Winger Talking Point---Must Be Impeachment Before Prosecution. Ken Starr Already Proved that Wrong.

[Persisted]

The latest talking point put out by the right, desperately trying to protect this President, is that the President must be impeached before a criminal prosecution can go forward.

That's simply not true. Ken Starr hauled Bill Clinton before the federal grand jury, seeking a true bill on perjury counts.

And he would have prosecuted the President, but the federal grand jury refused him---basically, they weren't going to bring criminal charges arising from lying about a blowjob.

And only then did Impeachment commence.

[unblock]

1. the right wingers are saying a sitting president can be indicted, but not brought to trial.

their claim is that the president could put the trial on hold until after the president has left office.

not sure what they base this on; certainly sounds like a "the president is above the law" argument.

[Persisted]

2. They base it on the idea that impeachment is the

Remedy set forth in the Constitution for high crimes and misdemeanors.


But they fail to take into account that impeachment is mainly a political process, and the Constitution does not prohibit Federal adjudication.

[unblock]

3. if that's their only argument, it's a very silly one.

i have an employee's handbook that says i can be fired for certain things, but that hardly makes me immune from prosecution.

the fact that the president can lose his job under certain conditions has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he can go to prison for breaking the law.

i'm pretty sure there have been mayors and i think even governors who have remained in office from jail, at least for a time.

[Persisted]

4. Ken Starr certainly thought he could haul the President in front of the Federal grand jury.

James Comey the spotted at the federal courthouse in Virginia the day before he was fired. Wonder what he was doing.