There has never been a President more unqualified than Trump nor more deserving of impeachment. What more does he have to ruin before the Republicans realize enough is enough?
8
Donald Trump will be impeached. Just not as soon as he wants to be impeached.
He knows impeachment is inevitable (he crossed the line), but he wants Democrats to jump in too quickly, before they really have their ducks in a row.
The Republicans are trying to rush the Democrats into impeachment, because a well-planned, methodical process is a political death sentence to Trump and the Republicans.
A drip-drip-drip torture strategy will drive Trump and Republicans insane (the ones not already there), and will succeed in removing Trump constitutionally or electorally (whichever comes first).
I'm looking forward to watching the continued decline and fall of Trump and the Republican Party.
12
Trump is politically smart to try and force Democrats to put up or shut up. All the attacks on Barr, all the attempts to re-hash ... AGAIN ... the same old Russia collusion and obstruction of justice claims will lead to nothing new, and any real attempt at impeach will feel purely political. And it will be. And it would damage Democrats more than Trump.
The Republican House succeeded in impeaching Clinton, but all they accomplished was halting their own agenda and tanking their own popularity. Clinton left office with a 65% approval rating. I think at least Pelosi learned from the Clinton impeachment saga, which is why she is letting her party pursue this quasi-impeachment strategy. But even that is a massive waste of time, and a squandering of legislative resources.
Plenty of voters, myself included, do not like Trump. But I recognize that he was lawfully elected by the voters, and we have learned nothing about him or his conduct since he took office that rises to the level of overturning their votes.
4
The Trump cannot claim Executive power to keep evidence from the congress.
For then, How could the congress report wronging by a president to We The People ? Oversight would be impossible.
The Mueller report has to be available uncensored by the Trump or his stooge, Barr.
3
What's the rush? Congressional oversight is part of the constitution. They can investigate to find out the information. Can impeach or not, doesn't matter. Part of Congress' duties is oversight.
3
This is another of Trump's dangerous games. He has no policy and no underlying principles. Therefore, he can play "I dare you" very easily.
The House must be deliberate and careful as it proceeds, considering what's best for the country rather than reacting to Trump's daily provocations.
If Congress goes ahead with impeachment investigations, Trump may be the one left crying. He would be hard pressed to claim executive privilege for the Mueller report and underlying documents, when he is being investigated.
3
Context is everything with this president. Trump is a con artist type businessman that has nothing to lose. Even if he had lost the election in 2016, it was smart advertising for him. He has come to power through a tactic the rich and politically connected in this country and others country have used for a long time, culturally divide the people. Let the people fight each other rather than you (the rich).
Trumps impeachment (and jail time) is a necessary statement to the rich in this country, no getting away with it anymore.
3
The thing about impeachment is that even when it doesn't work, it still works. Bill Clinton emerged unscathed, only to have his legacy permanently stained. The First Lady also experienced as a result of the impeachment, unwelcome complications affecting her legacy and her future.
3
“Confident that there are not enough votes to remove him from office through an impeachment trial in the Senate,...”
How can it be possible that, regardless of what may be revealed about Mr. Trump during impeachment hearings in the House of Representatives, the president is certain the senate will not vote to impeach him?
In this country no one is above the law. That includes the president.
Using Trump’s bizarre boast as an example, if congessional representatives in the house discovered that he had “shot someone on Fifth Anenue,” does the president actually think that Republican senators would ignore this? That they will support him regardless of where the evidence leads?
This cannot be. Partisan alliegence surely hasn’t completely overwhemed logic, reason, common sense and the Rule of Law.
Mr. Trump, this is still the United States of America.
And THAT your pride and ignorance cannot change.
6
Trump believes that he will be impeached. He's right.
He and the Republican Party are trying to rush the Democrats before they've properly prepared for impeachment. That's not going to happen.
When impeachment does come, it will come only after a steady, drip-drip-drip torture political strategy that will drive Trump and the Republican Party insane. That will be fun to watch.
It will result in political disaster for Trump and the Republican Party if Trump fails to resign, or if the Republicans fail to turn on Trump in order to save themselves from political obliteration in 2020.
That will be even better to watch.
3
Much blather about the importance of preserving the power of the Presidency for someone who has repeatedly, on a range of issues, shown total disregard for the underlying structures and functions that have made this country great (for at least 250 years; who knows if we will ever regain the stature in the eyes of the world Trump has lost?). It must be getting harder and harder to act as if the emperor is wearing clothes.
5
Trump thinks that McConnell has packed the court system with lackeys that will protect him. He may be right. But does he really want to take that risk?
2
"Americans May Be Persuadable on Impeachment," the Washington Post reports today. http://tinyurl.com/y6j764ta
That is exactly what Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team are trying to do. In a careful, methodical way, they are trying to build a case for impeachment. Despite a recent shift in the polls, the country is still very much divided.
Remember, 20 Republican senators must go along for the two-thirds vote needed to convict in the Senate. How likely is that in the present partisan climate?
Without the public's support, an attempt to impeach could easily backfire, leaving the Democrats with egg on their faces, and hurting their chances in 2020.
I’m with Pelosi. We must think and act strategically, and not be goaded into premature impeachment, either by Trump or the impatient left wing of the Party.
19
@Ron Cohen
The Constitution is clear: If the House of Representatives believes that impeachable offenses have been committed, by the current occupant of the Oval Office or other officials subject to impeachment, then it is their duty to issue Articles of Impeachment setting forth the specifics. The question is not whether the other Chamber of Congress will vote yea or nay. It is only in dictatorships that charging decisions are made after it has been determined that a conviction will occur. A public impeachment hearing, with witnesses and evidence, may change enough voters' minds that their Senators begin to see the light and then begin to vote for their country, not their belief in their right to a sinecure.Ron Cohen
5
"The decision to assert executive privilege and defy subpoenas across the board suits Mr. Trump’s natural combative instincts..." And he has no moral or ethical compunction preventing him from completely reversing himself at any time. I think it's wise of the Congress to pursue any and all investigations into Trump ethical/criminal misconduct. But impeaching him before the election in 2020 only to lose the fight in the Senate would be a disaster - especially if it leads to his re-election. Let's wait and see who's elected President. If he loses we will send him on his way. If he wins let the heavens rain down fire and fury upon his bald pate, and may he find no stone to crawl beneath to escape the wrath of a unified Congress in Democratic hands.
2
Pelosi is a smart leader and the Democrats are wise to hold off on impeachment. After all, why give Trump something that he wants?
Democrats in the House can continue investigations of Trump and his minions, and at the same time put forward legislation on the issues that people care about most: healthcare, Social Security, jobs, education, infrastructure.
Come November 2020, those are the issues that will motivate voters.
3
This is not a "faux" constitutional crisis.When the president refuses to supply ANY documents requested by congress, he is not recognizing that he has to answer to anyone..ergo he is a dictator and that describes the essence of a constitutional crisis.Now,if congress were to start the impeachment process, the executive branch is FORCED to provide all documents necessary to back up their claim that the president is featuring himself as a monarch.Yet another way to get the info they need.
5
During Watergate, the House and the Senate held hearings.
At the beginning (May 17, 1973) there was not a great deal of interest.
By the end, in 1974, enough people had been educated that there was widespread support for impeaching Nixon, and he resigned rather than be impeached. He would have been convicted and removed from office, and he was so informed ... by Republican senators, like Barry Goldwater.
The same is true today.
First hold hearings to educate the populace about what happened.
Later, impeachment would be fine, and there might even be support from ... Republicans (when they see that failing to vote for conviction in the Senate might cost them their jobs).
10
Yes, I have to agree, reluctantly, with Pelosi; let's not fall into the Repubs impeachment trap. If ever a president deserved impeachment it's certainly Trump. But, as we all know, the Senate Repubs will stick with him no matter what his crimes.
So how can we get rid of him? Only one way Win in 2020. I think we can get the popular vote,, as we did in 2016, but we must take care that the Repubs don't steal the electoral college vote again by voter suppression tactics. Won't be easy because we can't expect much help from AG Barr or the Republicanized courts. Won't be easy but it's our only hope.
2
When the televised House Judiciary Committee hearings started for Nixon on 5/18/73, 19% favored removing him from office. At that time, Nixon's approval rating was 45%. When the Committee released its report and recommendation for impeachment, 57% of the public favored impeachment; Nixon's approval rating fell to 24%. (Pew research paper 8/8/2014).
At this time, 45% of us favor impeaching Trump, up from 40% in mid April (Reuters 5/9/19).
And we haven't even started impeachment hearings.
It's noteworthy that the full House never got around to voting on impeaching Nixon; he resigned before that vote.
Also we should remember that the Senate has never voted to convict a president.
Yet, it only took a vote for impeachment by the House Judiciary Committee to send Nixon packing.
Also note that the Nixon impeachment hearings took 14 months, from May 1973 to July 1974. If we start impeachment hearings in May 2019, 14 months gets us to July 2020, just three months before that all important November election.
The House Judiciary Committee will surely vote for impeachment. Who ever voted for an impeached candidate?
6
Impeach with Confidence
People who want to vote for Trump will vote for him if he is impeached or not. Even a failed impeachment will not convince independent or undecideds {if any) to vote for Trump.
House Democrats are shielded from criticism of inaction by the 100 bills sitting in the Senate trash can
So go ahead and do the right thing, Impeach Trump. The fall out at the ballot box is minimal.
7
Trump claims exoneration and a win no matter what, with or without the impeachment. Muller Report hearings in Congress will be a positive game changer for democrats in 2020. It continues to challenge Trump’s spin zone for the next 18 months and shines light on the pentimento painting of crimes hidden beneath the surface as documented in Muller report.
I doubt if there are any undecided voters right now sitting on the fence trying to debate the future of the country based on impeachment. There is no data to support this. The cluster of 35% trump supporters will vote for Trump irrespective of his misgivings. Likewise, a section of the Republicans and ~100% of democrats will vote along the party lines. If the undecided, independents are truly independent to the nature, and if the crimes of Trump over the last 2+ years won’t convince them to put a value to their vote, nothing will, with or without the impeachment hearings. The Congressional democrats should take the challenge.
5
The Democrats have made it clear, since the day after Trump beat Hillary Clinton that their goal is to remove trump from office ASAP using nay means necessary. Like so many others it seems to me they should stop talking about it 24/7 and do it if they are going to do it.
5
Trump doesn't really seem to take risk into account in his actions. He thinks that impeachment will be a positive good for his presidency believing that his base will agree with him, that somehow he'll manage to spin whatever revelations come out.
For their part, the Republican party has learned the wrong lesson from their impeachment attempt 20 years ago: They believe that impeachment will always be viewed by the public as a partisan effort instead of the reality that the public easily perceived their partisan motivations then.
The problem that both Trump and the Republican party have is when evidence of actual "high crimes & misdemeanors" comes out.
4
Democrats don’t impeach the president, Congress does. Making this a Democrat vs Republican issue plays in to Trump’s narrative. Our legislative branch must hold anyone acting unconstitutionally or unlawfully in the executive branch accountable. It’s their sworn duty, not partisan politics.
4
There is one way for Trump to make this go away. Swear under oath and testify. But he'll never do that because he can't, or won't tell truth from fiction one minute to the next. But you better believe Trump knows what perjury means. It's how Mr. Clinton went down after testifying under oath and getting caught in a lie. Trump can't tell the truth because he never learned and doesn't know how.
3
The Democrats are not going easy on Trump. Showing him to be a broke grifter has ruined him financially. His reputation, his brand, and his deal making days are over. If he’s lucky he’ll get to keep Trump Tower or Mara Largo as a sanctuary/prison.
36
Censure Trump. It is a way to communicate everything wrong with him without needing a single Republican vote. Let them defend the adultery and all his other slimy behavior.
3
I actually see merit in the current course the Democrats are taking. Personally, I think impeachment is necessary. But right now, I think the game is to give Trump the rope he needs to hang himself with.
Trump thinks he is going to make the Congress look weak. But he is goading Congress by engaging in increasingly indefensible acts.
8
Trump knows that even if the GOP is no longer able to shield him from any consequences of his crimes, he always has his ace in the hole: seeking asylum in Russia. And, once there Putin will decorate him with the highest honors for his service to that country.
"When the time comes to hang the capitalist West, the American businessman will sell us the rope." - Nikita Khrushchev
1
I can hear Giuliani's Daffy Duck impediment; “If you don’t call their bluff now, they’ll just keep "slithering "'. Impeachment is necessary, the election results in 2020 will not be effected. Both parties already know their loyalties.
3
The GOP run Senate will never vote to impeach this incompetent, lying and cheating president but that is not a reason to fail to air his filthy laundry in the House. At least it will bring all his illegal activities into the public sphere in a way even the GOP won't be able to deny. It will also tie him up in having to provide evidence and time to the hearings. Under oath, he will certainly lie. Trump will lie even about things where there is video evidence that he is not telling the truth. The president is a criminal who uses his office to enrich his pathetic company. The Democrats should at least stand up for what is right and impeach the president. The sooner the better.
5
They must impeach and forget the “political calculations,” which talking heads are pushing.
What is the cost of not impeaching?
2
Notice the stance of Cipilonne, in the WH He stands with arms crossed and butoned up-he refuses a smile for camers-this is a man who hates all media, all reportes and is sure he and his people and boss are superior. He would have been a great member of the SS or the the KGB,(now FSB) in Russia. and probably wishes saily, (prays before bed-) for ever more power to crush the enemies of his leader and his party.
People with little or no relations with civil reporting in America are pretty sure to be against them and "dumb ideads " like the 1st Amendment.
In fact, Cipillone and hias compeers are probably secret anti 2nd Amendment , too. They think they ought to have guns but the flyover voters who keep him and his in power, are too informed by the wrong people-so the WH won't be happy until it can take over and give a handout of what may be reported, every day, much as the Japanese did in English language broadcasts to US troops in WWII.
1
The 2016 election was "policy free" because Trump simply causes chaos and turmoil, the environment in which he thrives. He pulls down your pants and while you are pulling them up he picks your pocket, and then he insults your genitals that he just exposed, causing you to make defensive comments that distract you from your missing wallet. He does this over and over again.
Screaming, "John Kerry should be prosecuted" is his latest trick. The Billy Bush Tape was supposed to hurt Trump in 2016, but the small percentage who cared about it, especially in the media, cluck-cluck-clucked about the tape, continuing to direct political discussion away from policy substance.
The media (and the Democrats) have got to focus on policy, and criticizing Trump and investigations should continue, but on a low-key, and in defense of rule of law and separation of powers.
Trump thrives in chaos. Don't let him have it.
1
Trump believes that the Democrats are feckless wimps--I'm afraid he's right. The Dems let the Reps bully Obama, nearly neutered his programs, they let the crooks from the Recession run free, they let Bush steal an election or two, they went along with his stupid wars, and they're letting Trump bully them. Democrats, can you please find a spine and a brain?
2
Trump should have been impeached after Helsinki for calling American intelligence wrong and Putin right. Impeach!
4
Hopefully this "dare" will end up like Gary Hart's- create the death knell of 45's train wreck of a presidency.
1
To the NYT Editors and Author:
You wrote:
"He has asked some confidants why they should not just reveal everything in the 448-page Mueller report, the vast majority of which has already been made public."
The Guardian has reported that 2/3rds of the Russia related text in the Mueller report has been redacted. Given the likely damning nature of this do you really think your should report "the vast majority" has been made public??
4
Corporate dictator threatens democracy, democracy expunges corporate dictator along with his henchman. MAGA!
While impeachment may certainly be warranted given the ongoing criminal investigations into the administration as well as the Trump White House’s general unethical and idiotic behavior, we must also consider the political repercussions of an impeachment attempt with a split Congress. Clinton was impeached in the 90s but the Senate cleared him and he left office with an approval rating matching that of Reagan and FDR. An unsuccessful impeachment could embolden this incompetent president and galvanize his supporters to throw even more of their weight behind him which would undoubtedly worsen the partisan divide that has grown like a cancer every day on this country. I will say this, however. Trump is correct when he says the world is laughing at us, but that’s because of his policies, not those of the Obama administration.
