just sources for more evidence to be gathered for the eventual vote.
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Saved me from typing this out.
Instead I’ll just remind everyone of this, and point out that there is Trump org activity that Mueller didn’t consider
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What about reading my initial post?
Because it will never result in Trump’s removal from office (ie, conviction in Senate).
Because when Clinton was impeached his approval rating went up.
Because it will have Congress doing nothing but impeaching him up to the 2020 election.
Because the 2020 election could have the same result.
