General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI don't understand all the calls for impeachment.
Don't these people realize that impeachment will go nowhere. There would be no chance of prosecution with Moscow Mitch in charge.
Therefore, I feel that it would be better to charge him with all of his crimes at 12:01 on 21 January. That way there could be a proper trial by the courts, not by his lackeys in the Senate, and he could be charged with his many offenses since he took office. Granted, he would spend a lot of time in the courts, but many of the charges will stick, resulting in jail time. He could end up in prison for the rest of his life if we are lucky.
I am certain that New York State will apprehend him shortly after he is out of office, and proceed to try him for his crimes in New York. Will other states join in? It would do well to serve justice.
Then there are the more than 350,000 counts of negligent homicide that he should answer to, but I will not harp on that one.
He needs to go to jail for the rest of his life, and this can only be accomplished in the courts.
So, forget impeachment, get him when he is out of office.
soothsayer
(38,601 posts)I wouldnt mind it.
Zoonart
(11,907 posts)Celerity
(43,752 posts)Trump can be convicted and removed and still not barred from holding future office, unless a simple majority voted to bar him via that 2nd vote (I assume they WOULD do so, for if they do not he would surely try and run in 2024 if for no other reason than red, raw revenge).
Alcee Hastings (when he was a Federal Judge) was impeached, convicted, and removed, but was not barred, and now has been a US House Rep from Florida for what will be 30 years. He is 84yo, so no idea how many more times he runs for re-election.
rzemanfl
(29,583 posts)SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)I'd love it!
And many perceive silence as condoning an act.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)He doesn't need to do anything in an impeachment proceeding
soothsayer
(38,601 posts)It did last time, Im sure of it. Preoccupies him.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)soothsayer
(38,601 posts)But in reality I guess nothing can
dware
(12,533 posts)Irish_Dem
(47,935 posts)The money is better spent helping the American people.
Start legal action right after the inauguration.
Firestorm49
(4,041 posts)that he was the only President to be twice impeached. I must sound childish, but I hate him enough to relish in seeing the worm squirm.
Irish_Dem
(47,935 posts)But also nice to see the him hit with a ton of legal bricks on Jan 20th.
Iwasthere
(3,178 posts)... which in turn would curb his grifting and his cult for the next 4 years, he wouldn't have a 2024 run possibility.
RocRizzo55
(980 posts)he would run from prison? Somehow, I don't think that he would get the votes from there. He's no Eugene Debs, for cryin' out loud!
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)guilty, he will spend no time locked up. He might face a huge monetary fine and maybe be placed under house arrest but jail/prison is not in his future. Besides, he and his lawyers will drag out any court case until he gets his great reward in hell.
Irish_Dem
(47,935 posts)DonViejo
(60,536 posts)Irish_Dem
(47,935 posts)panader0
(25,816 posts)He could never pay.
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)An impeached president can be barred from running again ONLY if convicted and removed by the Senate on a 2/3 vote AND if the Senate votes - again with a 2/3 majority - to ban him from holding office in the future. That's not going to happen.
Except that's 100% false.
LisaL
(44,982 posts)Of course any impeachment has to be done before 21st, so that won't help. I still don't mind if Trump gets impeached again.
Thomas Hurt
(13,903 posts)in the first place, even if you do it, just to do it on principle.
House committees must investigate and expose to the public Trump's bad acts though.
Impeachment just isn't the right way to go about it IMO.
Botany
(70,643 posts)They have him on tape committing crimes.
Karadeniz
(22,607 posts)The Senate convicted the criminal, he'd never again be able to hold a public office.
dware
(12,533 posts)There would have to be a second vote to bar him from ever holding Fed. office again.
And an Impeachment trial is not a criminal trial.
tinrobot
(10,927 posts)I seriously doubt McConnell enjoys having Trump around. A successful impeachment could be a good power play for McConnell. He'd dispense with Trump's attempts at a 2024 run and neuter his ability to control the party. McConnell would then become the presumed head of the party.
Of course, the party could fracture, so that's the downside.
Irish_Dem
(47,935 posts)Does he want to add fuel to that fire?
That is the downside.