I have to believe that there are people in the Democrat party that are at least as smart as Trump and his cronies.
Turn AOC loose on the White House ilk. She has the courage to go straight at them.
The Dems strategy should be to train their guns on the incumbent Republican Senators for 2020, and make it a campaign issue in each state affected as to whether or not that Senator would vote to impeach.
Predictably s/he will try to dodge the question by saying:
"I will wait to see all the evidence before I make up my mind."
But now they have fallen into a trap. The Dem opponent can fire back:
"First of all, there is enough impeachment evidence in the Mueller Report even in its redacted form. If you don't think there is, be specific on which evidence you don't accept, and why, so the voters of our fair state can assess whether you have even read the Mueller Report.
"Second, you, Mitch McConnell, and pretty much every Republican Senator is enabling the non-provision of additional relevant evidence which you claim you need to see. So you can hardly hide behind 'I have to wait and see all the evidence' when it is you, among others, who is preventing us from seeing that evidence.
"A second grader can figure out the bad faith in your taking such a stance."
So ...
Keep up both PR fight through Committee hearings in the House, and also the the court fight for disclosure, but also take this message on the road and run directly against Republican incumbents on this issue -- plus health care --in all the Republican incumbent states.
In brief, both nationalize and localize Republican obstruction on this issue for the 2020 elections.
"Hit 'em high, hit 'em low."
3
heard someone on TV mention that trump knows how to be, and enjoys being, a victim... i would not be at all surprised to learn that he is desiring the notoriety of being impeached, tried, found guilty and booted out!! after all he brags about being the best, the first or whichever superlative fits his self-image.. let him add the first to be imprisoned to his list!!
2
The Dems must push past Billly Goat Trump's blusterung and bullying. Behind it they will find a vulnerable human and a hungry electorate. Most Americans haven't been able to make any sense of or even have much information about the Russia investigation and the obstruction concerns. Maybe surprising to those who mostly watch cable news, local news affiliates mostly have offered scant coverage of Russia and obstruction. Local news outlets just wouldn't have the time in any broadcast to explain either the fundamental concerns--let alone each development in the depth necessary to have the concerns make sense to most of their viewers. An impeachment hearing would allow for that extended conversation--and education in a context that summons attention.
5
An alternative route is to start by impeaching Mnuchin. Forget about contempt citations. The case against him is clear in his ordering of the Commissioner of the IRS not to turn over the president's tax returns as required by law. The supposed justification from the Justice department still has not surfaced, probably because it doesn't exist. Then impeach Ross for lying to Congress about the census question and the phony request from the Justice Department. Then impeach Barr for providing the phony justifications for these actions and lying to Congress. Will any of these people be convicted by the Trumpian Party Senators? Not likely, but they also will have less time to ram through conservative judges and it will definitely change the political calculus of following the President blindly.
4
We can walk and chew gum at the same time!
Impeach now - and also work on legislation.
Some in the GOP will waver when the evidence starts coming in, as it will under the stronger powers granted Congress with impeachment hearings. It's hard and slow under normal rules and Trump's stonewalling. This is the right thing to do and might be politically good, despite the media's finger-wagging to the contrary.
5
This is what happens when you have an "entertainment president" who sees his job as nothing more than a reality show primed to get getting good ratings?
The only problem with this is that it's the U.S. Constitution we're talking about, and no game show.
What other viable reasoning can there be behind Trump playing this dangerous cat-and-mouse contest with executive privilege in order to keep the truth from seeing the light of day while courting pending impeachment procedures.
And what kind of so-called 'White House strategy' would call for something like this when there's no guarantee Trump will win the bet especially when it's only the country that loses?
They may publicly say "Nobody wants to be impeached", but they're certainly not acting that way.
31
Going by the GOP logic, any attempt on executive oversight should be looked at as an attempt to impeach the president, so all inquiries must be fought. The only was to force the president to give any information or testimony is to actually start an impeachment inquiry. Not really sure that was the intent of the Constitution.
1
These are certainly unprecedented times in America in which what happens in the next weeks and months will ultimately determine how the country will evolve going forward. You have now sitting in the WH essentially a criminal being protected by his political "consigliaris and capos" who believe the law does not apply to them and so far, it is working.
The trouble with the democrats and their establishment leaders is that they are attempting to use old style rules and process to deal with individuals that don't believe or care about any of it. Pelosi and others are spending too much time believing that impeachment would damage their brand going forward, yet, based on the polls nothing would be further from the truth.
Trump will always have his group of loyal followers, people that oppose him are not, all of a sudden, going to vote for him just because impeachment proceedings are moving forward. In Trump, the younger group of democrats realize who and what they are dealing with and every day he is in office the continuing enormous damage he is doing to the country and its institutions. Unfortunately, it seems the old guard of the party have yet, to fully come to grips with that reality.
4
Expose first, than impeach. The president's misbehavior is so extensive and far reaching that with proper exposure, the Democrats can say "We had no choice." Explain to the public that the president is not resisting disclosure because he's a fighter or a victim; he's resisting disclosure because he has committed crimes.
3
He certainly deserves to be impeached. I believe taking it one step at a time is reasonable. If Mueller testifies and makes the case more compelling perhaps a small number of Republicans will start to question their loyalty. How far will they go when they see the polls are not supporting the king of cons?
If Mueller's testimony is not damaging enough, we should wait it out and let the voters vote him out. Let SDNY deal with him and his crime family when he's out of office. I am confident he will have his day in court and without the protection of the GOP. They are fair weather friends and will have no use for him. They will have a bigger issue, at that point, repairing their own damaged reputations and legacy.
3
Well, it certainly does seem to be a novel approach; dare the Democratic House to expose all his faults. I don't think I'd go there if I were he.
1
There is a growing anger among moderate democrats, who were once cautious about impeachment, that it is now the time. If not now, never. But this will only increase our apathy. Look how many current senators and representatives are running to be the Democratic presidential candidate. If they cannot demonstrate at this time the resolve to impeach an unworthy president, what will motivate us to vote for them?
2
The claim that the Mueller Report is covered by executive privilege might very well be the most ridiculous privilege claim I've ever heard of. I don't know which legal scholars the writers were talking to.
3
Trump will stop at nothing. He is already going after Joe Biden.
The president’s lawyer just announced that he will be “meddling in an investigation” in a foreign country (Ukraine), which he admits is “improper,” because he wants that investigation to produce “information” that “will be very, very helpful to my client.”
This isn’t some kind of freelancing on Giuliani’s part. The earlier article in the Times reported that Giuliani called Trump to brief him during his meeting with the Ukrainian prosecutor, and Giuliani “acknowledged that he has discussed the matter with the president on multiple occasions.”
So to be clear: The president of the United States is, through his lawyer, pressuring a foreign government to mount an investigation in order to tarnish his potential general election opponent.
2
The Mueller report has created possibilities for all the contestants. One side believes the report enables Congress to search under the mattress for everything while the other side contends the searches are overbroad and lack all relevance to the findings in the Mueller report.
Nothing beats election fever. Rationality goes out the window, compromise is for wimps and the spin would make an exorcist proud.
I don't think Dems are well suited for tough fights.
Examples:
-Gore v Bush
-Garland v McConnell
-Hillary v Trump
-Dems v Kavanaugh
-Dems v Barr
They talk a good game, but never seem to come up on the winning side.
PS the 2018 midterm proves as much as the 2010 midterms do regarding re election. As you know, in 2010 Obama lost twice as many seats as Trump did in 2018
We are back in the Groundhog Day movie- last time it was about not holding huge banks accountable because it might be too messy. We are legitimizing having actual crooks in our government to "write their own rules"- what could go wrong with that.
We know Trump lies/reverses everything he says, so just do the right thing. He will spin and justify being impeached anyway- like he did with losing a billion dollars- "I meant to do that". Right. Meanwhile our government retains legitimacy. The GOP Senate will fold at the choice of American Law or Trump, but so what.
Trump brought his alcoholic-family dynamic into our highest office: you cant stop me because I will make life miserable for you if you confront me. So what.
3
If you won't impeach Trump for what he has done so far, what will you impeach anyone for? Where's the line?
If you won't enforce the rule of law then we effectively have already lost it.
Vote all the centrist Democrats out and progressives in, and that goes triple for corporate/Republican-friendly Joe Biden.
2
If the Democrats can just push themselves past Trump's grandstanding and bullying, they win. The Dems read too much into the Clinton impeachment hearings but not enough into the Clinton (Hillary) Benghazi hearings and email investigation. The Bill Clinton impeachment hearing wasn't all failure for the GOP. They landed some lasting body blows against B. Clinton's image and legacy and that of the Democratic Party. See that impact 30 years later on Hillary. Even with the Ken Starr investigationn absent impeachment hearings, Paula Jones be a beep The impeachment hearings hyped a trivial matter into an historic event. Democrats shouldn't pass on this opportunity to have the same effect on Trump and against his legacy. The events that would underlie a Trump impeachment actually would merit the hype as they do pose an an existential threat to the country even going forward. Also, by further bloodying Trump, Dems would cut into Trump's contemplated post-presidency relevance and ability to disturb as well as the Trump progeny's designs on dynasty. No, Jeb, W. and Ivanka Hucklebee Trump. Dems don't seem to get that for some reason the public has not followed the Russia probe prior or in the Mueller redacted form. They have mostly been reacting to Trump denials and the relative muted silence of most Dem leaders. Impeachment hearings would give Dims opportunity to give Russia Benghaz-email treatment.
Watching this whole depressing process from (thankfully) afar, the current elites in the US are declaring what sort of country they want it to be. Gone is the shining city on the hill (formerly an aspirational goal). The new model seems more like a large scale bad pirate movie -- pillaging the world and its own citizens for the benefit of a few.
1
Although Trump deserves it, impeaching him won't help much. Pence will succeed him, and we will still be stuck with the same regime. Dis-electing the whole bunch in 2020 would be much better.
1
This strategy will backfire on Trump. Anything that will get him talking and lying and tweeting will turn potential voters who might vote for him, against him. Also, impeachment will stain his presidency. The Republicans will vote not to enforce, but he will still have been impeached as Bill Clinton was. This will hurt him and drive him crazy. Trump still forbids any talk of Russia's interference in the 2016 election as a stain on his presidency. He'll go out of his mind knowing that he's been impeached, even if he gets to stay in office. More importantly, his actions in office and in the campaign,deserve impeachment. It's our duty to impeach him.
33
At such moments of peril from authoritarian rule, Democrats must remember the words uttered by a Democrat that last time we faced a mortal threat to our democracy. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." It's time for all Democratic hands on deck to defend the Constitution; to prevent autocracy; to insure, as was said the last time the treat was internal, that "government of the people, by the people, and for the people does not perish from the earth." Don't fear Trump. Impeach him before it's too late.
2
It's clear from the Mueller report that he thought Trump had obstructed justice, but he passed the consequences ball to Barr. Barr dropped it and Trump is trying to grab it and take it off the field. The Democrats must pick it up and run with it. It's hard to see what choice they have.
1
Trump has attempted to aggrandize his office, arrogating to himself new powers and using them to entrench himself in office. His vision of the presidency and his behavior as president are constitution-subversive and, therefore, tyrannical. Surely, this rises to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors.
1
This is how democracies die, and dictatorship settles in. If the House fails to perform its constitutional duty to impeach, then the co-equal branches of government will have dissolved into one executive branch with unchecked power above all others. This is why we must impeach regardless of whether it would pass in the Senate. Otherwise we are actively allowing Trump’s autocratic takeover of our government. To not impeach due to fear of playing into Trump’s hands is therefore ridiculous, defeatist, and dangerous. I’m not even sure Trump is trying to call Democrats’ bluf—his actions since day one of his campaign have been those of a would-be dictator and are no different now. Democrats should call Trump’s bluf and impeach!
2
Dems and independents need to make sure that they do more than just proceed towards impeachment.
That cannot be the only thing they do between now and November 2020.
They can have Mueller testify AND create a compelling narrative through new legislation while impeachment moves forward.
The cowards in the Senate ( we all know who they are) will never vote to remove DJT but that doesn’t mean Dems cannot drop that decision on their desks prior to the 2020 election and make them vote against the articles of impeachment.
In the meantime Dems detail their plans for infrastructure, healthcare, immigration and criminal justice reform while DJT holds rallies for his racist friends.
Once voted out DJT will be running for his life from the SDNY.... and mired in legal peril for years!
Can’t wait!
3
There’s no strategy? The chaos-reduction plan involves inflicting maximum chaos. Where are the “never Trump” GOP senators when we need them? Impeach in the House! Convict in the Senate!
3
Doncha love it when they talk about Trump as if he's a normal president, concerned about overseas crises and forgetting to tell us that he initiated those crises himself?
The fact is that the battle lines have been drawn. I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't be flexible to take advantage of opportunities as they arise, but we must, I think, continue to pursue the strategy being implemented by Speaker Pelosi and the other committee chairs. Their wisdom and experience is our strongest card right now.
This dispute is too important to be be undermined by a lot of improvisation.
9
Impeach him now! He has surpassed Nixon's crimes by far. Bill Clinton went up for impeachment for lying about getting oral sex. Stand up and be strong is what we need to demand from congress. Do your job!
7
Congress has been largely unwilling to pursue impeachment. throughout history. While it is well known that only two presidents have been impeached - Nixon would no doubt have been a third - it is less known that a dozen or so of them have served under clouds of suspicion. Credible evidence favoring impeachment existed in these instances but Congress chose not to act.
3
Impeach! There's never been a better time. Get all the Republicans on record backing this corrupt, incompetent loser and force them all out of office. Every foul word that comes dribbling out of Trump's mouth, every vote on record by a Republican to support this corrupt administration becomes a another campaign ad. Let it be the last nail in the Republican party coffin - and good riddance.
10
Sometimes I wonder if half (or more) of these calls for the House Democrats to begin impeachment aren't from the Russian troll farms. It would be disastrous to begin impeachment. The Republican Senate will not convict Trump or enforce the law.
Then, Trump and Senate Republicans can persecute "enemies" at will; they can shred the Constitution to their convenience. It's called fascist tyranny.
3
This mouthpiece claims that Article 2 defends against the distortion of the Congress having oversight powers over the Executive branch at all. I am pretty sure that the founding fathers were guarding against Kings when they promulgated these powers.
5
The dysfunctional democrats are just huffing and puffing, as usual, for their disillusioned sheepies who had been primed for the final edition of the Mueller Report. Which , as it has turned out, amounted to a Big Nothing gram! It’s just GOTCHA politics today is all....Sad.
5
@Moe
If it's such a big nothing gram, then why block any further inquiry? If it meant full exoneration, then testimony from the relevant players would only prove that, so why block it?
4
@jacobi
If it's just political theater then why not cooperate and let them hang themselves? There's nothing unreasonable about requesting relevant players to appear before Congress. Again, if the report shows exoneration as the President claims, then further transparency will only demonstrate that.
1
There he goes again... so predictable...I dare you.
When DJT dares someone to do something, it really means he does NOT want you to do it.
An impeachment investigation will be a constant reminder to America, through the 2020 election, just how very corrupt DJT really is.
We're already so sick of Trump's relentless underhanded, self-serving, illegal and immoral dealings, and another 18 mos of new evidence (including tax charges) will nail the coffin shut on this presidency.
7
We punish the weakest among us without mercy. Stiff prison sentences for all: drug addicts, thieves, con-men.
The rich in America face the gentlest justice. Suddenly, everyone preaches the New Testament and everyone is concerned about the impact on their communities and families.
We have long suffered and participated in this hypocrisy. If Trump and his bagmen escape justice, our laws will finally lose the last of their meaning. We have sent Mr. Cohen to federal prison for three years, while Mr. Trump and his son strut across the White House lawn. How absolutely arbitrary.
