When will Trump get impeached?

[NM11046]

Yeah BRB - I understand, but similar to what Moraine says, my hope is that our elected officials can judge character a bit, and also that people stand up for what their believe is right.

 

Initially I struggled a bit with all the military nominees, as they are training and held to a "execute what your boss tells you do to" standard, but I think they're our saving grace potentially. At least they've spoken out with different thoughts than DJT. It's the zombie's like Carson, and Pruitt etc that I worry about just trudging along asking Don what he wants them to do and say.

[zoogs]

I would expect them to at least signal a strong willingness to not confirm anyone that doesn't fit some strict parameters. Not that I endorse this tactic wholesale, but when only one side has a habit of doing this (and effectively), while the other is quick to conciliation, the outcome is highly imbalanced. And that, I think, is a very poor reflection and representation of popular sentiment.

[TGHusker]

So here's another option - instead of impeachment (which we all agree there is and will be plenty of evidence for that). 25th Amendment - article 4.

 

Read up on it here, (interestingly - no situation for a narcissistic personality disorder has been documented yet, but there is a lengthy discussion on psych diagnosis' and the challenges of diagnosis- I didn't realize exactly how many health issues have happened in office that have been hidden).

 

Essentially, Pence can declare Trump unfit. If Trump contests that in writing it goes to a hearing at Congress. The rub is that the VP needs to have the support of the President's cabinet. This is where I think congress is being short sided on confirming these guys our buddy has put forth. The more Trump crony's the less likely they'd support his ousting. I could see Pence and the GOP moving toward this, but the unknown is how the rest of the cabinet would respond.

 

http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4692&context=flr

 

The other thing I'll add - I'm seeing forecasts potentially calling for rain on inauguartion day. Thinking Trump will not be short winded at the biggest "Trump Rally" of the year the story of President William Henry Harrison comes to mind.

Excellent post/thought NM. In reality, President Wilson also should have been removed under this amendment. His wife basically was the acting president while he was sick in bed for a very long time. So there will always be those (including cabinet members) who will want to protect the status quo for various reasons - power retention being a primary reason.

 

I agree wt BRB that it is nice hearing some of the Trump nominees voicing opinions not in lock step wt Trumps.

[TGHusker]

Yeah BRB - I understand, but similar to what Moraine says, my hope is that our elected officials can judge character a bit, and also that people stand up for what their believe is right.

 

Initially I struggled a bit with all the military nominees, as they are training and held to a "execute what your boss tells you do to" standard, but I think they're our saving grace potentially. At least they've spoken out with different thoughts than DJT. It's the zombie's like Carson, and Pruitt etc that I worry about just trudging along asking Don what he wants them to do and say.

The bold: Carson - maybe so. Pruitt - no. Pruitt has had his strong convictions well before Trump came on the presidential scene. Trump just tapped into them. I know, Pruitt has been our AG in Okla for some time - since 2010 and before that a State Senator.

[AR Husker Fan]

This could be the basis...

 

[funhusker]

self delete

[Fru]

It would not shock me if the Trump Presidency is short lived.

 

I would not be surprised if Pence, Ryan and Co knew that Trump would be impeached for the Russian dalliances, or the business interests, or something else entirely... but saw Trump as a means to the White House. They would act as a virus and Trump was simply the host and they will jettison him as quickly as possible at the first sign of trouble.

 

I can't imagine they want to be handcuffed to him forever. Once the fit hits the shan, they can all say "We had no idea Trump would do XYZ. We are left with no other option. Pence will do a phenomenal job."

[RedDenver]

It would not shock me if the Trump Presidency is short lived.

 

I would not be surprised if Pence, Ryan and Co knew that Trump would be impeached for the Russian dalliances, or the business interests, or something else entirely... but saw Trump as a means to the White House. They would act as a virus and Trump was simply the host and they will jettison him as quickly as possible at the first sign of trouble.

 

I can't imagine they want to be handcuffed to him forever. Once the fit hits the shan, they can all say "We had no idea Trump would do XYZ. We are left with no other option. Pence will do a phenomenal job."

Equally likely is they use the possibility of impeachment to force Trump to do what they want. As long as Trump doesn't rock the establishment Republican boat, there's no reason to impeach him.

[Lil' Red]

 

It would not shock me if the Trump Presidency is short lived.

 

I would not be surprised if Pence, Ryan and Co knew that Trump would be impeached for the Russian dalliances, or the business interests, or something else entirely... but saw Trump as a means to the White House. They would act as a virus and Trump was simply the host and they will jettison him as quickly as possible at the first sign of trouble.

 

I can't imagine they want to be handcuffed to him forever. Once the fit hits the shan, they can all say "We had no idea Trump would do XYZ. We are left with no other option. Pence will do a phenomenal job."

Equally likely is they use the possibility of impeachment to force Trump to do what they want. As long as Trump doesn't rock the establishment Republican boat, there's no reason to impeach him.

 

I could also see them waiting till the opportune time to give Pence his best chance in the 2020 election. Long enough that Trump will take the fall for most of the controversial executive orders/bills they implement but soon enough that Pence has time to win over Trump's core supporters and some moderates with his Presidency.

