Impeachment vs Conviction

[allgood33]

Technically, the House can Impeach a President with a simple majority.

The President may or may not be convicted of the charges of Impeachment. If convicted he is removed but that takes 67 votes in the Senate.

Thus, it is wrong to say that Trump would never be Impeached because the Senate is controlled by the GOP.

I say, impeach the bastard, and let it fall on the GOP controlled Senate to vote against all the evidence that would be presented and let it forever be recorded that the GOP Senators were complicit in supporting a criminal administration and condoning all the forms of lawlessness of this administration. It should make unseating them in 2020 much easier.

There is no comparison between the impeachment of Bill Clinton and the potential impeachment of Trump. The articles of impeachment drawn up against Trump would be much more serious and meet the threshold of high crimes and misdemeanors. Clinton had no charges related to conspiring to defraud the government with a foreign nation. There simply is no comparison. The GOP Senate ought to be made to wear that albatross if they choose to.

Before bringing the articles of impeachment, the Democrats ought to through every piece of legislation they favor at the Senate and the President. Trump will cave on many in the face of impeachment hanging out there.

[Garrett78]

1. Yep.

We can send the message that a president can do whatever the hell a president wants and that presidents are above the law.

We can, essentially, say that Republicans are so corrupt that we can't (out of a concern over backlash against Democrats--and not Republicans) hold them accountable for said corruption. How convenient for them.

Or Democrats can perform their constitutional duty, lay out all of the facts and force Republicans to defend the most criminal president* in US history (a president* with a disapproval rating close to 60%).

[allgood33]

2. Thank you!

[Ponietz]

3. Well-said

Impeachment can flip the Senate regardless of their votes.
22 Republican Senate seats up for reelection in 2020.
Force them to defend that perfidious traitor and his cabal.
Law enforcement and the intelligence communities have our backs.
Its a cancer. It must be excised, or expect it to get worse.

[Gothmog]

4. Impeachment without conviction is a vain act

Right now, we need to wait until we see the full Mueller report

[Azathoth]

5. Nothing is going to happen until Mueller issues his report

But forcing Republican senators to stand up on primetime TV and aid and abet an unambiguously proven criminal is not a "vain act."

[Sugarcoated]

13. I bet some will turn when that report comes out.

It'll be a cat 5 shit storm, the pressure will be enormous because FACTS

[Hermit-The-Prog]

6. too early, but not vain

Part of the reason for the blue wave is that the House, in particular, and the Republicans, in general, have failed to do their Constitutional duty. If Democrats likewise fail to provide a check, then we could see the next wave turn into just a tiny ripple of purple.

Things to wait for: full Mueller report, House investigations that will launch sometime after Jan 3.

[KPN]

15. So question. What if we don't see the Mueler report? nt

[Hermit-The-Prog]

7. minor correction: conspiracy to defraud the voters

[ooky]

8. Agree, thanks.

Just because the Republicans have no backbone is no reason for us not to do our constitutional duty.

[Scruffy1]

9. The impeachment process would destroy Trump and his followers.

That is if its managed by slick pros who know how to do it. I don't think it will get that far. Feidays Mueller news already has him up for one felony and I don't Mueller will be satisfied with one count. Look for a sudden resignation because of "health" problems.

[Honeycombe8]

12. Trump will never resign voluntarily. Never.

It's not in his dna.

He could be forced out...maybe...by his own party. But we all know that is not going to happen. And they'd have to threaten him with removal of office, like they threatened Nixon. That won't happen. He owns some of them, and the rest are afraid of his wrath. As well they should be.

[Qutzupalotl]

10. We also don't know how many senators will be left standing.

Some we know are complicit. If Mueller indicts a few of their colleagues, we might not need 20 Republicans — and the ones remaining would suddenly have the fear of God in them.

[Honeycombe8]

11. I agree. We have no choice. We have to at least try to save the country.

The first duty of our Congress is to protect the country. If there is clear evidence of crimes by Trump, the House has no choice but to impeach, if he won't leave (and he won't).

If they don't, then why did we bother having an investigation in the first place? We should have just gone along to get along. It would have been a lot easier and cheaper.

It's not an option to leave a criminal running the country and not try to hold him accountable, under the law. That is unthinkable.

[argyl]

16. Absolutely.

Let them go on record as supporting this bastard.