Much of one's character can be discerned from how one treats the least of us. We Americans are afflicted with a gangrenous rot, and I fear it's soon becoming terminal.
105
@RS The rich and powerful are too sophisticated and refined for real prison. They natures too delicate and the senses to highly refined. It is a rot but they blame it on secularism and immigrants not their insatiable greed covetous forms of prosperity christianity.
7
Right now the chances of Trump winning in 2020 are slim and at the very least will be difficult and costly. Because of the hypocritical Republicans like McConnell and Graham an attempt to impeach the President will fail. When it fails that will essentially turn trump into a martyr for his party and his supporters and be the "exoneration" so to speak that people on the fence need to vote in his favor in 2020. If you are going to set your sights on a king you had better not miss.
1
I know there's precious little evidence to suggest that any Senate Republicans would ever vote to impeach. But there's plenty of evidence that they're cowards. Which means they will flip if the climate changes and they see it as they only way to save themselves. We need to be trying to flip them. There must be plenty of citizens in red and purple states who are outraged at what's going on. They need to be mobilized. And the Democrats need to get much better at branding this fight as fair, just, necessary and inevitabe.
11
I have just switched from Republican to Democrat, and I agree. Dems must be consistent and constant in their messaging.
1
The President could kill someone in broad daylight, and the Democrats would gnash their teeth and do nothing.
The most corrupt President in American History and Democrats are on the defensive because instead of taking an approach based on ethics and enforcing the laws of the United States and defending the Constitution, they instead just think everything is another political point to score for the next election where, like torture, they will decide to forget about it. Because power not governance is what matters to them.
In this they are showing themselves to be the same as Trump. They promised oversight now, which is why they were elected in 2018. To claim that 2020’s voters have to provide that by voting democratic is to say that their entire point for the 2018 election was a lie.
All you have to look at is Joe Biden who campaigns for Republicans and want to reach across the aisle and forgive McConnell and every other Republican for their past actions. Let’s face it, the only thing The Democrats in leadership in Congress want more than power, is to share it with the same Republicans who are in power now.
The only people more corrupt than the criminal is the prosecutor who fails because they are working only for personal advantage. That is the corruption that is today’s Democratic “leadership”.
1
Okay, call it impeachment hearings. Investigate it ad naseum without bringing it to a vote since Senate isn't on board. Wait until American people and possibly Senate get on board, or, preferably, until 2020 election. That should do the trick. No quick judgement, just the thorough investigation that should be done and which will clearly show Trump to be the loser and conman most of us know him to be.
2
Donald Trump never wanted to be president; all a stunt. But the greater the crowds the more he *cottoned* to the concept of the ultimate real estate deal: Seeing his name- leased out to the biggest property on the market- 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
And...lease- he has. Raking in wads of money. Charging tax payers for *renting* secret service personnel & rooms and compelling foreign dignitaries to stay at his properties. But Trump is an empty suit just like the decorated-but-empty packages surrounding a Christmas Tree: All Props.
He would love to see Democrats impeach him (my belief) because the fraudster doesn't have the guts to sit out a second run; I am sure this has the grifters: Barr,DeVos,Pompeo, Miller, Carson...panicked since their gravy-train of power would come to a quick end if Trump decided on-his-own to bow out of the 2020 race.
4
@Candlewick
"He would love to see Democrats impeach him (my belief) because the fraudster doesn't have the guts to sit out a second run"
This makes no sense. If he doesn't want to run again, he can just decide not to run. Don't need impeachment for that.
And if he doesn't want to run for second term, impeachment doesn't help anyway because the Reps control the Senate, whose vote is needed for him to be removed from office.
1
The idea that impeachment will rile up his base seems pointless to me. People are already deeply divided on Trump. They love him or they loathe him. The idea that some people are on the fence about him and will start supporting him because Dems move forward on impeachment seems ridiculous to me. IMPEACH him now.
94
Correct point but it's about the level of individual support. Elections are only partly about who people want to win and arguably more about whether people are emotionally involved enough to get to the polls and rally their friends to do the same. You're right that nothing will change the preference numbers but impeachment could very well *rally* the base, which isn't about changing anyone's mind but has a big effect on how many get to the ballot box. The difference between "I hope Leader wins" and "Leader is under attack, he needs us!"
3
“Look, the president has various prerogatives and the one thing he wants to make sure is when he passes this off, he hasn’t given them away in a way that binds his successor and other successors down the line,” he said.
The idea that trump has any interests other than his own in mind throughout this whole debacle is just plain downright ludicrous. He's not fighting for his successors; he's fighting for himself and the whole barrel of inept rotten apples he's put in place, including family members, cronies, henchmen, boot-lickers, yes-men, toadies and enablers. It is terrifying and profoundly disheartening to watch this miserable excuse for a man--much less a president--wreaking havoc on our Constitution, our system of laws and, most important, our way of life.
4
Impeachment would benefit Trump simply because most humans like to break the laws and respect people who do so without physically hurting others.
The Natural laws of Humanity are : Lie, Cheat, Steal, Kill -- and we all love Al Capone
1
True. Bonnie and Clyde were literally hero’s to many who lost their life savings when banks collapsed in the early 1930’s.
We are building the case. When he is impeached the evidence will be staggering. Then it will be a dare to Senate Republicans to stand with a criminal or with the United States
Donald thinks this will work like impeaching President Clinton fro having an affair, thus garnering him support.
But this will actually be like 100 Watergates that faced Nixon for undeniably being a criminal.
3
So really the same strategy he's been employing his entire term.
1
The common wisdom is do not try impeachment Trump because the corrupt Senate will block it. Let them! That will then give the voters the opportunity to vote him out in their pique of not getting him impeached. The number of voters that want Trump gone far outnumbers the fools who want to keep him.
3
Nonsense. Trump's actions are those of someone who knows he's guilty and afraid of being caught. Nixon stonewalled too - for the same reason.
4
Trump's a bully and sadly he's in control of the world's strongest bully pulpit. Like mad dogs, bullies never back off.
The Democrats should focus on beating Trump in 2020. For the good of the Country and the World, the gaggle of candidates should put thier egos' aside, get together and decide which of them has the best chance to beat Trump.
Sadly, it looks like their headed for a knock-down drag-out "friendly" battle that will leave the winner battered, bruised (and broke) to face off against the terminator of the free world.
1
The Democratic Party is often called 'feckless' or 'spinless' but neither of those things are true. They don't want Trump gone because they still consider him a gift. Setting up the 2010's version of Kerry/Dukakis in the form of Joe Biden nomination couldn't possibly scream this any louder. With Trump as the GOP nominee, they can run ads entirely about how he's a dangerous bad man and is rude to other politicians and that Americans are better than this. You know, the strategy that worked so well in 2016. It's not that they are failing to learn from their mistakes, it's that they don't actually want to deliver anything their voters ask for.
This whole running to the center is hilarious because i love the idea that some guy who spends all day screaming about BLM and not standing for the anthem would in any way ever consider voting Democrat until he heard the phrase Medicare for All. Yet i'm sure telling him that a long difficult to explain and even harder to understand defense of Obamacare will change his mind.
@Bo
Correction:
Democrats are "spineless," not "spinless."
To get clear legal authority to review grand jury testimony and documents the Democratic house needs an impeachment investigation. They could then dismiss the claims of executive privilege and call witnesses and subpoena tax returns and insurance claims to find fraud.
The House does not need to vote articles of impeachment unless they feel they must. Censure might be enough and let the voters decide in 2020. The GOP is spineless and the party of Trump now. Rest in peace.
The Democrats ought not to take the Trump bait, which is to feign "wanting Democrats to start impeachment." Impeachment is the most fearful strategy Democrats rightfully have and they ought to start the investigation to impeach! The investigation will yield a huge amount of data, factual data, that the public will see how they have been duped and America compromised and will call for impeachment!
1
Foreign policy under Trump should be part of the decision to impeach. He has insulted our PM, the president of France, the UK PM, the German Chancellor and every person in Mexico.
The US signature on a treaty isn’t worth much anymore. The rest of the world has come to the conclusion that Americans can’t be trusted.
By impeaching him, you will show the world that you have made a mistake and that you are trying your best to go back to normality.
I’m presently shopping for a new car, should I look at American cars? Millions of people around the world are asking themselves similar questions.
51
@Skiplusse
Trump's off the cuff comments on the world stage are consistently embarrassing.
BUT his actual foreign policy has been far more sound than his predecessor's. His strategy has been patient, sober, and stubborn, for anyone looking past the empty rhetoric. He has been tough with Russia and North Korea, all while flattering their leaders to their faces and thereby making it tough for them to punch back publicly. And he has shown the willingness to leave the table rather than make a bad deal. And he has been tough with China on its bad trade behavior.
As for the value of a US signature on a treaty, I assume you are referring to the Iran deal. That treaty was never ratified by the US Senate, which is required under our Constitution to be binding on the US. And it was never ratified because it was historically, embarrassingly bad. Obama agreeing to that deal and Trump withdrawing us from it are enough all by themselves to declare Trump's foreign policy a vast improvement from his predecessor's.
If impeachment is what they want, that is what they should get.
However, I would suggest the Democrats using all the powers they have to continue their oversight responsibilities. Should those fail, then impeachment is the last resort.
For example, they should arrest those displaying inherent contempt.
Begin impeachment proceedings
Legislating in the House stops for 6 months
House votes to impeach
Senate fails to vote to impeach
Who has accomplished anything except a lot of venting.
Or
Senatevotes for impeachment. (See below for reasons)
Pence becomes president -- a disaster in its own right
Pence pardons Trump
No longer any way to indict and try Trump on Federal
Obstruction of Justice charges (State, maybe)
Two wonderful accomplishments (irony, sarcasm)
1
Apparently, the Mueller report did not find adequate proof of collusion between Trump and the Russians. It is time to move on. Impeachment will backfire. The route to take to "dump Trump", is PERSUIT OF PERSUATION, based on facts, that a challenger who is seeking the presidency, will improve the lives of elibile voters if elected. Influential media, such as the NYT, must do more to familiarize the public with the various candidates, especially the new faces; we have all read enough about the has-beens like Biden and Bernie. Let us know what the other challengers have accomplished BEFORE they decided to run for president. In the 2016 election, virtually all the media and reported polls supported Hilary Clinton, and totally ignored the fact that most eligible voters did not want to vote for her.
If Trump wants the Democrats to impeach and move on, then the last thing the Democrats in the House should do, at least with the present evidence and Republican Senate, is impeach. By all means investigate, but don't fall into the impeachment trap set for the House by Trump.
It's interesting, but I don't know anyone - my acquaintances are people who are not in politics - who thinks this is a productive use of time and money.
The Democrats need to realize they're flogging what many of us view as the proverbial dead horse.
This is not the way to gain voters and incessantly screeching "impeach" can backfire.
2
I think Howard Stern was right when he said DJT never wanted to be president. DJT saw it as a publicity stunt. He never thought he would actually win. Nancy Pelosi has a point. Maybe he really is self-impeaching
2
The cancer of this presidency has metastasized. The strategy should be to get Mueller, etal. to testify, keep the pressure on, but hold fire on impeachment. Impeachment is the correct thing to do and, simultaneously, is a political trap. it's like a fork in a chess match. So, it's a question of which piece do you want to lose: "rule of law" or "risk further right wing fury." Keep the pressure on, and hold fire until 2020 elections. Both sides are dug in; the strategy is to win back the independents and former Obama voters who went for "him" in 2016. Because, technically, the Dems could be "in the right" and yet, if 2020 is lost, it's game-over for the U.S.
Why was the investigation against trump’s sister dropped just because she resigned? She committed criminal acts. Look into that too.
2
What happens the morning after he is impeached, given what we know right now? He is not convicted in the senate and the threat to impeach is gone.
1
Democrats worry because Trump says "bring it on" about impeachment.
Democrats would be worried if Trump said "don't you dare" about impeachment.
Democrats worry that impeachment proceedings will rally the base.
Democrats worry that impeachment proceedings appear not to be popular in the polls.
Democrats in Congress, for once in your lives, put all else aside for a moment, do the right thing, while leading the American people to agree you are doing the right thing. Even a few Republicans. It's up to you to do this, not a minority Fox and Trump-informed electorate.
Make your fellow members of Congress put their names on it. Do it openly. Make your kids and grand kids and all the rest of us Americans proud.
Impeach Trump, as if our Democracy depended on it.
53
There is enough evidence in the Mueller report to begin impeachment proceedings on obstruction of justice charges now, whether Mueller or McGahn tesitifies or not. Put a pin in that. If AG Barr blocks their testimony, that's a point against the Republicans that can be used in the election campaign. As for the other committee oversight investigations, Democrats need to make clear why they are pursuing the tax returns and financial information about Trump businesses. Their concern should be conflicts of interest that affect the president's policies, foreign and domestic, not a general search for financial crimes like tax fraud, bank fraud etc. that local and state prosecutors can handle. Back to the impeachment question. Hold it in abeyance until about July of next year, after Democrats have campaigned on kitchen table issues. Then start impeachment proceedings to ensure that if Trump is re-elected, the process will have begun, not in response to his re-election but to his prior actions.
1
Trump is brazenly obstructing investigations right before our eyes. It seems he is emboldened by the lack of consequences that have come, so far, from the Mueller report. The questionable spin, rhetoric and bravado of Trump can be either amplified or quelled via a Robert Mueller personal explanation of his findings. It seems the report's outcome, probably clear as day to Mueller, has become manipulated, twisted and muddied, with new guidance needed to correctly interpret the somewhat nebulous obstruction finding. As many have said, the innocent don't fear the truth. Hopefully Barr lets Mueller speak, but if Barr keeps Mueller from testifying, it would behoove the nation to have Mr. Mueller come out from his shadowy existence to shed some light onto the situation. The system operating presently doesn't seem capable of providing such a resolution.
3
Follow the money or lack of it, the times already found $53 million that cannot be accounted for. Keep digging, we’re counting on the press on this one. I am truly impressed with investigative reporters that can dig up information such as this. This is why I subscribe.
3
To ignore DJTs egregious attempts to thwart the Mueller investigation, tamper with witnesses, protect the guilty and punish the investigators is to condone it.
Hard love is required, in citizenship as well as parenting. As the ultimate “parents” of this disaster of a presidency, we must call out and create consequences.
There’s no reason the House can’t start by promptly passing a strong resolution of censure. If we can take away his keys to Air Force One, better yet.
Are you listening, Pelosi?
1
“The administration has decided they are not going to honor their oath of office”
no dare required - it is now their JOB to IMPEACH.
4
I have been one of the strongest advocates of impeachment, but that hedged on my near certainty that Mueller would at least make a decision on what seems to be an incredibly strong case of Obstruction of Justice. But now that he's punted that decision to the contemptible Barr -- and Mueller would have had to known that Barr would rule in Trump's favor given his absurd view that a Republican President of the United States should be held to a lower standard of conduct than a random guy off the street -- it really doesn't make impeachment worth it. The Democrats should now take these subpoenas to court and focus on the election. Trump is without a doubt the worst President in history, even without his obvious criminality factor. Ignore him, highlight the incredible hypocrisy, corruption, and lies of the Republicans, and fix the country. At this point, Trump will wind up in court more quickly if he's simply voted out of office, and we won't have Pence to pardon him.
34
One of the reasons that Trump gained voters was that he was seen in relief against politically-correct insiders who pull their punches. This describes today's Democrats to a T. They need to do the right thing regardless of the anticipated political fallout. They may even find that the fallout turns out to be in their favor.
206
@farhorizons But the "political fallout" is that Trump will be declared "not guilty" by the Senate just in time for the election. What is the point of making that happen?
14
@Dominic
A large public case being aggressively made will only make it seem that Trump was saved by a bunch of Washington Beltway insiders. You don't see an unfavorable poll and just back down, you fight and make your case and change those polls.