[knapplc]

It would not shock me if the Trump Presidency is short lived.

 

I would not be surprised if Pence, Ryan and Co knew that Trump would be impeached for the Russian dalliances, or the business interests, or something else entirely... but saw Trump as a means to the White House. They would act as a virus and Trump was simply the host and they will jettison him as quickly as possible at the first sign of trouble.

 

I can't imagine they want to be handcuffed to him forever. Once the fit hits the shan, they can all say "We had no idea Trump would do XYZ. We are left with no other option. Pence will do a phenomenal job."

 

So, basically, they're letting Trump become so bad that we'll accept whatever they give us to replace him. And Pence will be their puppet.

[ColoNoCoHusker]

Trump will not be impeached by a Republican Congress. The fallout & precedent created would equate to Politicide. This would be equally true if Dem's were in control of POTUS & Congress. Look at the Presidential corruption through the 1800s from any party, and it has ALWAYS taken an opposing party to even initiate impeachment.

 

Short of Trump being a complete and true fascist, the Republican Congress has a path to come out on top in most any scenario without ever going down the impeachment path. Congress can check him, fight him, censure him, limit or suspend certain POTUS powers (there is a precedent), navigate around him, etc. I think this could facilitate the GOP's Congressional agenda as much impeachment without nearly as much risk or fallout. I think Trump makes a lot of the Republicans in Congress appear to be more reasonable/centrist without them moving at all. This aspect of Trump is, I think, horribly understated...

[Danny Bateman]

Op Ed calling for impeachment.

 

The real reason I liked this article is it does a thorough job explaining how flimsy the separation of Trump from his business empire is:

 

 

Former White House counsel John Dean, who served President Nixon from 1970 to 1973, told The Atlantic magazine: “I don’t think Richard Nixon even comes close to the level of corruption we already know about Trump.”

 

Since that interview with Dean three weeks ago, we’ve been learning more about Trump’s unconstitutional corruption as president. The case that Trump is in flagrant violation of the Constitution gained added strength over the weekend when The Associated Press reported: “New documents confirm that President Donald Trump retains a direct tie to his business interests through a revocable trust now being overseen by one of his adult sons and a longtime executive of the Trump Organization.”

What’s more, AP reported, “Trump is the sole beneficiary of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, which is tied to his Social Security number as the taxpayer identification number, according to documents published onlineby the investigative nonprofit ProPublica. And Trump can revoke the trust, which was amended three days before his inauguration, at any time.”

Members of Congress should initiate an impeachment process because of two clear provisions in the Constitution.

The Foreign Emoluments Clause says: “[N]o Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States], shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

And the Constitution’s Domestic Emoluments Clause (also known as the Presidential Compensation Clause), which cannot be waived by Congress, says: “The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.”

In addition, a House committee’s impeachment probe should also investigate whether President Trump is violating the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (STOCK Act). One of the few federal ethics statutes that specifically include the president, the STOCK Act — among other provisions — prohibits the president from (1) using nonpublic information for private profit, and from (2) intentionally influencing an employment decision or practice of a private entity solely on the basis of partisan political affiliation.

 

Anybody seriously believe that little dog and pony show with him bringing out the stacks and stacks of folders (of blank paper) to commemorate his divorce from his business?

 

Does anyone buy that he won't feed information to his sons or at the very least be thinking in the back of his mind how Trump, Inc., could benefit from his decisions?

But it's OK, because Kellyanne Conway said "He won't talk with his kids about business".

 

And who could forget, Don Jr. trying to figure out what a blind trust is on national TV:

 

 

Really a chip off the old block, isn't he?

 

Trump's actions to extricate himself from conflicts of interest are a sham. There are rumors he and his advisors procured 19% of a Russian oil company for playing ball with them. As someone who voted for Clinton, I say with the utmost irony that we should be worried about him selling our country off to the highest bidder.

[Moiraine]

Like I've said, he's already impeachable. It's just up to the House Republicans to do it. Unfortunately they have to keep their constituents who voted for Trump happy.

[NM11046]

Great NPR podcast with both Bush's and Obamas' ethics lawyers explaining why/how they came together to identify the issues with ethics and Trump's position. http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2017/01/19/510596329/fresh-air-for-january-19-2017

[ColoNoCoHusker]

Great NPR podcast with both Bush's and Obamas' ethics lawyers explaining why/how they came together to identify the issues with ethics and Trump's position. http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2017/01/19/510596329/fresh-air-for-january-19-2017

 

Do they discuss the Ethics statements/EO issued by the previous POTUS' that Trump refused to issue? Pretty telling from the get go...

 

Moiraine - A lot of us have identified this since the day after the election. It's amazing the fodder amassed in only a couple months:

 

 

Common historic grounds for impeachment are: abuse of authority, intimidation, misuse of assets, misappropriating government funds, failure to supervise, maladministration, dereliction of duty, appointing unfit subordinates, suppressing petitions, granting warrants without cause, conduct unbecoming, or inappropriately using the influence of office.

 

Just since he took office, he has created valid legal arguments for every basis...