Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The 2019-2020 Impeachment, Trial and Acquittal of Donald John Trump

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Trump impeachment: More than 600 law academics conclude there is 'overwhelming evidence' for president's removal

    Hundreds of legal scholars have concluded there is “overwhelming evidence” that Donald Trump engaged in impeachable conduct

    In an open letter to congress, more than 600 academics from law schools including Yale, Rutgers and Harvard said it would be constitutional to remove the president.

    “There is overwhelming evidence that President Trump betrayed his oath of office by seeking to use presidential power to pressure a foreign government to help him distort an American election, for his personal and political benefit, at the direct expense of national security interests as determined by Congress,” they wrote.

    “His conduct is precisely the type of threat to our democracy that the founders feared when they included the remedy of impeachment in the constitution.”

    The scholars said their conclusion was based on the evidence heard so far in the impeachment hearings of Mr Trump’s attempt to pressure Ukraine into investigating his political rival Joe Biden.

    That includes testimony from US officials Gordon Sondland and William Taylor and Mr Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president.

    The scholars said they were not giving their opinion on whether the president committed a crime.

    They concluded: “Ultimately, whether to impeach the President and remove him from office depends on judgments that the Constitution leaves to Congress.

    “But if the House of Representatives impeached the President for the conduct described here and the Senate voted to remove him, they would be acting well within their constitutional powers.

    “Whether President Trump’s conduct is classified as bribery, as a high crime or misdemeanour, or as both, it is clearly impeachable under our Constitution.”
    ________

    Going to be an interesting several months, that much is certain.
    “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

    Comment


    • House Democrats Announce 2 Articles of Impeachment Against Trump: Abuse of Power & Obstruction of Congress

      House Democratic leaders announced on Tuesday that they have drafted two articles of impeachment against President Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

      “A president who declares himself above accountability, above the American people, and above Congress’ power of impeachment,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said on Tuesday, “is a president who sees himself as above the law. We must be clear: No one, not even the president, is above the law.”

      He was joined by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the chairs of the other House committees leading the impeachment inquiry, including House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff.

      The charges stem from Trump’s interactions with the Ukrainian president, whom he had asked to investigate a political rival. And as this interaction became the basis for the House’s impeachment inquiry, House Democrats have said that Trump’s refusal to cooperate with the inquiry and attempts to block witnesses from testifying amount to obstruction of Congress.

      The announcement comes after nearly a month of public hearings, held both by the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, featuring testimony from foreign service officers with knowledge of Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, constitutional scholars, and Democrat and Republican counsels as part of the impeachment inquiry into Trump.

      Earlier on Tuesday before the House Democrats’ announcement, Trump wrote on Twitter, “To Impeach a President who has proven through results, including producing perhaps the strongest economy in our country’s history, to have one of the most successful presidencies ever, and most importantly, who has done NOTHING wrong, is sheer Political Madness!”

      The articles, should they be passed by the House Judiciary Committee later this week, will then move on to a vote from the full House of Representatives. If the House indeed votes to impeach Trump, then the case will go to the senate for a trial and a vote.

      “We do not take this action lightly, but we have taken an oath to defend the constitution,” Nadler said on Tuesday.
      ___________
      “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

      Comment


      • About time. I thought obstruction of Justice might be a third stemming from Mueller but fair enough.

        Comment


        • House Judiciary Committee Votes to Impeach Donald Trump

          What happened: After a lengthy day of debating the two articles of impeachment against Trump, abuse of power and obstruction of congress, the House Judiciary Committee voted to approve both articles. The vote fell on partisan lines: Democrats voted yes and Republicans voted no, with the exception of Rep. Ted Lieu, a Democrat who was absent because of illness.

          Yesterday: The vote was supposed to be held yesterday but was unexpectedly delayed by House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, a decision that underscored the partisan tensions throughout the impeachment inquiry.

          What's in the articles: The first article of impeachment accuses Trump of abusing his office by pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rivals and withholding US security aid and a White House meeting. The second accuses him of obstructing the investigation into his misconduct by blocking witnesses and disobeying subpoenas.