Not pursuing it actually would make his case for him. Just "Trump derangement syndrome, all talk no action, they knew i was innocent from the start it was just a witch hunt, if things were so bad then how come they didn't even try to fight?"
The fallout from not acting makes a grand narrative that will haunt them in the long term.
11
@Dominic The point is that he will go down in history as having been impeached. No one deserves it more. Democrats like me will be enraged if he's not impeached. It's the right thing to do and Democrats should move forward ASAP with impeachment.
21
The rise of authoritarian governments and nationalist movements around the world are gaining comfort and inspiration from the Assad regime in Syria and the Maduro government in Venezuela. In both cases the intransigence of these dictators has preserved, with the help of Russia, their grip on power. Lessons learned from Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya has shown that despots can keep their grip on power by the reluctance of Western powers to militarily intervene when such intervention has only created expensive, endless disaster.
In our own country, we see echoes of this in the Trump administration in their frantic refusal to cooperate with Congress and comply with the law. The strategy is designed to scare Democrats in not pursuing impeachment and comprehensive law enforcement for fear of partisan blowback.
Sometimes the hard work needs to be done. Surrender to authoritarianism and lawlessness because it is easier will only result in the total destruction of our dreams of liberty.
11
@Mark Am I blind or deaf?!
Don't the idits who call for an impeachment trial understAND THAT IT MERELY "KICKS THE OFFICE CHAIR, FROM THE OVAL OFFICE OVER TO VP PENCE?
We will have an instant , new REpublican admistration, and one which even NYTimes editors and publisher's will decide to(they are already discussing this in the offices) give support to a Pence admoinistration in the event he takes over-just to ensure positions and good treatment for the Times people. . . .
If tbhere must be legal action-let it be taken AFTER a Trump win in 2020! It won't work any better, but lets try and "ELECT DEMOCRAT TOGETHER!
I don't want to face a"1928-32" again because Dems just couldn't hold together and pushed all the wrong buttons and got all the wrong results.
The Great Depression saw, finaly, a unified GOP/Democratic group willing to bury hatchets to elect a decent middle of the road, experienced politician-SDR-goernor of NY
Hoover had never served oe held office before 28,-he had been a investor-and was a philanthropic master:he saved the Soviet Union's communist s from being destroyed by a giant famine!
Hoover was as close , in the end-to Lenin as was Trump to Putin-Lets not do that again. . . .
@meloop Either we can stand on principle and the rule of law or we can't.
The Democrats need to place a flag in the ground to declare their stand irrespective of political cost. Governing is hard, leadership is hard. Shying away from the responsibilities of power only ensure that we are not fit for leadership. Every step further from holding the president accountable only emboldens him and his defenders to push further into lawless action and despotism.
If the president is removed and Pence is in the office it merely reinforces our confidence in the rule of law and procedure. Pence is not what Democrats like but he is the VP. If he violates the oath of office he can be removed. Clearly that is highly unlikely before the election. However, Pence is a profoundly weak candidate should he be the incumbent.
Trump should have been impeached after Helsinki.
How is Speaker Pelosi's "let the voters decide" any different from McConnell's similar stance on Merrick Garland?
Its no wonder there is no part of government with a lower approval rating than Congress.
8
@JL
A Supreme appointment is not a voter descision.
Had Obama, actually acted to helt the Democrats to elect his succssor-and he OUGHT to have backed Biden-regardless of the Proises he made to Mrs CLinton.
It is known now, that many mistakes were made by Dems and among them one was Obama pretended not to take a position-as if he didn't want to be seen as a Politician-now he will disappear as a gray old man with a disappearing voice.
Obama should have FORCED a court action to see his appointment onto the Bench-but, because he wanted to leave so badly-and assumed Clinton would win-he left the entir business to the GOP-THATS why we have a HANGMAN"s supreme court!, OBAMA didn't do his job!!!!
Trump is correct, if he is impeached, he will not be convicted by the Senate and he will receive a sympathy vote in the 2020 which may help re-elect him.
However, if the Congress investigates for impeachment, circumstances could easily change a lot. That investigation would be very hard for Trump to slowdown or stop. It gives the Congress a great deal more ability to collect facts which Trump is trying to conceal. If those facts are uncovered and known to all, the whole issue could result in Trump losing even all but his most devoted supporters. Then he could be impeached and convicted.
13
@Casual Observer
we are all so partisan and there is so much spinning going on that I doubt there would be any change in people's opinion of this president. Even if he was impeached by the House the republicans in Congress would continue to support him - look at their reaction to the Mueller report: it paints a pretty bad picture of this president and yet they still bend over backwards to support him. I don't think anyone's mind will be changed as everyone has already decided what is their opinion of this president.
"it would actually be politically advantageous for Democrats to impeach him without convicting him because it would rally Republicans coming into the presidential election."
I've seen political commentators and Democratic officials make this argument several times, and it baffles me. Have these folks not been alive the past three years?
There's a fear that impeachment would outrage his base and cause them to show up at the polls en masse. Um, Trump is going to find something to keep his base enraged at the Dems or the liberals or the Deep State of whatever. Thats what he does. His base is motivated by anger and outrage, and he gives it to them. If it's not impeachment, it's gonna be something else.
And they're gonna show up at the polls no matter what. They revere him the way cultists do their cult leader. Impeachment or not, they can't wait to pull the lever for him once again in 2020.
If the Democrats choose to go the timid route (instead of standing up for the rule of law and for the Constitution), they risk dampening enthusiasm within their base. Why go on about "the resistance" and keeping the president accountable when you refuse to fight when it really matters? Dems are risking losing the enthusiasm of their own base, while Trump's base will be motivated no matter what.
21
This is not a Democrat/Republican us/them debate, this is an AMERICAN debate - a crisis where Americans must choose for what this country stands. Trump has escalated his attacks on his own government to the point where he represents a clear and present danger to national security. The fact that we are still quibbling along party lines in the face of this threat highlights how we have crippled ourselves with this horrible division in our society. The question of what to do about Trump has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with the foundation of the American government. The GOP are profoundly un-American, as evidenced by their success in distorting this grave reality into mere partisan politics. The narrative needs to change from the viability of the Democrats in 2020 into the viability of our nation beyond 2020. There isn't a question of whether or not to impeach. If Pelosi et al decide not to, then they are un-American, too.
6
For most of my life I have believed that we have a workable, if flawed, system of checks and balances. Who knew that all it took to break it was a president who simply said "No, I won't do that"?
I am so tired of hearing that it doesn't make sense for the House to impeach because the Senate won't convict. That doesn't matter. What matters is forcing that vile man to sit in a chair and explain himself to the American people.
11
Clearly, the perspective of Mr. Trump concerns only what is best for Mr. Trump, with no consideration whatsoever as to what is good for the country, indeed, without much of any concern for what is good for the Republicans.
Sadly, the perspective of Ms. Pelosi and other leading Democratic Party operatives concerns only what is best for them and their party. They are too timid to try to challenge the Republicans to join them to remove the immoral madness of the Trump regime because they are too busy calculating the possible harms to themselves and their party. Even if they understand they do not have the votes to impeach and remove, they should be taking a stand that is based on the good of the country, not on their self interest alone.
The two-party system is alienated from what is good for the people. Now is the time for the people to end their support for both of the two parties. To stay with either of the two parties is dysfunctional in the extreme.
End the party system now. The system only serves the interests of those already holding power, and the powerful don't have any real interest about what is good for the rest of us. Goodbye, Mr. Trump, Mr. McConnell, Ms. Pelosi, and Mr. Schumer. Leave with your payoffs from the bankers and corporate leaders who own you. Leave before you face the inevitable wrath during the deluge that is inevitable when you overstay too long. The time is nigh. Abandon the parties that enable the likes of Trump and Pelosi.
2
Democrats, don't fall for the old reverse Brer Rabbit trick. Trump just wants you to think that he wants you to start impeachment proceedings. Sure, it'll fire up his base but that's only 40-45 % of voters. Math is with the Democrats, as well as right, justice and the American way.
3
What about invoking the 25th amendment to have him declared unfit to serve office? Clearly, he is the walking definition of 'unfit'!
5
“If it’s an impeachment proceeding, then somebody should call it that…If you don’t call their bluff now, they’ll just keep slithering around for four, five, six months.”
Giuliani, is right. Democrats need to get on with it - impeach and get the testimony and evidence they want. Even if they don’t have the Senate votes, the proceedings will serve to educate the public. It’s that education and exposure, that Trump is afraid of.
Otherwise, we know the outcome. Trump will stonewall until 2020, and he will get away with massive damage to our political system. He could get re-elected and his crimes go unpunished.
And once again the Democrats will look spineless.
6
Trump knows impeachment is inevitable and he wants it on his own terms. He wants to make it about subpoenas, contempt citations, endless lawsuits and court cases and injuctions and references to congressional oversight powers versus executive privilege -- he wants to make it all about "process", and in doing so, make it "Impeachment about nothing".
Dems need to impeach Trump based on a Mueller report bumper sticker message "Russia attacked us. Trump tried to cover it up." And they need to do so immediately, because already "impeachment about nothing" is becoming a dominant theme, and Americans will see impeachment as just partisan sniping and political power plays.
4
Peter Baker, Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt have done really good work for months regarding President Trump and special counsel Robert Mueller, and they probably are correct that Trump and many of the people around him, as well as Mitch McConnell and other Republicans in the Senate, are trying to “goad” the House into starting the impeachment process.
Contrary to the view that this Trump strategy puts Democrats in a bind, it is actually no problem. The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the primary role in oversight of the Executive Branch, and it imposes no timetable or step-by-step recipe.
Democrats in Congress should keep applying pressure, uncovering evidence and publicizing the results of their efforts.
If this leads to impeachment, fine. If not, that is also fine, because the facts regarding President Trump’s ongoing, multi-pronged obstruction of justice will be useful fodder in the 2020 election.
In other words, the Democrats are not in a no-win situation.
They actually are in a no-lose position.
4
The questions should be: Do we have a Republic of laws under the Constitution or not? Is there separation of powers with equality among the branches of government or not? Increasingly the answers seem to be ..."no" and that we are moving rapidly towards an autocracy dominated by the executive branch with the connivance of a political party. If this is true then the contract of "union" established by the Constitution will be seen, increasingly, as "null and void". Draw your own conclusions.
21
@Etienne
Let me suggest that Trump is provoking a new democratic wave. His dictatorial domination is waking up Democrats.
I suggest the words of Leonard Cohen's song, "Democracy."
"Democracy is coming to the USA" he sang in 1992.
Democrats might use the song to inspire them.
The NY Times might print out these prophetic words.
"Democracy is coming to the USA."
3
Trump, as always, is concerned only about Trump. He's utterly oblivious to the fact that Congress (well, the Democrats at any rate) will, when push comes to shove, act to protect the Constitution.
The question at that point will no longer be whether or not to call his bluff – but he simply can't imagine a situation where their calculations don't involve him.
10
By the way, only 1.5% of the report available to Congress is redacted.
As required by law.
11
The reason that impeachment "worked out" for Clinton is that it was so patently political and for lying about consensual sex that clearly didn't rise to high crimes and misdemeanors that threaten the security and stability of our country. I was angry about the country being dragged through the salacious dirt of the Clinton impeachment and the money spent to do it.
This situation with Trump is completely different. There is evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors and the cooperation of an ultimately successful presidential campaign "winning" on a minority vote cooperating with a hostile foreign power that interfered in our election. That is called cheating. This bodes questions about the legitimacy of the election, the actions of the "president" to cover up his relationship with this hostile foreign country and why and also whether this hostile foreign country is exerting power over the "president".
Impeachment is impeachment whether or not the Senate votes to convict. Like Bill Clinton, Trump would be forever known as being impeached. Plus, he is trying to run for "president" again while Clinton was not. Of course they are telling us to "move on", "case closed", "nothing to see here".
My question is, when will the Republicans return to the party of honor and fair play, the party of law and order and justice and country over party? It is disheartening to see how far the GOP has fallen and what it is doing to our country in the quest for absolute, one party power.
22
@Deborahi like the part where you pretend the mueller report supports your conclusions. Facts are pesky things
The Constitution is clear: If the House of Representatives believes that impeachable offenses have been committed, by the current occupant of the Oval Office or other officials subject to impeachment, then it is their duty to issue Articles of Impeachment setting forth the specifics. The question is not whether the other Chamber of Congress will vote yea or nay. It is only in dictatorships that charging decisions are made after it has been determined that a conviction will occur. A public impeachment hearing, with witnesses and evidence, may change enough voters' minds that their Senators begin to see the light and then begin to vote for their country, not their belief in their right to a sinecure.
24
@The Lone Protester A subtle but excellent point! (And one not touched on in this analysis). Thank you.
2
@The Lone Protester
"A public impeachment hearing, with witnesses and evidence, may change enough voters' minds that their Senators begin to see the light and then begin to vote for their country, not their belief in their right to a sinecure."
Yes, and once the fothcoming tax fraud and money laundering charges are added, a few GOPers will have to "flip" to save their hides.
3
@S
Thank you for the compliment. You are welcome.
I'm sorry. At 38, I'm looking at all the people my parents age which are also the ages of our wise leaders when I say.
I cannot believe that this is what you have turned us into.
Impeachment must start.
I am ashamed of the behavior of both the Evangelical Community, the Baptist Christians and all other people that stand behind such indecency as this administration has brought upon us. The best of the Republican party, has been at least an accomplice in the deaths of children among a list hundreds of other crimes that I was taught not to do in bible school; against private institutions, charities, universities, and American citizens Etc...
I am ashamed of what decent moral American citizens are being subject to day in and day out by a hateful parade of spit, ignorance and malice.
When there are so many issues that need solid policy to enact changes in the most basic challenges this country faces from meeting the human and universally moral need of finally feeding all children in school a proper lunch everyday!, to the complexities of the American insurance and healthcare industry. The man is, venomous and a criminal many times over.
I'm repulsed by rampant abuse of powers, obstinate obstruction and extortions. Impeachment must start if only as a symbol of what a decent person would do. Make your lists, take your time wring it out till election day if need be.
But there must be an accounting.
There are crimes here. Morality and decency must be defended. Impeach.
54
@Travis `
Thank you.
Trump has turned Washington into one giant cesspool of lying, cheating, depraved attack dogs.
1
An excellent short-term strategy, for sure. Alas, Donald Trump isn't a gifted strategic thinker. As the House toys with impeachment, New York State is concurrently building a strong criminal case that is highly likely to stick post-presidency. Keep in mind that Donald Trump has no friends in New York.
Oh, and one other thing. As we creep, month-by-month, closer to the 2020 presidential election, things will come into better focus. If Trump appears to be a sure loser, for one reason or a myriad of reasons, rest assured that there will be enough Republicans jumping off Trump's ship in order survive their own elections. At that time, there may be enough support for a "quickie" impeachment and Senate trial, so that everyone in Congress can happily say that they finally performed their constitutional duties. There will be plenty of time to make this happen. Busy people always find time. Besides, that's what nights and weekends are for.
But, if the above scenario comes to pass, some will convincingly say, "Why not simply let Donald Trump lose the election and finally be done with him?" And others will just as convincingly argue, "Finally, we have come to our constitutional senses. Let the process begin. Better late than never.'' It will be an interesting debate, which will have to be resolved rather quickly.
9
@Stop and Think
Yes, all the more reason to carry this impeachment out with intelligence...slowly, methodically, purposefully.
The fact that Trump is "taunting" the House each day to impeach, by boldly defying subpoenas, proves he wants to speed up impeachment to get the whole thing over with before even more damaging evidence comes to light about tax fraud and money laundering.
Timing is everything .
1
'In the old days, we'd send someone like him out of here on a stretcher...' 'Go ahead, I'll pay your legal fees...' 'I could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any supporters...'
He's been impeachable since before he got the nomination.
What's wrong with this country that we were given a 'choice' by the two main political parties of a severely flawed candidate under federal investigation, and another severely flawed candidate under federal investigation?