And I also agree that McConnell wants Trump gone in the worst way.
But he will have to find another way to do that.
And yes McConnell wants to be the undisputed head of the GOP.
tinrobot
(10,927 posts)That fracture could cut both ways. It could either drag the party even further towards the abyss, or it could swing back.
If McConnell can find the votes to hit 2/3, he's suddenly the alpha male. And with a 6 year term, he'll be hard to topple. He could trumpet it as being for the 'good of the country' and redeem himself with the middle to some degree. The seditious senators would probably come back into the fold as well.
But you're right in that it probably won't happen.
Irish_Dem
(47,935 posts)I think McConnell may be having a few sleepless nights, wondering if he is going to lose control of the senate and his coalition. He must be making plans to get the 2/3 votes as you say to retain his alpha male status.
Rorey
(8,445 posts)As someone explained on Morning Joe this morning, another impeachment puts another black mark on his legacy. Has any other president been impeached TWICE???
The thing is, when somebody does something wrong, it should be noted. When the wrongdoings are as egregious as those of Donald J. Trump, there should be a HUGE spotlight shone on it. Even if there are no consequences, such as removal, another impeachment by the House sends the message that we WILL acknowlege the criminal behavior. WE won't excuse it. Just because the Senate won't do the right thing (again), doesn't mean the House shouldn't.
Anyway, that's how I see it.
dubyadiprecession
(5,739 posts)Not that he doesnt know how to get there on his own!
Towlie
(5,332 posts)
?
berni_mccoy
(23,018 posts)That the President can be held accountable.
Even if hes not convicted, you must perform the Constitutional requirement of holding a derelict President accountable.
jobendorfer
(508 posts)With respect to all who are questioning the utility of impeachment, I can think of one argument *for* impeachment.
If Trump is impeached by the house on a charge of interfering with an election / threatening an election official, then he cannot be pardoned for that act. Charges leveled by impeachment are exempt from federal pardons.
John
tinrobot
(10,927 posts)Does that mean the orange turd can still be prosecuted for the Ukraine mess?
stillcool
(32,626 posts)especially with the GOP, Trump, and the in-Justice system.. I would welcome the official airing of every wrong-headed thing he's done.
NoRoadUntravelled
(2,626 posts)Perhaps too many still underestimate his desperation and depravity under the watch of his Russian boss.
Demsrule86
(68,800 posts)to stay the course.
servermsh
(913 posts)So I support the impeachment process, even after January 20th.
sfstaxprep
(9,998 posts)Conviction is the only thing that would make him ineligible.
There is NO scenario where 2/3rds of the Senate would vote to convict.
dware
(12,533 posts)holding office again, there would have to be a second vote by the Senate to bar him from ever holding office again.
Demsrule86
(68,800 posts)he would not be convicted this time either.
100% false information.
FSogol
(45,586 posts)Timewas
(2,200 posts)It is the right thing to do regardless of the outcome...
Demsrule86
(68,800 posts)We need to win elections. We have a very tough one coming up in 2022.
BadgerKid
(4,561 posts)Demsrule86
(68,800 posts)mopinko
(70,366 posts)Demsrule86
(68,800 posts)2024 (unprecedented) and Trump dies of natural causes (big macs). He will be gone and impeachment would be foolish.
OLDMDDEM
(1,579 posts)If there is a trial by jury, how many cult members would be picked on a jury? He won't go to jail, but he sure may end up with nothing once New York gets done with him. I can see the state (and city) putting liens on his properties and leaving him with little or nothing.
jalan48
(13,910 posts)of censure makes more sense.
Sogo
(5,017 posts)Sogo
(5,017 posts)That obliges them to take action against blatant law breaking by the President.
The fact that the Rs in the Senate won't do the right thing should not preclude the House from doing the right thing.
They must stand on principle for the future of our form of government.
Vinca
(50,328 posts)marie999
(3,334 posts)He will have to live and die with that.
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,456 posts)I think, symbolically, it would be the right thing to do but doubt that it should take up valuable time to address other things.
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)Though it sickens me because impeachment is supposed to be the remedy for all this law breaking.
You're right that impeachment is not worth it considering we are in January.