          What's next: The two articles of impeachment will now go to the House floor for a vote. If a simple majority of the House votes to approve either article, Trump will become the third president ever formally impeached — President Nixon resigned after the votes passed the House Judiciary Committee but before they could make it to the full House. The House has yet to set a specific date for the full impeachment vote, but two Democratic leadership aides said it could happen on Wednesday.

          Possible trial: Then the Republican-led Senate will hold a trial presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The White House is still planning its trial strategy and considering whether or not it will call witnesses, which may lengthen the trial. Trump said earlier today that "I wouldn't mind the long process because I'd like to see the whistleblower — who is a fraud."
          __________

          Still fixated on the whistleblower...Not surprising, given Trump's malignant vindictiveness. Like any other bitter narcissist, Trump sees the whistleblower, not his own actions, as the cause of all of his problems.

          He's already made barely-veiled comments about having the whistleblower executed...like any other dictator.

          What a supremely qualified man that the Electoral College has put in the Oval Office to lead this democratic Republic.

          I just wonder if the Senate will allow him to attempt to bring the whistleblower out into public, or even for a closed-door testimony.
          McConnell wants a speedy trial, probably without witnesses at all, because he knows that the more Trump's behavior is examined, the more difficult it will be to bury it. (More on that below)
          “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

          Comment


          • McConnell Treads Gingerly on Impeachment as Trump Demands Flash

            (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump’s showman instincts will be running up against Mitch McConnell’s cautious management of the Senate as the two men with the most important relationship in Washington negotiate the terms of a high-stakes, election-year impeachment trial.

            Trump is accustomed to acting as his own chief strategist and spokesman. But the Senate is McConnell’s domain. As he plots out Trump’s impeachment trial, the majority leader is using his leverage to nudge a president -- who typically bends the Republican Party to his will -- toward bringing the process to a swift conclusion.

            An impeachment trial is all but certain to open in the Senate in January. The House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment Friday morning, and the full House is tentatively set to hold a historic vote next Wednesday charging Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

            Trump has expressed a desire for a lengthy impeachment trial with multiple witnesses who could air out his own narrative about election interference, accusations of Democratic corruption and the whistle-blower who’s complaint about Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president triggered the impeachment inquiry.

            “I’ll do long or short. I’ve heard Mitch, I’ve heard Lindsey,” Trump told reporters Friday at the White House, referring to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. “I think they are very much in agreement on some concept, I’ll do whatever they want to do, it doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t mind a long process, because I’d like to see the whistleblower, who’s a fraud.”

            Still, Trump said, “I’ll do whatever I want.”

            Graham and other Senate Republicans are increasingly warming to the idea of a short, tightly orchestrated trial without calling witnesses to avoid unleashing an unpredictable circus that could tie up the chamber for weeks or months, even though the outcome -- Trump’s eventual acquittal -- isn’t really in doubt.

            The relationship between Trump and McConnell has had rough patches, especially early on in Trump’s presidency. But it has also yielded major wins for both men: a historic number of conservative judges confirmed to the federal bench, a major cut in income tax rates and -- when Trump has listened to McConnell’s advice -- deals on spending.

            “I’m going to take my cues from the president’s lawyers,” McConnell told Fox News host Sean Hannity Thursday night. “You could certainly make a case for making it shorter rather than longer since it’s such a weak case.”

            White House and Senate GOP officials have been in regular contact about planning for the impeachment trial.

            Close Communication

            “We’re having good close communication, conversation with Senate Republicans in the event the House goes ahead and actually produces articles of impeachment,” White House Legislative Affairs Director Eric Ueland said after he and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone met with McConnell on Thursday. “We’re going to continue to work closely with Senate Republicans as well as other members of Congress on the questions.”

            Cipollone will argue on behalf of Trump during the Senate trial, according to a person familiar with the matter. It’s not clear if Cipollone will act as sole counsel or as part of a group of lawyers.

