Impeachment II thread

[repoman]

Curious to see no whether my neighbors will take down their Trump-Pence signs (after 5 years) or the other neighbors will take down their Trump flags.

I’m thinking they will look upon this outcome as reason to keep flying their cultish flags for a long time.

Drop off paper boy style a report of all the people Trump pardoned their misdeeds and the connections he had with them. That is 100 times more damning, because that is provable. They might think, oh the election WAS stolen, BUT Trump may also be a corrupt pay for play scumbag.

 

[lpetrich]

EXPLAINER: Why impeachment evidence tested TV's standards -- all the profanity that the mob used.

Jake Tapper notes the Louisiana GOP will censure for impeachment, but not for leading the KKK - Raw Story - Celebrating 16 Years of Independent Journalism

Following the impeachment vote, the organization released a statement saying its executive committee had unanimously voted to censure Cassidy.

On Twitter, Tapper noted that the same organization refused to censure state Rep. David Duke for leading the Ku Klux Klan.

More evidence of the continued takeover of the Republican Party by Trumpies.


Former Clinton official lays out roadmap for making Trump accountable for the Capitol riot - Raw Story - Celebrating 16 Years of Independent Journalism

"My last point before I lose the 3 followers I have left. I want the truth to come out in a court of law where Trump faces real legal jeopardy, not in a rigged Senate court with amoral Republican jurors. Jail is worse then a couple more days of evidence before an acquittal," Lockhart said.

Trump is likely to have plenty of legal trouble in Georgia and New York, so he may go the way of Al Capone, brought down by tax evasion instead of by ordering murders.

 

[lpetrich]

Three things converged to keep Trump in check during his final days in office: NYT reporter - Raw Story - Celebrating 16 Years of Independent Journalism
noting these tweets:
Jake Sherman on Twitter: "Here’s a bit from our evening special edition of @PunchbowlNews. McConnell’s calculus. (pix link)" / Twitter

Mitch McConnell: If you thought McConnell would entertain voting to convict Trump, you don't really understand what drives McConnell. Here's how McConnell played it: McConnell said he had an open mind, which made Republicans sweat, but it also gave space to see where the conference was going. When he saw that his membership wanted to acquit, it was clear to longtime McConnell watchers like us that he'd never, ever vote to convict.

Why? McConnell's strength comes from his iron grip over the Senate Republican Conference. There's no way - ever, like, ever, ever -- that McConnell would vote to convict when just seven Republicans were taking that position. It makes no sense. It's not sustainable for him internallv.

Politically, if McConnell voted to convict, he would've spent the rest of the year answering about the divide in his conference. McConnell will now move back to more comfortable territory: He'll be the Senate GOP leader with a large Republican minority, with significant leverage over legislating. He'll focus on trying to win back the majority next year. And he will try to help create a Republican Party post-Trump, if that ever happens.

Maggie Haberman on Twitter: "McConnell voted to convict and then repeated the House case after the trial. But - at the time made clear he was open to voting to convict, Trump was still in office and one of only things keeping him from continuing his assault on democracy was fear of McConnell." / Twitter

Maggie Haberman on Twitter: "McConnell’s signal to his own caucus, and a very small group of Trump officials who scared him about potential prosecutions - along with the absence of his Twitter feed - were about all that got Trump to not make things worse on his way out." / Twitter

So MMC rewarded him for being a good little boy by getting him off the hook.

 

[lpetrich]

Joy Reid Thinks Donald Trump’s Impeachment Defense Sounded Awfully Familiar | HuffPost

“Think Fox News prime-time cold open or OAN or Newsmax,” the “ReidOut” host said of the stream of lies and skewered arguments put forward by Trump’s attorneys on Friday.

It was “the kind of right-wing TV show that the Republican senators probably have on in their offices right now and at home, and that Republican base voters mainline day and night,” Reid added.

“This was not a defense. It was basically a four-hour culture war rant,” she concluded. “It was literally just a blizzard of lies, conspiracy theories, whataboutism and frankly, BS. It was a stand-in for a Trump tweetstorm, which of course, he can no longer do because Twitter banned him.”

“In a word, wow.”

Almost as if they had become convinced that they represent Real Americans and that everybody else can be ignored as suffering from "liberal bias". So they don't have to pay attention to *anything* outside their media bubble.

 

[southernhybrid]

If the Dems use the 14th Amendment to keep Trump from running again, that will be one less thing to worry about. I don' think he's going to run anyway, b ut the 14th would be a good way to make that certain.

https://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/schumer-democrats-might-invoke-14th-amendment-to-bar-trump-if-senate-acquits/PCP67ZMZYZHV7FG5JFG3O42ZTE/

Now that Donald Trump has been acquitted in his historic second impeachment trial, Democrats may still attempt to ban the former Republican president from seeking office again by invoking the 14th Amendment.


