Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(107,112 posts)
Fri Apr 19, 2019, 09:27 PM Apr 2019

The Time for Impeachment Is Here

The Democrats were outraged, yes, outraged, I tell you. Prior to the release of edited versions of the Special Counsel’s report on Thursday and before even Attorney General William Barr’s Kavanaughian attempt at spin earlier that morning, Congressional party leadership requested that Robert Mueller appear before the House Judiciary Committee to discuss his findings. Then after Barr finished his shameless defense of President Trump, Democrats were mad about that. The report later emerged, damning as it was with allegations of Trump’s obstruction and his campaign’s clear enjoyment of the Russian election interference on its behalf. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer — the two top Democrats in Congress — issued a joint statement that read in part that “the differences are stark between what Attorney General Barr said on obstruction and what Special Counsel Mueller said on obstruction.” My goodness. I’ve heard better rallying cries in a library.

I don’t mean to make too much light of this sound and fury, as this matter could not be more serious. Amid the black lines of its redactions, Mueller’s report details how a hostile foreign nation successfully used the current President of the United States as a vessel to achieve its aims of undermining American democracy, deploying its information warfare and illegal interference schemes to help him get where he is now. In the second volume of his 448-page report, Mueller details at least 10 instances of the president’s obstruction of justice, including Trump’s firing of FBI director James Comey and his frequent, colicky outbursts about the Special Counsel’s investigation. It all illustrated that Barr plainly lied when he cleared Trump of any such behavior.

“If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment,” the report reads, adding that it was impossible for the Special Counsel’s office to conclude that no criminal conduct had occurred. “Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

To sum up, Mueller knows that something is up. But his office “did not make a traditional prosecution decision about these facts” because, for the breadth of the material included in Mueller’s 448-page report, it is still quite conservative in nature. He adheres to the the Office of Legal Counsel memo that prohibits the prosecution of a sitting president, and states as much in the report. In so many words, Mueller refers the matter both to a court of law, for when Trump is no longer president, whenever that is — and to Congress, which has the constitutional power to conduct a trial and impeach him right now.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-impeachment-time-congress-824886/

3 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The Time for Impeachment Is Here (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Apr 2019 OP
K & R SunSeeker Apr 2019 #1
Start the hearings. dalton99a Apr 2019 #2
Amen. Kudos to Sen. Elizabeth Warren for her aggressive moves on this. (nt) Paladin Apr 2019 #3
Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Editorials & Other Articles»The Time for Impeachment ...