            McConnell has already played one card in a bid to get Trump on board for a shorter trial. He said that final approval of a trade deal with Mexico and Canada that is high on Trump’s priority list will be delayed until the impeachment trial ends.

            Still, the Kentucky Republican said in the end there would be no daylight between himself and Trump.

            “Everything I do during this, I’m coordinating with White House counsel,” he said. “There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this.”

            McConnell, who reiterated that he sees no chance of a conviction and removal of Trump, has made clear in recent days that if the White House -- or House Democrats -- want to call witnesses, they’ll need to get 51 votes to do so.

            That means it’s not up to McConnell alone to decide how the process unfolds, another point he can bring to bear when working with the White House.

            Josh Holmes, a former McConnell chief of staff who advises him on election strategy, said the majority leader wants to keep Republicans united and focused. The smoother the process, he said, the more likely he can do that. He noted that McConnell presides over a conference with little appetite for free-ranging and unpredictable proceedings.

            While Trump may be focused now on the impeachment process in the Democrat-led House, the endgame is clear.

            “Acquittal is the desired outcome,” Holmes said. Senators see that “as something that can be achieved without a big circus.”

            51 Votes

            Senator John Cornyn of Texas said he asked Cipollone at the Senate Republican lunch last week if the White House was focused on acquittal or a “messaging exercise.”

            “He said we’re not going to waste any time on anything that isn’t directly relevant to the charges brought by the House and the president’s defense,” Cornyn said. “From my perspective that would mean a pretty efficient presentation, meaning witnesses would be deposed and then excerpts presented rather than call live witnesses, which might rival the three-ring circus we’ve seen in the House of Representatives.”

            Cornyn said he expects that McConnell and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer will meet to see if they can work something out. “Having said all that, if 51 senators say they want to do something, they can.”

            Early on in the process, McConnell rebuffed speculation that the Senate might simply dismiss the articles of impeachment without any trial at all. But he has not made any commitments about how it would be conducted or how long it might go.

            A number of Senate Republicans like Ted Cruz of Texas and John Kennedy of Louisiana say they would back Trump’s call for witnesses and a lengthy defense if he desired.

            “I think the Senate needs to respect the process and do a much better job than the House Democrats have done in conducting a fair trial,” Cruz said. “That means both sides should be allowed to present their case, and if the president wants to call witnesses in his defense the Senate should allow him to do so.”

            It’s not clear that Trump would have the 51 votes he needs to call some witnesses he might want, such former Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden and the anonymous whistle-blower who sparked the impeachment inquiry over Trump’s push to have Ukraine investigate the Bidens.

            Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, a potential swing vote on procedures, said she isn’t yet announcing a position on which witnesses should be called. Two other Republicans who could be wild cards, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah, likewis2qae have said little on the subject of witnesses.

            Cornyn said McConnell’s “message to me is that there’s a bipartisan interest in doing our job, but not stringing this out to the exclusion of other important work.”
            _____________
            “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

            Comment


            • 116TH CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION
              House Resolution 755
              Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.


              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER, 2019 Mr. NADLER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

              RESOLUTION Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

              Resolved, That Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:

              Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, against Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.

              ARTICLE I: ABUSE OF POWER

              The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives ‘‘shall have the sole Power of Impeachment’’ and that the President ‘‘shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors’’. In his conduct of the office of President of the United States—and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed— Donald J. Trump has abused the powers of the Presidency, in that:

              Using the powers of his high office, President Trump solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 United States Presidential election. He did so through a scheme or course of conduct that included soliciting the Government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations that would benefit his reelection, harm the election prospects of a political opponent, and influence the 2020 United States Presidential election to his advantage. President Trump also sought to pressure the Government of Ukraine to take these steps by conditioning official United States Government acts of significant value to Ukraine on its public announcement of the investigations. President Trump engaged in this scheme or course of conduct for corrupt purposes in pursuit of personal political benefit. In so doing, President Trump used the powers of the Presidency in a manner that compromised the national security of the United States and undermined the integrity of the United States democratic process. He thus ignored and injured the interests of the Nation. President Trump engaged in this scheme or course of conduct through the following means:

              (1) President Trump—acting both directly and through his agents within and outside the United States Government—corruptly solicited the Government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations into—
              (A) a political opponent, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.; and
              (B) a discredited theory promoted by Russia alleging that Ukraine—rather than Russia—interfered in the 2016 United States Presidential election.

