June 9, 2019

Poll: Where does your Member of Congress stand on opening an impeachment inquiry?

June 7, 2019

Yes, he can, according to the Congressional Research Service

There are likely very valid reasons Nadler prefers to defer to the Speaker's wishes, but he does actually have the authority to start an impeachment inquiry on his own, without the Speaker's permission.

June 7, 2019

Even if Trump is impeached, we will STILL have to vote him out in 2020

Some of the "Impeach him NOW" drumbeat seems to ignore a stark reality: that impeachment doesn't absolve us, the voters, of the responsibility to mobilize, organize and get out the vote to remove Trump next November.

Even if the House impeaches Trump tomorrow, it's unlikely he'll be removed from office. Yet it sounds like some people think that the House Democrats bear all the responsibility for "saving the republic" and if they don't impeach him, we are all doomed. This mindset completely ignores OUR responsibility and our power, which could actually be greater and more consequential than anything Congress does between now and the general election.

It seems to me that some Democratic voters in 2016 made rash and thoughtless choices, didn't try hard enough, or didn't vote at all, figuring that, if Trump did stumble in, he either wouldn't be that bad ("He'll only go so far before the Republicans rein him in".) or that he'd be so bad, he'd trigger a "revolution" that only the privileged had the time and resources to wait for and endure. Now, that he's even worse than they expected, too many people are sitting back and demanding the Democrats to take care of it - ignoring the fact that the Democrats can impeach him tomorrow, but he'll remain in office and it will be up to the voters to get him out.

There's nothing wrong with trying to push Congress to impeach - that's our right and obligation if we feel strongly that he should be impeached - but we need to make sure that this push to impeach isn't a distraction from what WE need to be doing to actually get him out of the White House, something the House Democrats can't do, but we can. Democratic voters need to be gearing up for 2020 and the time to start was yesterday.

There are many things we can do to make a difference. We can go out into our communities and register people to vote, get involved in local and national intermediary organizations that do voter engagement and education, help people better understand the issues and why their votes matter. We need to be fighting tooth and nail against voter suppression efforts at the state and local levels - including educating ourselves about our states' voter registration laws so we know them like the backs of our hands and then using that knowledge to help make sure that every eligible Democratic voter has what they need to register and to vote.

It's easy to point the finger at others - especially Congress - and tell them what THEY should be doing. But it's just as important - if not moreso - to think about what WE should and can do ourselves and then make the effort to go do it!

June 7, 2019

"They need to call them "impeachment hearings' so they'll get covered"

say the people who decide what is and isn't important enough to cover and who've decided hearings delving into a president's criminality and unfitness for office aren't worth covering unless they have the right title.

June 6, 2019

The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee may hav the power to open an impeachment investigation

without getting approval from the Speaker or a House resolution referred to committee.

According to the Congressional Research Service, although it's rarely exercised, the Judiciary Committee chair has the authority to originate impeachment proceedings in committee, without a House resolution or Speaker's approval. ("The committee chair could undertake such an activity either on his or her own, in response to an introduced and referred resolution, or in response to a vote of the full House" https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R41110.html#_Toc301785618).

Just pointing this out in case the people who are blasting Nancy Pelosi for not unilaterally launching an impeachment inquiry on her own (which she has no authority to do) care to shift some of their angst to Chairman Nadler for not unilaterally launching an impeachment inquiry on HIS own (which he DOES have the power to do).

I'm not suggesting Nadler start an inquiry on his own without the support of the Speaker or a majority of the House the hippie criticized for not doing so. Simply offering an opportunity to those who are piling on the Speaker to show some consistency.

June 4, 2019

The Brits' sign game is fierce!

More at:
https://www.sadanduseless.com/donald-meets-england-funny/?fbclid=IwAR3h2j3a0v5AOtMnsO-W99ZebFKo1qOSt8qub3QlZWcJnhLUyxSK_dPIPko

June 4, 2019

I understand Hope Hicks' family has money, but they're not stupid rich. And she doesn't work in a

federal fortress and isn't protected by a 24-7 security detail to keep her from being arrested on Contempt of Congress or Contempt of Court charges.

Given this, I wonder whether she'll follow Trump's order to not turn over the documents - and if she does, how long she'll hold out.

She doesn't strike me as the type who would handle being broke and/or in jail very well.

This will be interesting.

June 4, 2019

Even Trump's invisible crowds are the biggest ever

https://twitter.com/BettyBowers/status/1135674614888185857

June 3, 2019

Looks like Pelosi and chairs are maneuvering to give committees standing to access grand jury info

prior to opening a formal impeachment inquiry.

Today, when the House Judiciary Committee announced hearings on the Mueller Report, Chairman Nadler promised the hearings would pursue “targeted legislative, oversight and constitutional remedies designed to respond to these matters.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-03/nadler-plans-mueller-report-hearings-starting-with-john-dean

This language is very interesting.

As has been discussed a lot on this board, grand jury proceedings are closely guarded and cannot be disclosed except in very specific circumstances set forth in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Among them, Rule 6E provides for limited exceptions to the secrecy rules that gives courts discretion (but does not require them) to allow the release of grand jury material "preliminarily to or in connection with judicial proceedings." The federal courts have held that impeachment inquiries fall within the definition of "judicial proceedings," so an impeachment panel has standing, under the rule, to request grand jury materials; although the rule doesn't guarantee an impeachment panel access and it does not completely prohibit other types of investigations (such as oversight) from getting such materials, an impeachment inquiry is in a stronger position to obtain them than is a regular oversight panel.

However, less often discussed is Rule 6E's "preliminarily to" language, which also permits a court to release documents to a non-impeachment inquiry, if that inquiry is "preliminarily to" an impeachment inquiry.

Chairman Nadler's statement, in this context, is very revealing. He very specifically stated that the hearings announced today aren't limited to legislative and oversight purposes, but also are targeted toward "constitutional remedies." The only constitutional remedy available to the House to respond to the behavior described in the Mueller Report is impeachment, so he signalled today that impeachment is one of the remedies these hearings are intended to pursue.

This language isn't accidental. I think it clearly indicates that Nadler is laying the groundwork for characterizing the hearings as preliminary to impeachment, therefore, putting them squarely within the exception set forth in 6E - meaning the committee will have legal standing to request and obtain access to the grand jury materials, even without the opening of a formal impeachment inquiry. Legal standing doesn't mean that they're entitled to them or will automatically get them but means that they have the legal right to ask for them and for the court to provide them, if it so chooses.

I wouldn't be surprised if, as other committees' investigations move forward, they, too, will be framed using the same language, thereby giving them standing to also request and obtain grand jury materials for their purposes prior to the opening of a formal impeachment inquiry.

I hope I'm right. If so, nicely played Madame Speaker and Chairman Nadler!

June 3, 2019

Notice the Queen's toast focused on the relationship between our countries and offered little

in the way of any praise or personal warmth to Trump?

Me, too.

Nicely done, Your Majesty.