But, hey media CEOs! Enjoying your clickbait and endless chaos? Trump knows he's great for your bottom line - why have peace and prosperity and boring public servants when you can have a Reality Show, with fireworks and sleaze?
6
Let the court process take its course in the event that a second Trump term materializes next 2020–only then will it have made sense to have kept the impeachment “powder” dry.
Honestly I think the GOP at this point is so fully captured and controlled by the Trump machine that they’ve convinced themselves that this is the end of the “first phase” of the American republic and that they’re on hand to oversee a “smooth transition” to a new form of Christian, pro-business autocratic government that we see developing under Trump. When “history” looks back at McConnell and company, according to this dystopian fantasy, they’ll be regarded as stalwart patriots who steered our “great nation” through a troubled time and helped stave off “socialism” while protecting the “unborn.” Think I’m exaggerating? Look what’s happening with “Junior’s” subpoena... look at the (non)response from the GOP to Trump’s tweet suggesting he’s “owed” two extra years because of the Mueller investigation. We gotta get serious here folks and understand that the other side is playing for keeps — and they’re rigging the game for what’s to come.
8
@Keef In cucamonga
Amen!
Trump's defiance might suit his "natural combative instincts" and fit his "grievance narrative," but the main reason for his resistance might simply be because he is afraid of what they might find; in that case, his combativeness and the "grievance narrative" would merely be a convenient byproduct.
The democrats would do well to plan their next move(s) by trapping him in a certain hole he would seem to have dug for himself now that they know very well how he reacts to most events.
6
Trump isn't "daring" anyone to do anything. He is doing exactly what he has always done which is to run from prosecution via any and all means necessary. He is every lawman's nightmare and every prosecutor's dream because he is predictable.
Unfortunately, the Democrats have no commitment to protect our national interests, rather they only want to protect THEIR political turf.
James Comey's honest account of the state of our national interests bears repeating. More specifically, we cannot allow a habitual liar to be president of the U.S. because it undermines our safety and security. Fundamentally we must have someone who does not lie to us as head of our executive branch.
We have become inured to politicians lying, however, the daily lying that Trump engages in is dangerous to our rule of law, our national security, and our social and political stability as a nation.
Trump must be impeached. And he must be removed from office via the most expeditious route available, which happens to be application of the 25th Amendment.
5
Call his bluff
8
If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck...etc. If it looks like impeachment (with subpoenas), and sounds like impeachment (document requests, threats of contempt) then call it for what it is.
Of course it's divisive--the GOP has been playing that game since Cheney cooked up intel and pretended Iraq had WMD.
But Impeachment hearings in plain sight would be better than cat and mouse games with Mueller, McGahn, Trump Jr and executive privilege.
Please, Speaker Pelosi, decide in favor of representative democracy--House Impeachment according to the Constitution sooner, rather than participatory democracy (with Russia meddling again) at the polls in November 2020. That's what we voted for in 2018.
Don't just hope for the best, make it happen!
1
Trump's White House - strategy...oxymoron
6
@Laura
And yet he beat "the most qualified candidate ever," spending only half the money she did in the process. The Dems would be lucky to have a strategy that bad in 2020.
1
Speaking of Trump’s strategy is a category error. It’s akin to speaking of my couch’s taste in bourbon. Remember, this whole kerfuffle started when Trump fired Comey. That was equally well thought out.
2
Trump's not a religious man, but he's praying that all his attacks against the media and the "establishment" and all his judiciary appointees will allow him to control the narrative enough to limp to re-election.
Oh, and don't look now but Trump is not only still colluding with Russia on this endeavor, but has sent Rudy to enlist Ukraine as well.
6
Impeach now.
Not because of the current White House inhabitant, but because it’s the right thing to do. There is no king who is above the law. Our democracy is at stake.
69
@Lauren Noll
I doubt that there will be impeachment proceedings unless there is absolutely incontrovertible evidence that Trump has committed a crime. Not only because there are not 20 Republican senators willing to convict but the very nature of Trump himself.
He has access to damaging information about members of the House and the Senate which he won't hesitate to use if impeachment is attempted. Think: a congresspersons/senators as serial philanderers, a drug addicts, a child molesters, a tax cheats, etc. behaviors which are unknown to their constituents. If Trump goes down he takes them with him and since a politician's first impulse is re-election/self-preservation, it will take extraordinary circumstances to launch impeachment. It doesn't matter if it's the "right thing to do". Our democracy took a major hit when the conservatives on the Supreme Court gave the 2000 election to George W. Bush.
This is standard Trump. Make big bets. That's how he went bankrupt so often. However, sometimes they are winning bets. With a strong economy and a still active manufactured crisis at the border, Trump figures he can make this work.
Pelosi was right when she said that the weight of evidence has to bring the country along. There may be other ways. However if this is seen as a "Washington thing" he may win re-election, and then all bets are off.
10
Trump is most skillful at covering up any wrong doing as he did over decades in business. It was never competence at doing business that earned him success it was is cunning unlawful practices. It wouldn't be surprising if Putin may have lended him money (since most local banks declined to do so as a result of his bleak financial past) which allegedly helped him survive in business and later be elected. The worse part is the never-ending support from GOP who are determined to hold on to the senate however abysmal his performance is. By offering indispensable support to a power- hungry president is akin to a ticking bomb waiting to explode. Sadly, Democrats don't appear strong enough to defeat Trump and even more lamentable is him knowing it.
7
Bullying, as a legal strategy, works only with those intimidated by perceptions of an opponent's vast powers. Here, realizing it or fueled by his own biases and increasingly common fantasies, Trump is taking on the USA's Constitutional form of government.
His NY landlord legal victories and losses have cemented for him a well worn cerebral path. The Democrats! Nancy Pelosi! Chuck Schumer! All real obstacles to him in the fantasy-loaded and fanatical world he has created for himself, his administration, and his base.
Day by day, these past experience and this Trump-centered world view are costing him previously committed Republican leaders' support as they choose the Constitution over Trump, civics over chaos, a republic revived rather than ruined.
It's a path traveled by Nixon as the Party came to reject him.
"Here we go again. It's Deja Vu all over again. "
8
@Dr. Bob
"Day by day, these past experience and this Trump-centered world view are costing him previously committed Republican leaders' support as they choose the Constitution over Trump, civics over chaos, a republic revived rather than ruined."
That might be what you WANT to be true, but it isn't true. His support among Reps is growing, and now is at the highest level since he took office.
Proof positive that one main symptom of Trump Derangement Syndrome is paranoia for both the Democrats and the compliant media.
5
Trump's approach to pretty much everything is juvenile, from the name calling through the distractions and look-at-what-Hillary-did blame shifting all the way to the lying. This boils down to: Oh yeah? Make me.
Trump should be sent to bed without his supper, or better still the more modern version, to his room without his phone.
12
I think impeaching Trump is inevitable but right now I think it could be a fatal move. I was 1000% for it but Trump is all but shouting “Make America impeach again”. He knows his American master McConnell will refuse to let any Republican do the right thing.
Mnuchin, Barr, Donny Jr, a McGahn, Mueller and every document request is being met with Trump’s block everything stone “wall”. We’re only in the first weeks of this unpatriotic spectacle. The Mueller report shows that our national security is at risk and Trump, McConnell and Bart are blocking everything. If Congress has the right to jail Mnuchin and others for contempt they should do it.
I think impeachment is going to happen and probably happen with in a month or two. Fighting dirty and pulling cons is about all Trump knows. He wants to be impeached so he can use the bully pulpit to attack the impeachers.
I have faith that Pelosi will impeach when the time is right. The Democrats in Congress need to not fight among themselves because that only serves Trump, McConnell, Barr and Putin.
11
Trump is all bluster. He signals publicly to his AG not to let Mueller testify, then publicly says otherwise, it's up to the AG. He is acting as the typical bully that he is, he threatens until someone stands up to him.
Speaker Pelosi is that person. She is methodical, ever tightening the circle, calculates her moves like a champion chess master, then strikes, again, and again.
Just remember the showdown over shutting the government down, and his demands to have his State of the Union address. That didn't land to well for him. Pelosi as I remember said this is our "House", and we decide when and who enters it.
16
Libs do not oppose President Trump.
They despise him.
They also despise every one of the 62,984,828 Americans who voted him into office.
To get revenge and to make themselves feel better, Liberals have been promising impeachment since the day he defeated Hillary.
Let’s get on with it.
2
@Dr. John
And what fact base did you use to come to these conclusions? It appears you are judging folks who do not support Trump with the same bias you accuse others of using. Disagreement does not have to include hatred or revenge. Compromise on what is best for the whole nation is the issue, not feeding the frenzy of any single group.
2
@Dr. John
Exactly wrong. It's because we still care about the 62,984,828 Americans who voted for him that we want him out of office. His policies hurt most of them; his careless words, flouting of the law, and destruction of norms hurts us all.
2
@Integrity
I'm sorry to say there seems to be some truth to Dr. John's POV. It's not just The Donald, it's 'his' voters. And it's not even just his voters. My sister has been very chilly towards me ever since 2016, because I voted for The Other Woman.
Which was an absolutely, perfectly 'safe' vote in a reliably Red state. And clearly was not misogynist ! But in her mind, I am Deplorable (actually, the words she used were 'very, very misguided' which begs the question of who is doing the 'misguiding') because I was not and could not in good conscience be a Herselfer.
The tribalism is just so intense, but it's not something I resonate to so it's tough to grok.
Trump has the Dems where he wants them: impeach and stir up his base for 2020; don't impeach and dissipate the energy of Pavlovian anti-Trumpism, the only thing that unites them.
6
@Hugo Furst maybe not in Texas, but here in America, Pavlovian anti-Trumpism is called DEMOCRACY.
1
I disagree. This is all double-dare-you on the part of the White House. The White House is mortally afraid of impeachment and so they are [pretending that they welcome it.
8
Push back hard against this bully and he’ll collapse. He always has.
13
We know Trump hates America and will sell it ot highest bidder..
Bigger question is; why does MITCH M HATES AMERICA SO MUCH.
Would it be possible that Trump has a Russia connection and so Mitch has China connection?
4
@P2 Trump is in Putin's pocket; Mitch is merely clinging to power by any means available - which at the moment calls for being Trump's lackey. If the GOP "base" turns against Trump, Mitch will turn around in an heartbeat and proclaim his newfound eternal commitment to the Constitution. (IF ... and only if.)
Impeachment only works of you have one of two things (and we have neither): both houses of congress are controlled by the party trying to impeach, or significant bipartisan support for impeachment.
If you do not have the above then impeachment is likely to help the other party. The ballot box is the only logical solution. We need a candidate that can draw the middle of the country. Promoting ideas that many consider far left at this time is a bad strategy. We need moderate ideas like shoring up Social Security and improving the ACA. They will do everything in their power to make us look extreme, so let's court the middle and not be extreme.
10
@Sutter He may not get removed from office but to not at least impeach for all he has done sets a very bad precedent.
1
Not strictly true. Impeachment occurs when the House draws up Articles of Impeachment, which then are sent to the Senate for a trial, which then results in either removal, or not.
@Ronald Sprague Wasn't Clinton impeached but not removed?
Trump,bully-in-chief, would be on a 'collision course' no matter what Mueller found. He has been on a collision course his whole life. It is all he knows how to do to gain power and prestige. He fights about anything and everything. From Day One he has fought all those who oppose him. He loves to keep the battle raging for his base to see him as the victim of the 'deep state' conspiracy, when the only 'deep state' conspiracy active at this time, is the one he is leading to defraud the citizens of a free and independent election and government free from foreign influence. Every foreign policy decision he has made or not made has been conducive to the interests of Russia. The only Americans he is concerned about are those who make up his base, and his concern isn't doing them any favors - improving their healthcare, infrastructure, etc., but feeding their fears and anger so they are pumped up to keep rooting for him. The only group that should be truly pleased are the one percenters, so they don't have to pay taxes, just like Trump who considers it a 'sport'. The Democrats in Congress need to fight back on this unConstitutional usurping of their Legislative duty to check and balance this unchecked and unbalanced president, for the sake of the future of our democracy. Impeachment is a separate issue. Everyone should agree that we do not want a dictatorship, where a president can call off an investigation into his own abuse of power. Justice will be served.
8
Impeachment is sounding more rational every day. When the impeachment investigations and hearings are over and the American voters are fully aware of the breadth of Trump’s impeachable offenses, either Trump will be removed from office or Republicans who refuse to support that will be removed from theirs.
15
I dream that Trump will decide that, as he is the most successful president ever, one term is enough. And that a qualified, moderate, Republican will win the nomination.
Unfortunately, this won't happen.
2
@Karen Lee The only way a qualified, moderate Republican stands a chance these days is by becoming a qualified, moderate Democrat.
@Jim Demers, well, that's probably correct.
What I cannot understand, is how so many presumably middle-of-the road Republicans seemed to buy in to Trump as their best possible president, within weeks of the election. Similarly, it makes no sense, to me, why they want to have such a deficient and unqualified candidate in 2020.
In any case, if I lived in a state where my vote actually counted, I would vote for anyone other than Donald Trump. He just isn't qualified to be president.
And yes, the economy seems to be doing relatively well. Although, while the unemployment rate is VERY low, the workforce participation rate is also low. Perhaps all of the Uber and Lyft drivers, and InstaCart shoppers, are considered to be "employed".
1
Trumpco.com is counting on the Democrats doing precisely what they do best: cave in. They understand very well how fragmented and weak their opponents are and how unlikely it is that they will gather the courage to either begin the impeachment process or charge Barr with contempt of Congress. Trumpco can afford to wait, the Democrats cannot.
Staring like a deer caught in the headlights at a train as it speeds toward a crowd of innocent bystanders, is not included in the art of politics. It is cowardice approaching treason and a betrayal of the oath of office administered to all members of Congress. The Democrats waited for the Mueller Report, they wished and hoped for support from decent and honorable Republicans, they rely on a court system that is being dismantled as they remain out of power.
They will if this course of anxious waiting and hand wringing is all they can muster, have conceded any claims to be a viable political party. Perhaps they are the problem.
4
The defining moment for every member of the GOP has arrived. Are there 20 Republicans who want to preserve the constitution? Democracy or dictatorship? Who among them hasn't been compromised by a hostile foreign government? Russian campaign funding channeled through the NRA has paved the way for treason. Every single day, the rule of law is taken down. Every single day, another abysmal act of perdition is waged against humanity, our children, our system of government. If Congress doesn't act now to preserve democracy, there will be no election to kick the monsters out.
11
If that's a strategy, then no wonder Trump couldn't even keep a casino solvent.
6
Unlike Clinton's bogus impeachment proceeding about lying with regards to an extra-marital affair, Trump has so many issues that he is being investigated for.
Republicans are more interested in power than the best interests of the USA. As the truth emerges even Trump supporters will be lost for words on how to defend a conman like Trump. This is a coverup that with checks and balances by the law cannot be hidden!
Remember Helsinki!!
13
@Barney Feinberg Clinton's impeachment was not bogus.
From Tom Paine essay “Common Sense”
“Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.”
The congress has no choice but to pursue all evidence including author Mueller’s analysis. Present all malfeasance or criminality to the people and deliver articles of impeachment if obstruction or criminality is found. That is what Paine means by governments mandate is to “restrain our vices”. Specifically a chief executive who acts immorally, incoherently and authoritarian.
5
Trump is the most impeachable president ever. There are more important principles at stake than DEMS winning the next election- they cannot allow the a president to obstruct justice and ignore his/her constitutional obligations. We must impeach. Let the GOP sell their souls, we’re better than that.
4
I watched Jim Comey on CNN last night and came away highly impressed.
Former Republican or not -- Democrats will be making a big mistake if they don’t consider the possibility of recruiting him as a possible Presidential candidate for 2020.