On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not rule out bringing legislation to bar Trump from office.

Democratic senators have discussed in recent weeks that they might invoke the 14th Amendment, which says Congress can bar people who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the U.S. from holding office.

According to the U.S. Senate archives, the amendment was passed by the Senate on June 8, 1866, and ratified two years later. Besides granting citizenship to all persons “born or naturalized in the United States,” including formerly enslaved people, and providing everyone with “equal protection under the laws,” it also banned those who “engaged in insurrection” against the U.S. from holding any civil, military or elected office without the approval of two-thirds of the House and Senate.

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this because we have so many open threads about Trump that I don't usually read. Sorry if I missed it.

 

[Elixir]

If the Dems use the 14th Amendment to keep Trump from running again, that will be one less thing to worry about.

Dems should do everything they can to hang that fucker around the necks of his Republican enablers.
He lost the popular vote by 3+ million in 2016, by 7+ million in 2020 ... can we see 15+ million in 2024?
Plus, his endorsements have been the kiss of death more often than not.

Seriously more likely though... Dems will comply with Moscow Mitch's wishes and take the blame for all the horrible shit that is about to be visited upon Trump.
Mitch will spend the next 18 months trying to wipe off the stench of rotten mango, condemning Trump's dereliction of duty and pronouncing him morally and legally responsible - while claiming rightful inheritance to Trump's Treason Caucus and their voters, whom he appeased by voting for acquittal.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

If the Dems use the 14th Amendment to keep Trump from running again, that will be one less thing to worry about.

Dems should do everything they can to hang that fucker around the necks of his Republican enablers.
He lost the popular vote by 3+ million in 2016, by 7+ million in 2020 ... can we see 15+ million in 2024?
Plus, his endorsements have been the kiss of death more often than not.

Seriously more likely though... Dems will comply with Moscow Mitch's wishes and take the blame for all the horrible shit that is about to be visited upon Trump.
Mitch will spend the next 18 months trying to wipe off the stench of rotten mango, condemning Trump's dereliction of duty and pronouncing him morally and legally responsible - while claiming rightful inheritance to Trump's Treason Caucus and their voters, whom he appeased by voting for acquittal.

I don't think so. I'm hopefully of the mind that the Dems are growing a pair, finally, after decades of being civil and expecting Repugs to reciprocate. They've finally realized that that doesn't work. They need to conduct themselves civilly but when it comes to legislation and calling a spade a spade they need to be as big mother fuckers as Repugs. And they're finally understanding that this is how you deal with a petulant or psychotic person.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Well, that is the GOP success formula. Create a label and a definition for the oppo and go straight for the neck and never let up. They own Trump, and they now own January 6. They had a chance to exorcise him, and put country above power and party, and they wouldn't and didn't.
And beyond politics, beyond Democrat success, why should any American ever forget that? It was unspeakable, what we saw and heard. There is no reasonable alternative to condemning Trump for what he did.

 

[Patooka]

They own Trump, and they now own January 6.

No they don't. They rewrote Iraq in 2008. They rewrote McCain in 2012. They are currently rewriting Romney. Believe me, in 4-8 years, the narrative will be "Trump wasn't a true Republican, he was deep state trying to destroy the party from the inside."

And it will be said by Republicans even crazier and more fascistic than Trump without any irony or self awareness whatsoever.

 

[Elixir]

They own Trump, and they now own January 6.

No they don't. They rewrote Iraq in 2008. They rewrote McCain in 2012. They are currently rewriting Romney. Believe me, in 4-8 years, the narrative will be "Trump wasn't a true Republican, he was deep state trying to destroy the party from the inside."

And it will be said by Republicans even crazier and more fascistic than Trump without any irony or self awareness whatsoever.

I have pondered that scenario too, and consider it inevitable. At least it's easier to see IMO than Dems actually growing a pair and playing legislative hardball. Even if Dems do force things forward , it will be giving the nod to those sort of tactics. Maybe that's necessary, I don't know.
But dullards still exist in great numbers, and now that Republicans have seen how to make them cleave unto an utterly corrupt authoritarian figure, they'll be falling all over themselves to become the next tinpot dictator. Part of their shtick will be to point at Dems, calling them tinpot dictators for using hardball legislative tactics.

 

[Treedbear]

Mitch McConnell voted to acquit. This after getting the trial delayed until Trump was out of office. Then he maintained that Trump can't be impeached since he is out of office.