              (2) With the same corrupt motives, President Trump—acting both directly and through his agents within and outside the United States Government—conditioned two official acts on the public announcements that he had requested—
              (A) the release of $391 million of United States taxpayer funds that Congress had appropriated on a bipartisan basis for the purpose of providing vital military and security assistance to Ukraine to oppose Russian aggression and which President Trump had ordered suspended; and
              (B) a head of state meeting at the White House, which the President of Ukraine sought to demonstrate continued United States support for the Government of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

              (3) Faced with the public revelation of his actions, President Trump ultimately released the military and security assistance to the Government of Ukraine, but has persisted in openly and corruptly urging and soliciting Ukraine to undertake investigations for his personal political benefit.

              These actions were consistent with President Trump’s previous invitations of foreign interference in United States elections.

              In all of this, President Trump abused the powers of the Presidency by ignoring and injuring national security and other vital national interests to obtain an improper personal political benefit. He has also betrayed the Nation by abusing his high office to enlist a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections. Wherefore President Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. President Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.

              ARTICLE II: OBSTRUCTION OF CONGRESS
              The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives ‘‘shall have the sole Power of Impeachment’’ and that the President ‘‘shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors’’. In his conduct of the office of President of the United States—and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed—Donald J. Trump has directed the unprecedented, categorical, and indiscriminate defiance of subpoenas issued by the House of Representatives pursuant to its ‘‘sole Power of Impeachment’’. President Trump has abused the powers of the Presidency in a manner offensive to, and subversive of, the Constitution, in that:

              The House of Representatives has engaged in an impeachment inquiry focused on President Trump’s corrupt solicitation of the Government of Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 United States Presidential election. As part of this impeachment inquiry, the Committees undertaking the investigation served subpoenas seeking documents and testimony deemed vital to the inquiry from various Executive Branch agencies and offices, and current and former officials.

              In response, without lawful cause or excuse, President Trump directed Executive Branch agencies, offices, and officials not to comply with those subpoenas. President Trump thus interposed the powers of the Presidency against the lawful subpoenas of the House of Representatives, and assumed to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the ‘‘sole Power of Impeachment’’ vested by the Constitution in the House of Representatives.

              President Trump abused the powers of his high office through the following means:

              (1) Directing the White House to defy a lawful subpoena by withholding the production of documents sought therein by the Committees.

              (2) Directing other Executive Branch agencies and offices to defy lawful subpoenas and withhold the production of documents and records from the Committees—in response to which the Department of State, Office of Management and Budget, Department of Energy, and Department of Defense refused to produce a single document or record.

              (3) Directing current and former Executive Branch officials not to cooperate with the Committees—in response to which nine Administration officials defied subpoenas for testimony, namely John Michael ‘‘Mick’’ Mulvaney, Robert B. Blair, John A. Eisenberg, Michael Ellis, Preston Wells Griffith, Russell T. Vought, Michael Duffey, Brian McCormack, and T. Ulrich Brechbuhl.

              These actions were consistent with President Trump’s previous efforts to undermine United States Government investigations into foreign interference in United States elections.

              Through these actions, President Trump sought to arrogate to himself the right to determine the propriety, scope, and nature of an impeachment inquiry into his own conduct, as well as the unilateral prerogative to deny any and all information to the House of Representatives in the exercise of its ‘‘sole Power of Impeachment’’. In the history of the Republic, no President has ever ordered the complete defiance of an impeachment inquiry or sought to obstruct and impede so comprehensively the ability of the House of Representatives to investigate ‘‘high Crimes and Misdemeanors’’. This abuse of office served to cover up the President’s own repeated misconduct and to seize and control the power of impeachment—and thus to nullify a vital constitutional safeguard vested solely in the House of Representatives.