He’s young (58), tall (6’8”), telegenic, married once with 6 children (one died as an infant), he and wife have also served as emergency foster parents, raised Catholic, now United Methodist, teaches Sunday School, University of Chicago law grad, grows his own hair, speaks eloquently about his devotion to the Constitution and rule of law, was considered in 2009 by President Bush as a possible replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Souter, fiery and outspoken, he’s no shrinking violet, devoutly hated by Individual-1 and would make absolute mincemeat out of him in debates.
7
@A. Stanton "Grows his own hair" is not a factor I would consider in choosing to vote for someone. I think we may have had enough with the "outspoken" part, too. If he - or any other candidate - is being celebrated for being hated that is actually a bug red flag. Not nomination-worthy.
@A. Stanton
Perhaps Comey should run as a Republican against Trump. or better yet, an independent
@Margo
Hated by Trump, I regard as praiseworthy.
1
"Impeach me the charlatan cries. He needs a fight to keep the customer satisfied.
This is what impeachment is about:
1) Trump lies, obfuscates and ignores lawful subpoenas.
2) He threatens others who have received subpoenas.
2) He tries to force every oversight function to the courts
3) He will appeal everything
4) Ignore, deny or try to debate every negative comment about the President and his enablers through Fox, the official Trump TV.
5) He is playing a waiting game for the next election.
Impeach - hold hearings and show the masses what has transpired during the Trump Regime. Then, as appetite for impeachment gains traction among those with a functioning brain, call a massive demonstration protesting what America has become under Trump. A few million folks in the street may strike the fear of god in the electorate.
2
As a famous theme line declared; Just do it.
If this president wants an impeachment, then grant his wish. He seems to have not heard the Chinese expression of "Be careful what you wish for...." With an impeachment proceeding, all of his garbage will be strewn out in public for everyone to see. The tax dodging. The absence of charitable donations, the imploring of others to fire anyone who potentially stood in his way, the emoluments violations, campaign finance violations, payoffs to women, Russian financial dealings and more.
With an veritable avalanche of immoral, unethical and illegal behavior hitting the U.S. Senate, the sycophants will be hard pressed to find anywhere to hide.
Case closed. Case closed.
5
all those charges and many more... v the big winners in Trump Country: racial and religious prejudice, guns, greed, abortion, taxes, desperation, social and economic panic. Diogenes himself could not find 20 honest Republican Senators willing to risk their own gravy train and underlying contempt for America.
Message to House Dems: give it up and move on to the business of governing! Is this really why you sought a House majority, so you could drag us through endless hearings targeting a guy you will get a crack at in an election that is 18 months away?
For what? Trump has proven by now to be sufficiently stable to pursue his policies. He's caustic and offensive, but he hasn't driven us off a cliff, and no one in Washington legitimately fears that he will. So focus on actually governing and beat him in 2020, if you can.
4
@Econ101 "Trump has proven by now to be sufficiently stable to pursue his policies. He's caustic and offensive, but he hasn't driven us off a cliff, and no one in Washington legitimately fears that he will. So focus on actually governing and beat him in 2020, if you can."
As long as there are rational people in the trump administration who ignore or countermand trump's uninformed, dangerous, illegal and unconstitutional ideas, the country is relatively safe. Those behind the scene individuals are what have kept us from going over the cliff, while trump steers us in that direction.
@Econ101
What is the point of the house passing legislation with Obstructionist McConnell at the helm of the Senate. Do you think for the merest microsecond that McConnell will let any legislation pass that makes the Dems look good? I don't.
Of course you tell us to move on.
Trump shouldn't be impeached. He should stay in office and do as much damage to the Republican party as possible.
1
I believe that Trump sees his position as a win win, either way. If he is not impeached the Dems look weak and if he is impeached he is being persecuted, a continued witch hunt. Meanwhile, refusing to honor subpoenas is diversionary and his base loves that he is thumbing his nose at the Dems.
1
Trump (like Bush before him) seems to have brought out both the best and the worst in lawyers.
As one myself, I was moved when I saw lawyers turning out en masse to airports, unbidden and unpaid, when Trump first rolled out his Muslim ban.
But on the flip side, many corrupt lawyers have slithered their way into, out of, and around this administration, misrepresenting the law and dishonoring the profession in order to protect a corrupt president. See - AG Barr, Rudy Giuliani, Jay Sekulow and now Emmet Flood. Former AG Sessions is a terrible person, but at least recused himself appropriately, and time will tell if Rod Rosenstein and Don McGahn join this illustrious roll call.
I note also David B. Rivkin in this piece, arguing a completely disingenuous interpretation of the balance of powers, one that a small child could debunk. And let us not forget Alberto Gonzalez and John Yoo, who acquitted themselves so nicely under Bush on torture and the execrable "unitary executive theory".
10
An impeachment investigation can only add needed revelations to the 2020 campaign. As it progresses, there are likely to be more breaks in support by the now repugnant party. Whether it ends before the 2020 election makes no difference. This always lying, totally corrupt, Russian compromised, totally failed president will be gone, and he will be reviled in history. Past presidents will not stand beside him.
3
Speaking of inept strategy and lack of foresight:
To Senators McConnell and Graham:
It isn't over.
But your careers are.
5
The House Dem's need to call his bluff. This is how Trump has felt with all his many illegal activities.
First he denies. Then he attacks, loudly in public. Then he attacks though his long list of business contacts. Then he lawyers up and drags the matter out until it becomes cheaper and more expedient to settle than to continue a long drawn out court battle.
This is how he got away with his fraudulent university for so long. New York could have charged him with criminal fraud as well as civil fraud. But a criminal case wouldn't have helped his student victims, so they pushed the civil case and got a settlement for the students. But it was fraud.
But readers should note that the elements of criminal fraud and civil fraud are about the same. The only difference is that the 'beyond a reasonable doubt' standard requires more to prove.
Trump knew that he could bully most prosecutors and he was right. They have far more courage when their target is poor and when the matter isn't a white collar crime.
But impeachment could be the one exception to this story.
14
“Look, the president has various prerogatives and the one thing he wants to make sure is when he passes this off, he hasn’t given them away in a way that binds his successor and other successors down the line,” he said. “That’s not unique to this administration.”
That assertion runs both ways:
Congress has various prerogatives and one thing it wants to make sure is, when it passes this off, it doesn't give them away and hasn't set precedent for current and future Congresses with regard to executive branch powers in a government system set up with 3 coequal branches. That is not unique to Trump.
Every time I see Mukasey, the GOP seat-warmer picked to replace Alberto Gonzalez (why else would a retired judge take the AG job in the twilight years of GWB's 2nd?) show up on CNN with his curmudgeon demeanor, it seems like he's bent on parsing everything to tease out very narrow points in support of his very narrow positions.
When he does make a broad assertion, as he attempts with his point above, he seems to become willfully nearsighted to the big picture.
The House should definitely not impeach President Trump, it should, however, impeach Bill Barr.
The House should also use the police forces available to it to arrest everyone who ignores its subpoenas at the earliest occasion that they leave the safety of federal property and step onto the public streets of the District of Columbia, Maryland or Virginia and incarcerate those individuals in a secure location like the Congressional Jail until such time as they agree to submit.
3
If Trump is impeached and not removed from office, he'll claim yet another exoneration.
If the House doesn't attempt to impeach him, he'll claim this further shows his legitimacy.
Either way, the country loses. I expect he will be re-elected, albeit with a smaller percentage of the popular vote.
3
When has the senate ever voted to remove a sitting president? They haven't so, asking them (Mitch McConnell) to do the right thing now is naive. Still, impeachment is a body blow to any president, and one that will weaken this president in his party and among other world leaders. We can't allow the president to keep the focus on the rising and falling daily political shifts. The Congress has the power to do the right thing and legitimately impeach the president for breaking the law. Now is the time to be bold.
8
Trump's strategy is just to take power, since the "leaders" of Congress--apart from Ms. Pelosi--are too cowardly to carry out or even defend their duties. Congress is not a "co-equal" branch of government. The Constitution puts it in article I because it is the primary branch of government. The executive is supposed to carry out the laws created by Congress. I have never been a fan of Nancy Pelosi, but right now she is the only person or institution standing between us and tyranny.
12
@Carla Marceau
You are entirely wrong. The the three branches of government are equal. Although each has its prerogatives, sometimes vis a vis the other branches, no Constitutional scholar has ever said that the three branches are not equal.
Can Congress command the armed forces? No. Can the executive declare war? No. Can the President say what the law is? No. Can the courts create laws? No. Can Congress say what the law is after it creates a law? No.
Congress has importance because it represents the people, but only by district or state, not nationally. The President has importance because he/she is the only government official elected by all citizens, via the state-based electoral college. The judiciary is important because it is the ultimate and last arbiter of what the law is. They are all equally important, for different reasons.
Would it make it clearer if the Constitution had Articles A, B and C?
2
After McGahn and Mueller testify on national TV and New York State releases Trump’s taxes to the House THEN impeachment can succeed and ultimately get the 67 senate votes necessary for Trump’s removal.
7
As a conservative who is deeply concerned about the attacks on our Constitution and our entire checks and balances system of government, the Democrats I beseech to vote to impeach.
14
@Jay Orchard. Thank you for your voice which put country and Constitution — puts the rule of law — above party. No one is above the law, especially not the president.
1
I know that this is an impossibility in America today but both sides need to stop calibrating all of their actions through the lens of electoral politics and start acting based on what’s best for America and preserving some form of government functionality. Both sides have been very wrong with their election calculus in the recent past (the Dems much more so) and the public sees through the gratuitous false justifications of actions solely calculated to make the other side look bad ... with no thought for doing what’s right regardless of the electoral outcome. It’s not too late and politicians might be surprised at the public’s response from an honest authentic application of Constitutional values. Had to be said, but who an I kidding!!!!
4
Why did the Democrats stage a walkout when Obama’s attorney general was voted in contempt of Congress for withholding information? Why didn’t they talk impeachment of Obama and “constitutional crises” then, vote for contempt, or at least keep their seats like adults instead of declaring the whole exercise to be pure partisan politics and storming out?
There Is only one consideration in play and that is partisan power. Not the constitution, not the republic, not the law, not the people’s business. Only power.
5
The degree to which Trump and his supporters project their own hostile and self-serving motives onto others is one of the most dangerous things our country and form of governance is facing. Projection distorts reality, which is why it is considered to be a more pathological defensive move. You see this is 3D living color every time the president* claims “crimes were committed on the other side,” every time he calls for an investigation into anyone who has the temerity to criticize or merely to disagree with him. That is literal paranoia — it works on projection. And it is extremely dangerous and difficult to counter — because every move to counter it with reality is once more perceived as an attack. Not everyone is motivated by the lust for power. But pathological narcissists certainly are.
The US[eless] political system is destroyed. Let's go back to the British monarchy.
$1 billion dollar presidential campaigns?
2 years of campaigning and virtually the entire four year term looking at future elections?
Both parties are caught up in a worsening spiral of corruption due to money.
Trump is not the exception but the rule.
There is no one to vote for, no one to trust, no one to lead, no one to govern with virtue.
The system is dead dead dead.
Grow up and face the truth.
The trump party has nothing to lose on impeachment. If the Democrats prove beyond a reasonable doubt the Report's evidence that tax fraud, bank fraud, campaign finance violations, conspiracy, were committed, the amoral base will only rationalize and not believe reality. The party, his tax-financed lawyers, will defend and protect him. Their allegiance is solely to him and to party.
At the same time, Democrats have nothing political to lose on impeachment. No one who believes this criminal is innocent will ever be swayed. The trump party base will always vote to "stick it to liberals"--because we're the elites, not those born and bred aristocrats who line their pockets on public "service." His tax-financed lawyers will never compromise on issues that matter such as addressing climate change, rational gun control, voting rights, reforming campaign finance, health care, et al.
What we lose by ignoring the truth, is a nation of laws. The trump party gains a free pass on unfathomable corruption, the Russians gain a free pass on interferring in our democracy, and the U.S. loses its moral and legal center.
135
@Gustav Aschenbach Good comment! I especially like how you rename the republicans as the trump party. So appropriate. The "party of Lincoln," as such, has been dead and defunct since at least the times of Nixon and Reagan. Let's hear it for the truth! Let us call it "the trump party" from now on.
9
@Gustav Aschenbach it is the arrogance of Americans to believe that they are always moral and hold the moral high ground in this world.
2
Gustav Ashenbach in Venice? Listening to Mahler’s 5th, I assume. I love it. And thanks for your comment.
2
As a lawyer, Mr. Nadler knows it is illegal to release the entire Mueller report without the required redactions.
Those required redactions are only 1.5% of the report, a version that has been available to Congress for over two weeks.
Yet Nadler and no Democrat has taken the time to read that version.
Why?
15
@Dr. John
Wow, you sure have that rhetoric down pat. But what you're claiming is not true. Mr. Nadler is the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He is a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is also on the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
He has every right to view the unredacted version of the Mueller Report.
And he is also a lawyer.
5
@Dr. John, I'm curious of how you know that no Democrat has taken the time to read it. Do you have some inside information or is this just your opinion which everybody has one of them just like something else they have.
5
@Dr. John A much better question is, why is Trump trying to hide a report that, according to him, proves him "100% innocent"?
You'd think he'd want it read word for word on Fox News.
10
The Democrats will get more political advantage by simply going to court rather than impeaching Trump. The ongoing and long lasting legal conflict will then portray Trump as obstructing inquiries into his actions raising the constant question asking what does he have to hide.
Let the legal system handle it while the Democrats have their main focus on a legislative agenda.
88
@Mark: The courts absolutely abhor being dragged into disputes between the superior legislative and executive branches of the federal government.
2
@Mark
I would wholly agree and I think dem leadership does too, except the argument appears to be that, while there seems to be enough evidence at face value to justify a closer examination/investigation, that there is no sufficient legal mechanism for investigation/discovery under these circumstances without impeachment.
Tangentially, the following sentence could be re-inserted into any article about DT's presidency ever written: "Advisers to Mr. Trump said that there was no overarching White House strategy and that they simply remained on the same war footing they have been on since the day he took office..."
4
@Mark
Democrats can both legislate and investigate/impeach. It is a big congress. What is the point of focusing solely on legislation with Obstructionist Mitch at the helm of the Senate. Do you think for a mere microsecond that McConnell is going to let legislation pass that benefits Democrats going into 2020? Don't be naive.
7
Nancy is right, he is self-impeaching. The Dems are obliged to do it now. They were trying to avoid it. But that is his MO. Provoke, be obnoxious cause a brawl dehumanise half the population- the half that has read books and treat them like subhumans and not really Americans. Brag, boast, slander and of course there is always some new exposure that he has to deny. Meanwhile we have forgotten the tax fraud scandal- the one from a couple of weeks ago; then of course the one from 2 days ago let alone the one from 3 years ago still not having released the taxes; then of course there is the individual 1, the non-indicted coconspirator issue, the sexual assault allegations, imprisoning kids, tearing apart families, Trump University, Charlottesville fine people on both sides, government shutdown... and I have not scratched the surface yet and oh yes a slight matter of obstructing justice and strong circumstantial evidence of being beholden to Putin. Did I mention Helsinki and believing Vlad in reference to American intelligence and letting Russians into the oval office. Apart from that he does not deserve to be impeached because 700 prosecutors who say he should be prosecuted for obstruction are all wrong and Trump is right. And Karen and Stormy are utterly forgotten of course. Apart from all that he is the greatest President in American History... just ask him.
117
@Bob Guthrie
This authoritarian wannabe now piles more obstruction on obstruction, along with all of the mountain of facts that prove him to have never been fit for the office.
The now repugnant party supports him because he is their dream come true for all their extreme right-wing ideas, including gerrymandering and voter suppression to maintain their unlawful power.
8
Last l read it was 803 former prosecutors, but who's counting.
3
Should of started impeachment long ago. This president has walked on spit on and thumbed his nose on our Constitution and the republicans are just as guilty but if the democrats sit on their hands as I think they will they are no better.
