Here’s something from Captian Obvious:
Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin suggested that President Joe Biden may not qualify for impeachment in the House GOP investigation because if he did commit a crime, he isn’t holding that same office anymore or wasn’t even in office at the time.
“The bar is real high. There’s not question about it,” Mullin said in an interview on Newsmax on Friday morning. “It’s got to be a misdemeanor or high crime or treason and the other part has to be committed while he was in office. The current office that he holds. So, what he did as a vice president or what he did in-between the two may not be impeachable.”
And that’s not even taking into account a point made on Friday by Taegan Goddard.
Republicans argue that Donald Trump should have immunity from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed while he was president even though he is now out of office.
They also argue that Joe Biden is not immune from impeachment for alleged crimes he committed while he wasn’t president.
It’s hard to keep up with this logic.
That’s right, Trump, supported by his allies, is currently arguing in court that he should be immune from prosecution for any crimes he committed as president. Short of that, he argues, he’s already be acquitted in two impeachment trials, and trying him again in federal court would amount to double jeopardy.
Meanwhile, Biden can be impeached for loaning his son money while they were both private citizens. Or he can be impeached for alleged crimes he committed as vice-president, none of which have been demonstrated.
This has much of the country scratching its head:
Late-night hosts continued to break down Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, which has two major problems, according to Seth Meyers: “One, they don’t have any evidence. And two, they can’t even say what the crime is.
“I’m no lawyer,” the Late Night host continued, “but I’ve watched a lot of CSI and I’ve never seen an episode where David Caruso says, ‘You’re under arrest … for nothing.’”
But let’s remember something. Impeachment is a purely political procedure that has very few rules. We know a majority of the House has to vote to impeach and that creates a trial in the Senate where a two-thirds majority is required to convict. Almost everything outside of that is undefined. The House could have impeached Barack Obama for once wearing a tan suit. There’s no legal or constitutional reason why not. And the Senate could have convicted him for it and removed him from office. The standard is supposed to be treason, a high crime or misdemeanor or bribery, but it’s up to Congress to determine what amounts to a high crime or misdemeanor. They could say dancing on Sunday is a high crime, and there’s no entity you could appeal to.
As a matter of practice, “the House and Senate have refused to act on impeachment charges against individuals who were not then holding a federal office,” but of course President Biden is currently holding a federal office. The truth is, Gerald Ford had it right:
While still serving as a member of the House of Representatives, Gerald Ford once said that impeachable offenses are whatever a majority of the House considered them to be. The burden is on those who want to bring impeachment charges to persuade a majority of the members of the House of Representatives and two-thirds of the members of the Senate that an act is so serious as to justify removing an individual from office.
I think it’s obvious that no Democratic senators are going to vote to convict Biden “for nothing,” nor for any crime he may have committed as vice-president or as a private citizen. So, if the burden for Biden’s accusers includes persuading two-thirds of the Senate to remove Biden from office, that burden is not going to be met. Nonetheless, House Republicans unanimously voted to open an impeachment inquiry this week.
This is supposedly for the purpose of helping them enforce subpoenas in court. In other words, they hope they will find “sufficient grounds” to impeach Biden even though they quite obviously lack that evidence right now. Additionally, this satisfies Trump’s demand for revenge for his two impeachments and throws up enough smoke that they hope voters will assume there is a fire.
Seven Republicans voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, including three who are still serving. I think that qualifies as a fire. I think when 57 percent of the Senate votes to convict and you are only saved by the 67 percent requirement, that’s a strong indication that you’ve done something seriously wrong.
But the American people don’t seem to have gotten the message if the polls can be believed, because Trump is the favorite to beat Biden in 2024.
This endless nonsense seems to be working for the GOP, and I don’t know what to do about it.
They simply want a year’s worth of headlines with “Biden” and “Impeachment” in the headline and the lede. It’s their go to slime technique. Worked with Hillary on Benghazi and the emails “scandal.” Trump tried to get Ukraine to do that for him. I really hope the media has learned something, but I am not expecting they have.
It is a testament to just how pervasive American ignorance is, that there are enough people totally content to walk democracy right into the threshing blades of history, without really having a second thought about it.
Out of all the heartbreaks that we’ve endured in the 21st Century, and particularly within the last decade, I think maybe the worst is learning definitively just how phenomenally stupid many American voters apparently are. It’s just incomprehensible.
We knew that. We have to stop him.
Happens all the time bro. You are spot on.
“…and I don’t know what to do about it.”
Me either. The best I can come up with is the first Ali-Frazier fight, when Ali won the first few rounds and Frazier doggedly stuck to his strategy of going inside and attacking Ali’s body to try to tire him out. Eventually (and at some cost), it worked. Ali faded in the later rounds; Frazier connected and knocked him down a couple of times, and won the fight.
Translated to today’s presidential politics, that means those who have the power to push forward on legal accountability (criminal and civil) for Trump and his co-conspirators continue to do so. As Trump (presumably) secures the GOP nomination over the next 3-4 months, that means 1) attacking him politically, 2) defending/advancing Biden, and 3) making the election a choice about who care more and will do more for the lives of ordinary voters.
I can’t think of anything else that also preserves our democracy.
If Trump loses 2024, do you think he will fade away? Unless his health gives, he and Republicans will keep the country occupied till 2028.
Actually, I think Trump will fade away if he loses after 2024. He is not a young man. But his movement will not fade away. That will hold on and how well it endures without Trump is an open question.
Thanks for your response. It’s a good question. And it’s pretty much out of our control. If Trump loses and wants to continue his roadshow, there’s not much we can do about it. It’s really up to Republicans (and, to a lesser extent, the media—especially the Fox News extended universe) whether Trump continues to be a factor.
My guess is that after losing the popular vote three times in a row, and at the age of 78 (and having lost to “senile” Joe Biden twice), and facing continued legal “exposure” (if he hasn’t already been convicted), Trump won’t be much of a factor.
What will remain is the radicalized anti-democratic faction of the GOP, and there will be an ongoing need to continue to defeat that faction in as many arenas and as many ways as possible.
Sweet Jesus. Hindenburg was old right I just watched a video of Joe after he was elected. This is weighing on him. They are killing him. Save Joe save the kids and goddamn Trump, MAGA the lot of them,
You bet. We don’t know what the next year holds. But we know this clown is a fascist pig.
What is very evident is US is not ruled by laws! It is actually a failed state – will take a long time for people to recognize.
In any other democracy most Republicans would not win any more elections.
Hey Martin,
I’m pretty much at the point where I hope everybody who identifies as Republican/ Conservative just fucking dies. I know it sounds harsh, but I’m done with these people.
They are saying the same thing. we have to use our brains to stop this asshole.
‘You’re under arrest … for nothing.’” He is a nazi and this will be our childrens future. We have to stop him. No joke. He cannot win the “win” the next election in any manner. He is insane.