General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why I think impeachment is an awful horrible no good very bad idea [View all]Tommy_Carcetti
(43,173 posts)....Trump would likely still be looking at the possibility of criminal indictment (that is if Mueller takes the safe route and chooses not to indict him while he's still in office).
This leads Pence with just two options:
1. Sit back as Donald Trump, a former President of the United States, undergoes criminal proceedings and potential prison time for a large array of charges--including likely the most serious charges of conspiring with a hostile foreign government on an attack upon our electoral process--all while the American people are reminded on a daily basis who chose Mike Pence as his Vice President.
Or....
2. Being the guy who ends up pardoning Trump for all crimes, including conspiring with a hostile foreign government for an attack upon our electoral process. And that's not really an attractive legacy to run upon. Just ask Gerald Ford.
Couple that with hopefully a Democratic congressional majority that would render most of President Pence's agenda dead on arrival, and the fact that the guy has all the persona and charisma of a soggy, cold dishrag, he's not going to get some huge boost from getting Donald Trump out of office. He's going to carry Trump's name around his neck like an albatross. Trump's legacy will continue to stink up Pence and the GOP like a lingering BO long after he's left Pennsylvania Avenue.
And no, I don't believe we'll be lucky enough to score a Trump-Pence impeachment "two-fer." His involvement in the Russia story so far appears to be too tangential and he'll have enough allies on Capitol Hill to save off removal for himself. But there will still be plenty of bait to use against him if he does run in 2020 (and it might be so bad that he might choose not to run), like his apparent knowledge of Flynn's foreign lobbying actions.