16
For Giuliani to accuse anyone of “slithering” is priceless. Isn’t he the patriot who’s been dispatched to Ukraine to “encourage” the government to investigate Joe Biden’s son? Vote every Republican out in 2020.
145
The obstacle to removing Trump is Mitch McConnell. The question is why does McConnell hate America?
181
@Stevem
because
1) he gets lots of donations from Russia
2) he loves judgeships more
3) he thinks it will all pass and the republicans and their judges will rule the minority of voters for the best decades
He doesnt hate america - he hates democracy and he LOVES raw power.
18
@Stevem -- McConnell loves America.
He just can't stand Americans.
4
@Stevem
I say it is more like complete indifference.
Mitch is a real piece of work. The gop malevolence incarnate. Tax cuts and really nothing else matters.
We are just background noise and revenue for these grifters. Where is our Infrastructure Repair Bill?
11
I have been against impeachment, not because I believe there are no grounds, but for all the reasons outlined in this article. Now I’m not so sure.
If the Democrats in the House do not move forward decisively, they not only appear weak, but they also allow the executive branch to wreak havoc on the constitution. By moving to impeach, they would speedily gain access to the documents and testimony the president is now denying them. Only when they have examined the evidence can they decide whether or not to move forward and draw up articles of impeachment.
Everyone says this would be a futile gesture because the Senate will never convict. But how do we know that? Once the House airs the dirty laundry in a series of public hearings, even republican voters might be roused to demand impeachment. Quite possibly, when confronted with irrefutable evidence that the president has committed high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the bulk of their constituents agree, enough republican Senators will grow spines and do their sworn duty to protect and defend the constitution.
If the proof is there, but the republicans in the Senate refuse to convict, they may find their constituents will vote them out, along with Trump, in 2020.
I realize I’m being an idealist here, but then again, I continue to believe that my fellow citizens are capable of rising above politics for the good of the country.
103
@Jane
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Sen. Reps. to grow as spine. McConnell will definitely make them toe the line, no matter what the evidence of the impeachment process. The better strategy might just be to begin to present the evidence for impeachment AND conviction. The investigations are only focused on the first. We need more than a smoking gun, we need the fingerprints on the trigger and on the casing! But it is there, we just need to find and reveal it.
1
@Jane
With very few exceptions, mostly involving senators choosing to not run for re-election, Repub Senators have refrained from even criticizing Trump. And now you believe they may vote to impeach?
Our bottom line as patriotic Democrats must be what is best for the country. First and foremost DJT must not serve a 2nd term. If impeachment proceedings by House brings that about, even as Senate declines, do it. Ifit is reasonable to conclude elite will help him, what in the world is gained? Let’s keep our eyes on what is crucial: a one term DJT.
Nothing else matters.
3
@Jane All due respect, but the answer to Trump will not be found in Democrat equivocating. You cannot wait around for 'good citizens' to come to their senses and rally around impeachment. The Republicans have made quite clear that that will never happen. Showing them the proof of Trump's misdeeds will not sway them, so forget them and move forward. Lincoln's first commander of Union forces in the Civil War, George McClellan, was too busy triangulating the likelihood of victory in any engagement with Confederate forces that he almost never took any action against them. He was more concerned about being President someday than going after the traitorous South. It wasn't until Grant took over control of Union forces that the North effectively pursued the South to submission. There were great casualties, but this is where we are now. Sometimes you just have to stiffen your spine and go for the jugular. Take the fight directly to the enemy and make sure that they are so bloodied from the encounter, that they will wish they had taken a different tack. It doesn't matter if Trump is goading the Dems. We know the Republicans in the Senate will never convict on impeachment, but so what? If that is where we have to go, then go directly at them and make sure they own any acquittal in the future. At least if that happens, the Democrats can hold their heads high and refuse to go down as appeasers because the Republicans refused to uphold their duty to the country.
2
I think that the Trump team's basic argument is that they think there are enough Americans with no respect for the Constitution that the Republicans would prevail in the next election. They might be right.
25
Week after week of:
Public hearings in which the damaging details of the Mueller Report are revealed in dramatic fashion. Republicans in the hearings revealed to the public as posturing partisans bordering on hysterical. Together will the news media digging deeper. Embarrassing leaks.
I guess Trump believes that even bad publicity is good publicity.
Of course, the Mueller Report will be receiving publicity too.
The genius of Trump revealed in The NY Times expose of his $1 billion lost decade is at work again.
12
What does impeachment get us when the Republican Senate will never convict? Sure, we will have stood up for our principles and for truth, justice and the American way against a world-class liar and wannabe dictator who neither understands nor cares about the balance of constitutional power and gives absolutely no whit for the rule of law. But at the end of the day, we've still handed Trump a victory that he can--and assuredly will--use against us at the ballot box.
But we can also stand up for our principles in court, still protect and defend the congressional oversight that is part and parcel of the constitutional balance of power, still fight tooth and nail for the rule of law that is the very basis for our republican democracy. And in court we not only have a fighting chance, we are very likely to prevail.
Sure, a judicial battle will take time. But does anyone really think impeachment will be fast? Especially when Trump and his enablers will no doubt continue their scorched earth strategy, ignoring subpoenas, withholding witnesses and throwing every conceivable obstacle in the Democrats' path?
This is a fight to save the very constitutional principles that make our republic work, that save us from the authoritarianism our ancestors warred against--a fight for America's soul. Do we really want to wage it on the floor of the Republican Senate where we are sure to lose?
3
Hear Mueller first, quickly, and as a private citizen if necessary. Get state tax records from NY. Put all contempt of Congress orders in a batch for faster processing. And build a case to the American people. Then start the impeachment hearings. This is deadly serious. You need not reach a conclusion of impeachment, but don't shy away from it. Be on the record that you stood of for the Constitution and the American people. Regardless of success in impeachment, it will strengthen, not weaken, your 2020 prospects.
43
“I have been the most transparent president and administration in the history of our country by far,” he added, ....The president didn’t say he would contest specific subpoenas that he considers excessive or unfair. He said he was fighting all of them, apparently because they came from the opposing party.
That’s not how the balance of powers between the president and Congress is supposed to work.
The argument would be laughable if it weren’t so dangerous. Trump is pushing the country toward a constitutional crisis. This isn’t transparency. If anything, it’s a war on transparency, a crusade against accountability.
The most transparent president in history? Not even close.
LATimes
25
It's amazing how many of us -- myself included sometimes -- feel they can predict the future. "If Trump's impeached the Senate will acquit." But can we really be so sure?
Suppose the House does a thorough, lawyerly, dispassionate investigation and drafts brilliant articles of impeachment. Suppose Pelosi appoints as managers members who are regarded with the highest respect and possess the intellectual and rhetorical skills to present a excellent case. How are we to know that 20 Republicans will not vote to convict?
Except for a few crazies like Lindsey Graham, Republican have no inherent loyalty to Trump. They support him because they are terrified of being primaried from the right and because he has let them pursue their policies and court-packing. But no Republican legislation will pass the House for the next two years; the days of billionaire tax cuts are over. Pence will continue to nominate far-right judges and will leave in place (whoops! prediction of the future!) Trump's regulation-busting appointees. So if Republicans see no downside to removing Trump, they may very well be persuaded by a solid case.
It's worth noting that cracks in the Great Wall have begun to appear. Lisa Murkowski has stood up to Trump repeatedly. The Senate Intelligence Committee's Republicans must have known Trump would be furious when they subpoenaed Don Jr. Let's not pre-judge the case.
28
The Democrats need to decide who they are and what they believe in defending. The whining is annoying. Can they not get their collective selves together, stop running for office instead of doing their jobs, and get on with whatever it is. Stop investigating and do something. In case they haven't noticed, there is a country to be managed. The more they focus on Trump, the larger he gets and the crazier his base becomes. Their splintered approach will ensure their defeat in 2020. A wasted opportunity...
@Patricia: Hate to bring it to you, but it’s the Republicans who control the Senate, presidency, Supreme Court, much of the courts and counting, and most state governorships and legislatures. They are doing their jobs already, whether you like it or not. If you want Democrats to manage the country, vote accordingly.
1
Did Trump go to Wharton or Johnny Friendly School of Government. We have Hoffa now as President.
4
@TWShe Said. I met Hoffa once. He had charisma. Trump does not.
1
Trump and his strategies should be careful what they hope for.
5
With Guiliani running to the Ukraine to dig up dirt, Trump calling for investigations of John Kerry, throwing shade at Mueller, encouraging his team to break law by not honoring subpoenas from Congress, Trump and his team are doing all things that dictatorships do to get full control. Democrats better get off the dime and start impeachment proceedings. Impeachment proceedings give Americans the information to read for ourselves. Republicans are enabling the downfall of our democracy and, sadly, Americans aren't the French. There's no marching in the streets. By the time we wake up, Trump will be king and they'll be locking up more than children in the internment camps down south.
17
Wise words to Republicans: be careful of what you wish for.
12
It is a losing strategy. Trump often "dares" but when confronted with a worthy opponent turns and runs.
In this case, given he is guilty as sin, such as strategy, if indeed the Democratic leadership changes gears for once and shows some courage and follow through in the face of political adversity and simply does the right thing, then Trump not only will have chosen the losing strategy.
It is not only the Democrats, but the American People of both parties who have the question: "if you are innocent, why are you trying so very hard to hide everything?"
If acting guilty in the face of truth, perhaps the strategy of real time demonstrated obstruction, coverup and lying, which leads naturally to the only logical path towards discovery, impeachment, isn't really much of a strategy but more of a desperate effort to hide the true nature of the corrupted party you now represent.
A strategy? Give me a break. To propaganda team inside the NY times: stop writing propaganda! It doesn't work anymore.
2
10% of the public version of the Mueller Report is redacted.
Only 1.5% of the private report available to Congress is redacted.
No Democrat has taken the time to read the 1.5% version.
That way they can continue to tell lies to keep their base continually angry.
All while they don’t even have the nerve to impeach him.
Maybe those red meat lies just help keep the donations rolling in?
8
@Dr. John You refer to the “no collusion, no obstruction” lie that Trumps base scarfs up daily?
13
@Dr. John. Sorry, but the lies that are so easily refuted (2M people were bussed into NH to vote for Hillary; doctors wrap newborns 'beautifully' so that the mother and the doctor can decide whether to execute the baby) make us angry. Not the NYT.
The climate change denials make us angry.
The crude remarks about women make us angry.
The xenophobia makes us angry.
The willingness to deny 1st Amendment rights to private citizens as well as journalists makes us angry.
The apparent suffering from Stockholm syndrome of his adult children makes us angry.
His love of dictators makes us angry.
The insane rantings makes of trump makes us angry.
4
@Dr. John
This perspective is 100% projection.
2
China, if you are listening. Please find the redacted mueller report, please uncover his taxes. 60 percent of the American public would be very thankful.
22
He’s not worth it. Let the SDNY and others continue their work.
Trump’s already been indicted. Handcuffs in 2 or 6 years.
10
But... what's the statute of limitations? Isn't it five years?
Sometimes one just has to do the right thing. Obama didn't do the right thing when he failed to go after Wall Street banksters as he had promised, that omission cost him his base, which stayed home, and the Congress in 2010. Now we have an autocrat assaulting the Constitution, if the Democrat House fails to impeach, they will "go down in infamy", as will our constitutional form of government.
10
So much of this is really about shaping public perceptions. While many of Mr. Trump’s followers think he is close to perfect, the 2018 elections indicate that a growing number of Americans are seeing his con for what it is. But they still need to be led. Which ain’t happening.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump and his advisors are still pandering to his precious base, hoping against hope they can continue to shape the perceptions of those gullible motley fools to pull another election out of a hat. They know that at least some of that crowd is mindless enough to support Mr. Trump no matter what he does or says. Like most Republicans, they want an integrity-free, autocratic, above the law strongman leader, and they admire his hatred for anyone and anything outside the borders of what was once a great nation. This way they don’t have to think, and have no need of a spine.
Meanwhile, the Dems, lacking any shred of courage, just about the next election. They don’t have a clue of how to leverage those who don’t support Mr. Trump, so they will do nothing. They don’t see that even if an impeachment is blocked in the Senate, the damage of the impeachment process to Mr. Trump can still change the thinking of the remaining few thousand Republicans who actually care about democracy.
But for now, absent any courage on the part of the Dems, when 2020 rolls around the nation will its last free election and anoint Mr. Trump king.
4
@Noley. I think you are right about trump making 2020 the last election. I've said that for months, and, lately, he has been asking for two more years of his presidency.
But, some of the problems that the electorate faces is the expectation of charisma. Yeah, it is contradicted by the fact that trump has none. I think the Russians planted this idea that an opposition candidate must be perfect, which is why people are now saying, as each candidate declares, I will not vote for that one.
1
Doesn't this all feel like one of those messy eviction fights? We have a terrible tenant squatting in our White House. He lied on his rent application, and he's trashing the place. We've given him notice to vacate , but it'll take months to go through the process of evicting him. Meanwhile, he defies our notices and absolutely refuses to go, all the while claiming we are persecuting him. Perhaps it will actually be worth it to begin impeachment process in order to acquire all the info he's refusing to provide. We don't have to actually impeach. Somebody has to stand up to a president with autocratic tendencies . I guess it'll have to be the shambolic Democrats.
13
Donnie is good at digging holes. His daughter Ivanka said on tape a decade plus back that he was 8 billion dollars in the red, that is a very deep hole to have gotten himself into, and it is doubtful if he has ever dug himself out. The man still has a net worth of far less than a beggar pan handling on the street.
New York State is going to bring the teetering Trump empire down, no matter what happens in DC and will be waiting at the White House gate with a warrant when his presidency is over, whether he completes his term(s) or is successfully impeached. Trump has good his own goose.
16
This battle between Congress and Trump has passed appalling. We are seeing our country torn apart by a man who has no concern for positive and progressive leadership and merely wants to flex muscle and benefit himself and his family.
This is not America. If our only option is to vote this despicable man from office, let's get the process started.
10
The question is very simple. Are there 20 republicans in the Senate who would prefer to continue our constitutional democracy over giving Trump the dictatorial powers he would like to have and pass on to Donald Junior?
10
More deception and distraction from the Trump administration. If Trump wanted to speed the impeachment process he would facilitate, not resist, Congress’s necessary investigating and evidence gathering. As it is, the courts will eventually resolve Trump’s claims of executive privilege, and Trump—if he’s re-elected—May, like Richard Nixon who won re-election in a landslide, face impeachment in his second term.
2
I believe that the most important thing the Democrats can do is to expose Trump for what he is. The House must methodically, like the Mueller Report, bring all of this information to the attention of the American people, especially those who are sitting on the fence. This must be done in a slow and deliberative way due to Trump's stonewalling. Once Trump is exposed this will allow the people to impeach Trump via their votes. Stay the course.
13
@Dan O
Absolutely. Trump has a short attention span. Slow and methodical will deny him the crescendo he prefers.
This would be easy to do if the GOP cared a whit about anything other than power. As long as Trump has a (R) next to his name, the rank and file Republicans in Congress will wring their hands, say that his tone is off, but in the end will do nothing to remove him from office.
You would have thought that 2018’s House results would have been a wake up call, but the GOP seems intent to whistle through the graveyard.
9
The War Powers Act - Congress passed by overriding a much weakened Watergate scarred Nixon - is a poster child of a POTUS tying hands of his successors.
No less than the 44th - much admired in these pages - complained on restrictions of this Act.
Of course, both Congress and the Executive have avoided taking it thru the Courts to see whether it passes constitutional muster - as no one wants to blink.
I urge folks to read a letter that the special attorney for POTUS, Mr. Emmet Flood - wrote to AG Barr - an excellent objection to Mueller report.
In it, he cites extensive precedence of executive privilege against congressional investigations.