Yet,

After voting to acquit, McConnell blasted Trump for his "disgraceful dereliction of duty" and squarely laid the blame for the riot at Trump's door in what amounted to an endorsement of many of the arguments laid out by House impeachment managers in a speech on the Senate floor.

"There's no question — none — that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day," McConnell said.

McConnell had suggested in the email earlier in the day that Trump could still face other penalties.

"The Constitution makes perfectly clear that Presidential criminal misconduct while in office can be prosecuted after the President has left office, which in my view alleviates the otherwise troubling 'January exception' argument raised by the House," he wrote.

Let's see how that turns out. He concedes much of the prosecution's case, yet nevertheless votes to acquit.

Mitch McConnell, the despicable coward, fails to uphold his oath of office punts to civil prosecutors and the courts to protect the constitution and democracy. I hope they hold trump accountable for Trump's failed coup.

McConnell's little epiphany was even more stridently damning then anything the House impeachment managers presented! It was stunningly direct. It seems incomprehensible that he wouldn't now actively seek to have charges brought against Trump. I mean, he can get away with claiming that you can't impeach someone after they've left office. But after what he said, how can he walk away from the conclusion that Trump is an imminent threat to our democracy? As a highly influencial minority leader he was the one person who could have changed the outcome of this ordeal. As the leader of the Republican party, and speaking as its moral conscience on the floor of the Senate at the conclusion of the trial, how can he now walk away from his duty to rid our nation of the clear and present danger that Trump continues to pose?

 

[fromderinside]

Get an opinion from the USSC on what the meaning of absolute right to impeach and scope of senate right to try given an impeachment. IOW test McConnell's presumptions. I think his logic is just plain wrong.

I see the issue in the Senate is whether they can avoid convicting POTUS out of office after he's been impeached while in office or at any time by House.

 

[DrZoidberg]

Trump's first lawyer today, Michael van der Veen, last year filed a case against Trump for suppressing mail-in voting. He should be a witness for the prosecution, and you can tell he doesn't even believe the things he's saying.

He's a lawyer. Not an actor. They don't have to believe their clients. It's not a requirement for doing a good job as a lawyer.

 

[DrZoidberg]

Not to worry. I'm sure Trump learned his lesson this time.

Lol. What in Trump's behaviour are you basing that on? It's his second impeachment. The penny didn't drop the first time around.

If anything he's learned that he can do whatever he wants and he knows he'll get away with it. The same "lesson" has has had all life.

 

[Gospel]

Not to worry. I'm sure Trump learned his lesson this time.

Lol. What in Trump's behaviour are you basing that on? It's his second impeachment. The penny didn't drop the first time around.

If anything he's learned that he can do whatever he wants and he knows he'll get away with it. The same "lesson" has has had all life.

I'll bet an entire years salary that Patooka was being sarcastic. That's how confident I am.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Sarcastic? He's talking about a President, who, upon his acquittal, released a statement referring to "the Constitution we all revere and for the sacred legal principles at the heart of our country." That is Donald John Trump saying that. A patriot! A lone warrior! A fighter for the forgotten man! Only one of the greatest Americans who ever drew breath, and I mean ever.
Where's your year's salary on that?

 

[Keith&Co.]

This is shere that whole 'ignorance of the American political scene' comes out, in neon.
If you don't recall who first said Trump "learned his lesson" you won't get the implications.

Whereas ideologyhunter's bullshit is just a demure and self-effacing version of Trump's usual presentations.

 

[Gospel]

At least she learned her lesson and voted accordingly. Now if you don't mind I'll take my leave, it's time I start a campaign on r/Wallstreetbets to boost popcorn stocks in anticipation of the pending fallout within the republican party.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

At least she learned her lesson and voted accordingly. Now if you don't mind I'll take my leave, it's time I start a campaign on r/Wallstreetbets to boost popcorn stocks in anticipation of the pending fallout within the republican party.

What fallout? The GOP is just fine. Over half of the GOP in the House voted to cancel EV's in states, including after the insurrection. The State Legislatures are filled with more radical GOP'ers, and McConnell et al are all about the Judges to ensure the legacy.

This continued wet dream that the GOP is on the verge of collapse is delusion. That our democracy is getting to the end point seems rather clear as well, as the Dems take inches and the GOP take yards, forcing the Dems into taking yards which will end with the GOP taking miles.

 

[DrZoidberg]

Not to worry. I'm sure Trump learned his lesson this time.

Lol. What in Trump's behaviour are you basing that on? It's his second impeachment. The penny didn't drop the first time around.

If anything he's learned that he can do whatever he wants and he knows he'll get away with it. The same "lesson" has has had all life.

I'll bet an entire years salary that Patooka was being sarcastic. That's how confident I am.

You make a very convincing case