              In all of this, President Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

              Wherefore, President Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. President Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.
              Trust me?
              I'm an economist!

              Comment


              • Libs, talking about the sanctity of the US Constitution! Lol, lol!

                Comment


                • Originally posted by surfgun View Post
                  Libs, talking about the sanctity of the US Constitution! Lol, lol!
                  Keep something in mind while you're smugly chuckling to yourself: Everything that Donald Trump and the GOP have done, the blatant corruption, the deliberate and systematic obstruction of justice, the disparaging of American institutions, is setting a precedent for some Democrat to do the exact same thing in the future.

                  Or can you not see six inches past your own fucking nose.
                  “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                  Comment


                  • Settle down Bucky with the four letter words.

                    The true partisan work of the Dems in the House is unprecedented. A true abuse of power. Saggy face Nadler and Schiff have shown their absolute hypocrisy from their positions from the Clinton impeachment.
                    Last edited by surfgun; 15 Dec 19,, 02:36.

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by surfgun View Post
                      Settle down Bucky with the four letter words.
                      In other words, no, you can't. Remember that screaming and whining from the House Republicans about the rules that the Dems were using to conduct the inquiries..."Oh how unfair! Listen to us cry like little fucking bitches! Oh wait, WE ramrodded those exact rules through and now we have to eat shit because of it!" You can count on more of that, except it'll be a Dem president doing that shit, thanks to the rank cowardice of the GOP

                      The true partisan work of the Dems in the House is unprecedented. A true abuse of power. Saggy face Nadler and Schiff have shown their absolute hypocrisy from their positions from the Clinton impeachment.[/QUOTE]

                      Hypocrisy? Take a look at my signatures. Then tell me about hypocrisy.
                      “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                      Comment


                      • So, no settling down? I leave this here.
                        https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YZakBC7dt6c
                        Last edited by surfgun; 15 Dec 19,, 03:57.

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by surfgun View Post
                          So, no settling down? I leave this here.
                          https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YZakBC7dt6c
                          I don't care what you leave or where you leave it: I Am Not A Democrat. I don't give a single shit about the Democrats.

                          Here's an idea: Try defending Trump without deflecting onto Democrats, Obama, Clinton, Nadler, Biden, Schiff or any of the other bogeymen that you fear and hate so much. Donald Trump, on his own.

                          Go ahead, I'll wait. And wait.
                          “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by surfgun View Post
                            Libs, talking about the sanctity of the US Constitution! Lol, lol!
                            Unpatriotic GOPers trying to pretend to be loyal Americans.
                            Reminds me of countries that got into some serious trouble because loyalty to the party was more important than loyalty to the nation.
                            Trust me?
                            I'm an economist!

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
                              I don't care what you leave or where you leave it: I Am Not A Democrat. I don't give a single shit about the Democrats.

                              Here's an idea: Try defending Trump without deflecting onto Democrats, Obama, Clinton, Nadler, Biden, Schiff or any of the other bogeymen that you fear and hate so much. Donald Trump, on his own.

                              Go ahead, I'll wait. And wait.
                              Now that was a set up as you know that is simply not possible. Do you have lo-cal any popcorn by chance? Might take till hell freezes over...

                              Comment


                              • Top I would never defame you by labeling you as a Democrat. You listed yourself as a never trumper long ago. The ironic point of lefties attempting to quote the founding fathers and the constitution is always laughable as their idol LBG enjoys quoting the constitutions of other countries in her legal decisions. She particularly loves the constitution of South Africa! As far as I’m concerned using the constitutions of foreign nations as a measure for SCOTUS should have her removed from the court!
                                Lefties arguments that the US Constitution is a living breathing document proves that they don’t give two craps about its content.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X