He even quotes Watergate Prosecutors who basically said that their report is not to be used by Congress in impeachment. They argued that Congress is obliged to conduct it's own investigation should it wish to impeach Nixon.
And so, they did.
Ditto here - time to put up or shut up.
Mueller cannot be used as a "loss leader" item by Democrats to conduct an investigation of an investigation.
That is no oversight but for better or worse "more of the same - a witch hunt."
1
We need to get Mueller and Trump's tax returns in front of America. The rest of this is posturing that is not useful...for now.
2
Just. Do. It.
41
"go ahead, make my day" Impeach him and a wasted two years of a Democrat controlled House. 2020 will be a continued hate Trump campaign with zero accomplishments and no policy. We thought the Republican controlled House was bad, these people are a bunch of clowns.
3
@tompe
The House's bills are piling up outside the door of Mitch McConnell's Senate where he fails to bring them up. If he did, maybe we would have something to talk about other than Trump's lawlessness and obstruction. H.R. 1 would be a good place to start.
1
As usual, when Trump is right, it’s for the wrong reasons.
If the Democrats choose not to impeach Trump for political gain, how are they any better than the Republicans willing to support Trump for political gain?
5
Please explain to me how impeachment in the House does anything. While I would love to see this whole crew go to jail, what good does House impeachment do if the Senate will vote against it. Which it will.
Then you will have Trump tweeting he has been exonerated.
Yes I am sure no president wants to be impeached but Trump is not like any other, he is such a liar and crook it will have no effect on him.
10
@MG
If my memory serves me correctly, during an impeachment trail, the hearings are TELEVISED for public consumption. The defendant and witnesses for his defense must answer questions UNDER OATH in the publics spotlight.
The democrats will prevail just by the public exposure of the corrupt and illegal actions of Trump and his cronies, even if they lose a senate conviction vote.
I say, "Bring it". If you fight for what is right, there is the possibility of losing, but if you do not fight at all, you lose most certainly.
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The Democrats feeble attempt to smear Barr as a liar because he is investigating the genesis of the Russian investigation under Obama will not work.
2
@Hank: It’s not a smear. Barr actually did lie to Congress under oath. It’s the truth.
11
@Hank The Democrats have had no Need to 'smear the Republicans and/or Trump because those people are constantly smearing themselves in the media because they do Not Know what a REAL American lives or thinks like.
Trump smears himself every time he opens his mouth and uses his sanctimonious voice to utter total lies that everybody sees through, and yet his base gives him a pass on that since "All politicians lie, this one is Ours" Sad that real people think that way.
Just sad, really.
1
The accompanying photograph says a lot about this Trump regime. Two suits with their arms akimbo and chins thrust out. All they need to complete the"this and no further" effect would be loin cloths and bare-chested, members of the Unsullied, standing outside Danaerys' door.
1
Dare citizens to fulfill their oath...
3
Well, yes, he's right.
The Democrats are too gutless to impeach.
The 2020 election is, of course, another matter.
1
Being a Wisconsinite and living through Governor Scott Walker’s failed recall effort makes me very nervous. He went on to be governor for eight, long years which took a toll on Wisconsin.
Walker was a sly fox, and is now Wisconsin’s Trump man. I can picture Walker giving advice to Trump - “Dare them, Donald” and both of them snickering, making plans to win 2020.
Unfortunately, politics can be very cruel.
15
If they do not impeach they are effectively exonerating Trump.
16
in the end history will be the judge. We will likely fight this out until Trump is out of office(hopefully 2021). But in 30 years or 50 years all those documents and tax records and redacted reports etc will be available and historians will judge Trump and his minions. I believe it will not be kind to them, but these are short sighted people who have shown no concern for the long term implications of their actions. I am in my 60's but I worry what Trump and his ilk will do to the America my Children, grandchildren, and their children will eventually inherit because of this President's selfish, erratic and short sighted actions. But in the end history will show him, I believe as both comfortable and criminal.
23
Couldn’t agree with you more! We see our kids and grandkids going about their daily business now. But we dearly fear the long term ramifications of the Trump regime, no funding for public schools, decimating the environment and poisoning it, leadership caging foreign children, siding with extremists who terrorize, lying and continually getting away with it, handing money over to corporations, supporting the NRA instead of protecting school kids, leaving our allies and joining the team of Russia and North Korea.
There is no way to ever explain how we elders allowed this to happen. That is our frustration. Saying we’re sorry to future generations will never be substantial.
4
This article is a great example of why Progressives rarely have good political instincts. The left & their allies who are pushing this train are motivated by hate & outrage. They're completely oblivious to the consequences of their proposed actions. Impeaching Trump will facilitate his winning a 2nd term, which would be devastating for the Democratic party. The Democrats were not elected to hold endless hearings on the Trump administration. They were given a House majority to craft & pass good legislation. Pelosi to her enduring credit is trying to keep everyone's eye on the ball. But leftist zealots are determined to drive the party straight off the cliff. The House should fix DACA, address immigration issues, & improve the healthcare system. Focusing on impeachment is an exercise in total futility. There's zero chance the GOP controlled Senate will vote to impeach. Going down this path will keep the issue in the forefront for the 2020 election. The election should be about health care, inequality, immigration reform, etc. & not about the Trump Russia scandal. Impeachment hearings driven by Progressive fanatics will certainly over-reach. It will be easily spun by Trump as a witch hunt to fair-minded voters. When impeachment fails in the Senate, Trump will again claim victory. The pure efficiency that Democrats are able to deploy when it comes to shooting themselves in the foot is often breathtaking. This is the one time we should resist the temptation to pull the trigger.
11
Much as you may disagree with calls for impeachment, you might want to keep in mind there are perfectly good reasons to investigate Trump, starting with his mysterious affection for Putin and the probability that he has, at the very least, financial ties to Russia. The risk of emoluments and blackmail are certainly nonzero.
Speaking of exercises in futility, of the legislation you mentioned, which do you suppose would receive a warm reception in the senate? DACA, to name one, went down while Paul Ryan tan the house. Healthcare clearly awaits a Democratic president if not a Democratic senate.
The House was indeed elected as a check on this president. It’s too much to expect him to enforce the law. It’s not too much to ensure he obeys the law.
16
@James K. Lowden If the House gets embroiled in impeachment hearings no substantive legislation will be introduced or passed. That is a fact. The smart thing to do is to fix immigration and healthcare . Then beat Trump at the polls. The Democrats will get lost in the weeds if they go down this road. Trump daring the Dems to impeach him. And Dems like obedient lemmings they are walking straight into the trap he's set. Hate to break it to the DNC it's too late for the GOP to have a come to Jesus moment. In for a penny in for a pound. They won't lift a finger to help the Dems. From a tactical viewpoint the GOP's United We Stand strategy is brilliant. They will let the Dems engage in pointless committee investigations, divisive intraparty debates over impeachment. Lots of grandstanding I am Spartacus speeches will be made. Much energy will be wasted. Lots of bad blood sown. And in the end we won't learn anything new. And even if we did would anyone care beyond the beltway pundits? No. CNN reported that only 3% of Americans have read Mueller's report in its' entirety. 10% read most. So, 87%...the overwhelming majority of Americans don't care. I repeat they DO NOT CARE. Trump will never resign. The GOP senate won't convict him. His supporters won't desert him. The Democrats can shout about the Mueller report until there's ice on the equator. It won't change the mind of one person who voted for Trump. The more you complain the more he will rub it in your face. Isn't that obvious?
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@James K. Lowden
James, what is this " mysterious affection" for Putin" you mention. Unless you have an inside track (and I watch the news too) I don't see any "mysterious affection".
2
This is about rules. Following rules or breaking them. This is about what moms do every day.
Mother’s Day is upon us. If you love your mother and any other rule-enforcing law of nature, call your senator and representative and implore them to act like grownups, act like Mothers, follow the rule of law, vote to impeach!
6
"Mr. Trump has been focused in recent days on overseas crises and challenges, holding a hastily called meeting with advisers early Wednesday morning about a reported threat of force by Iran against American forces in the Middle East. He is also said to be absorbed by the developing Democratic primary battle to choose a challenger to him in next year’s election."
Gotta hand it to the NYT writers for the way they manage, by careful phrasing, to make this deranged narcissist sound almost presidential, and his dysfunctional administration sound almost rational.
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@herzliebster - Agreed. The idea of Trump being focused on anything other than his grievances and a hamburger is laughable.
5
Republicans who swore an oath to protect and serve the Constitution are instead screaming "Trump, Trump, Trump".
If anyone is left to defend the idea of American democracy, it is the Democrats, and the only leverage they have left is impeachment.
I am reminded of two quotes:
“Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?
A Republic, if you can keep it.” Benjamin Franklin
"we here highly resolve...that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth". Abraham Lincoln
45
@Patriot America was founded as a plutocracy by plutocrats. The term democracy was something to appease the proles. "Of, by and for" applied to a small group.
2
American democracy is under attack from within as real and powerful as any in our history. Our Constitution is a bulwark, but it only works if we fully utilize its powers.
Democrats: Thank you for your wise forbearance. Now the time has come. Impeach they tyrant, and don’t overthink the PR consequences.
95
Dems do whatever plan gets you Trump’s taxes and business financials the fastest. The money trail is what will bring him down.
86
If the Dems do not vote articles of impeachment in the House then they will lose 30-40 seats. Frankly, if they are going to stand there and just watch the Republican Party turn this country into an Autocracy they do not need to be there anyway.
194
@Rick
I agree - the House must vote articles of impeachment. Not to do so, under these circumstances, is not only bad optics but shirking a constitutional imperative.
4
Let the R’s think, strategize, game, distort all they want to. That is a short term vision, after all, to be thinking 2020 is the end all. (Well it could be if Trump were to win.) Not ALL R’s are on the support side of DJT, hopefully they are not counting R’s head’s to add up expected votes. I do think there is merit to how people feel outside of DJT shameful rallies in regard to the 2020 election. Also, hopefully all voters are paying attention to the degradation of health care, the racial divide, the lack of foreign policy, and in general, basic disrespect to the citizens that are not on the support side of Trump’s GOP. Congressional hearings will inform the citizens, if there are no crimes, than, no choice but to move on. And what about what we do not yet know? Counterintelligence – congress has not been briefed since Comey was fired. Did everything go away? Executive privilege? Or Congressional oversite?
17
The argument against impeachment is a very strong one.
When it reaches the Senate, Trump will be "exonerated" - again.
9
@Mike Edwards
I can absolutely see Trump chortling on the campaign trail that the Dems have nothing on him otherwise they would have impeached. Trust me, he will see this as weakness and spin it to his advantage.
5
Democrats can neither take the bait nor ignore it. They cannot simply not do what they must do to reign this obstructionist challenging executive just to spite Trump. Either way Trump thinks he has the situation checkmated. Marking time, freezing in place in indecision is harmful. So, move (!) impeach and let the system work. There has certainly been more than enough cause.
Fear of the negative repercussions to Democrats in the 2020 elections, which could go either way, is simply spinelessness and not wisdom after a certain point. When you get punched in the belly you don't do a Hamlet.
We should also have to admit that Trump has raw courage, if not the moral type. He's desperate, but a good actor.
58
@Potter Is Trump daring the Dems to impeach him? Of course he is! And Dems like obedient lemmings are walking straight into the trap he's set. Hate to break it to the DNC it's too late for the GOP to have a come to Jesus moment. In for a penny in for a pound. They won't lift a finger to help the Dems. From a tactical viewpoint the GOP's United We Stand strategy is brilliant. They will let the Dems engage in pointless committee investigations, divisive intraparty debates over impeachment. Much energy will be wasted. Lots of bad blood sown. And in the end we won't learn anything new. And even if we did would anyone care beyond the beltway pundits? No. CNN reported that only 3% of Americans have read Mueller's report in its' entirety. 10% read most. So, 87%...the overwhelming majority of Americans don't care. I repeat they DO NOT CARE. Trump will never resign. The GOP senate won't convict him. His supporters won't desert him. This is about raw power. He has it. You don't. Trump knows exactly what he's doing. Trump's crassness isn't surprising, isn't accidental, it's intentional, it's carefully calculated & it's working quite well. It plays perfectly to his base & they love it, so he'll keep doing it as much as possible. The Democrats & mainstream press can rage & shout about Mueller report until there's ice on the equator. It won't change the mind of one person who voted for Trump. The more you complain the more he will rub it in your face. Isn't that obvious at this point?
2
@Bill Brown these are assumptions and non sequiturs that I cannot begin to each address. You lay out the damned if you do argument as well, making this Wizard of Oz scary behind his unpulled curtain. We are the majority. The truth will get around... part of why the congress must proceed. If we need formal impeachment to get the full report and testimony then this has to happen. The misinterpretation of the Mueller (Barr) report should not overtake the truth of it, its questions, and work unfinished. Nor should past and continuing lawlessness go unanswered. We are about to find out what kind of country we have.
1
The Dems arguments against impeachment are bogus. “It’ll energize his base.” He’ll gin up some phoney crisis on immigration or something else that will accomplish that. “It’ll hinder the work of the Democratic Party for the American people.” Name one Democratic initiative that Mitch M won’t block. It’s not a reach, you must impeach.
207
My god man, haven’t we learned anything at all?
There will always be a manufactured “ crisis” by this faker.
Impeachment or not. Call his bluff and follow the straight path.
57
@Cloud 9 the issue is that the Dems will not be able to get a 2/3 majority vote to convict in the Senate if they impeach. The republicans will be able to block that. Then Trump and the republicans will say the Dems wasted taxpayer $ with an impeachment, and McConnell will declare (again), "Case Closed"! Better to wait things out, see how some of the spin-off prosecutions at the state level go, get the tax forms out in public, etc. Then if still not enough evidence to tip the scales and get to 2/3 majority for impeachment/conviction, the voters should do the job in 2020. You would think the republicans would show some spine, but 40% of the nation still thinks Trump is being railroaded, so the repubs are afraid they won't get reelected if they go against Trump. You can blame the American public for this issue - a large minority continue to support Trump and believe he is great, innocent, etc. We truly are a nation of fools led by a fool.
27
@Cloud 9: First get the money trail. There is something there. Russia? Saudi? Who has been funding him? A majority of the country does not want an impeachment. The Senate will stay with trump and vote against it. At this point it is a loosing proposition. Let the House keep passing bills to McConnell, regardless of them being blocked, BUT talk about what is being held up by the Senate. Keep pointing out the flaws and rips in this administrations vision and actions. Fight for the people. We can bring them down but it will be by a thousand cuts.
19
You have to hit Trump in other areas.
As in having NY State get his tax files.
Subpoenaing Robert Mueller to testify.
You still fight what you have to in court, but you keep active in investigating him in the House.
As people have said:
Rich but won’t release his taxes.
Genius but no transcripts.
Healthiest person but no report.
Best memory says I can’t remember to 27 questions.
You can only believe me. Everything else is fake news.
Anybody at this point that hasn’t caught onto the con isn’t going to.
295
Isn't William Barr in charge of every one of those investigations?
3
@Joe The House also has the option to hold people in jail for contempt of Congress .
I was totally for impeaching Trump immediately which he deserves without a doubt. But I think waiting weeks or a few months is a good idea.
Trump is currently crying about the House Democrats doing their Constitutionally mandated oversight role. I think Trump is having fits already and the House Democrats are just getting started. He needs someone to fight dirty against. Barr’s censored Mueller report was released just weeks ago.
If Grim Reaper McConnell did not have a choke hold on the Senate Republicans impeaching now would make sense. McConnell could end this mess in 5 minutes but he refuses to do anything. Trump, Sarah Sanders and many others would crow total victory from now until election time if the Senate Republicans let him off.
The ridiculously meek Senate Republicans should all
resign except maybe Senator Burr.
16
@Javaforce
"Trump, Sarah Sanders and many others would crow total victory from now until election time if the Senate Republicans let him off."
Agreed. Impeachment without Senate removal could backfire for the reason stated above. That scenario keeps me up at night.
3