The timetable for impeachment?

[kentuck]

Predictably, the White House is not helping the process by defying so many subpoenas. Their goal is to obstruct and keep information from the Committees.

Because of this obstruction, the Democrats may not be able to finish as quickly as first thought. They might just decide to wait until after the holidays to send anything to the Senate?

How important is it if the impeachment trial intervenes with the Democratic primaries? Which should take precedence over the other? What would be the obstacles if the candidates continued to campaign up to and thru the Iowa caucuses?

But, it could have a downside for the Republicans if they drag it out. What happens if the Courts come down with a big decision while they are dragging their feet? What if they rule that some of these people with appeals to the Court must testify before the legitimate and official impeachment inquiry?

In my opinion, the inquiry may take a little longer than first thought?

[Skraxx]

1. I Hope They Dump it in the Senates Lap a Month Before the Election

Let's have a year of hearings with damaging bombshells dropped weekly. Then let the GOP Senators sweat it out for a month and defend their stance on conviction while the country debates the incontrovertible evidence of a multitude of treasonous crimes against democracy and the constitution.

[kentuck]

3. This is an interesting thought.

What would happen if they just keep the heat on Trump thru the election?

If Trump were to lose, how could he be pardoned? If there are no charges against him, if the Articles of Impeachment had not been sent to the Senate, then there would be no need for a pardon?

Why is that important?

If he is defeated, and not impeached, he would be at the mercy of the State Court of New York and the Appeal Judges. He was called an unindicted co-conspirator in the Michael Cohen conviction. Cohen is now in prison.

(He is brazen enough to try and pardon himself but that is not likely to work?)

If, God forbid, he were to win another election, and the House remained in Democratic control, they would still have the impeachment card to play. If the Senate were to change hands, the Democrats would set the rules in the new Senate if the Democrats sent over Articles of Impeachment?

There are a few possibilities.

[Skraxx]

4. What I Suspect Would Happen is Trump Would Demand that the GOP Senate "Exonerate" Him

So he can go into the election claiming "exoneration". I'm willing to take that gamble, and let the weight of the massive amounts of blatant criminal wrongdoing, corruption and treason work it's way through the electorate, and let the vulnerable GOP senators defend their vote to acquit going into the election. I'd love the debate to be about "was it really treason or just massive corruption?" 4 weeks out from the election.

[kentuck]

5. That's quite a gamble but...

...if the investigating Committees can keep the heat on him until this time next year, then it needs to be studied much more closely.

[ooky]

10. I would support waiting long enough to impeach him that they don't have time to

finish the Senate trial. That way the Republicans don't have time to exonerate him before the election.

Doing this would also hopefully give the democrats time to get all the appeal processes through the court system for witnesses who refuse their subpoenas and force them into either testifying or into direct defiance of the Constitution, ordered by the president.

I can see a lot of upside to delaying the impeachment process.

[Johnny2X2X]

2. I think this goes for several months

Too many threads to pull. This won't be to the Senate until the Spring at the earliest.

[DonaldsRump]

8. I have to say I agree

A huge difference here compared to Watergate or President Clinton's "impeachment" was the Special Prosecutor/Independent Counsel. The House does not have this benefit (obviously because the Justice Department is not going to investigate any of this), so it's going to take time for it to do it's own investigation.

If there is a televised daily drip of lie after lie, and bombshell House testimony through Christmas and then continuing on in early 2020, that will be good. It's the televising of this and seeing a person actually testifying (or not) that will affect the rank-and-file public.

We might get a late winter 2020 House impeachment vote, but it won't be earlier than that.

[kentuck]

9. You could be right.

The Committees may have to share some of the witnesses coming forward? Put them in Court if they refuse to respond to a subpoena. Hopefully there will be a response from some of them before election day 2020?

[DonaldsRump]

12. I think it will have to be concluded well before November 3, 2020

Otherwise, it will backfire.

If I recall correctly, the House will use any refusals to testify as adverse inferences against Trump, so that should speed things up. Some call that risky, but the House has no other choice where it is clear the White House is deliberately stalling/stonewalling using spurious assertions of privilege etc.

IMHO, the House HAS to do this. It also HAS to impeach, if for no other reason, than Trump's rampant failures to comply with subpoenas etc. Otherwise, if the President can unilaterally decide what and when to give information and witnesses it controls to Congress, Congress ceases to be a co-equal branch of the federal government. Remember that failure to abide by House subpoenas was specifically approved as Article of Impeachment by the House Judiciary Committee against Nixon.

[gratuitous]

6. Since there is no timetable

Yes, slow-walking compliance and defying subpoenas isn't a very good strategy for the White House. Nobody's going to suddenly appear on the scene and proclaim "You didn't finish by Thanksgiving! Investigation over!" Well, there might be someone who tries that, but he doesn't deserve to be taken seriously. There's no clock to run out and the longer the investigation dominates the news cycles, the more people are going to be used to the idea that the president needs to be impeached and removed.

We're a long way away from investigation fatigue, and if the Republicans continue to drag things out, they just look guiltier and guiltier.

[kentuck]

7. True.

[crickets]

13. Agreed.

Once the hearings get started, the atmosphere around impeachment is going to change. Each new detail will lead to another, and another. It could take a while and be very damaging.

the longer the investigation dominates the news cycles, the more people are going to be used to the idea that the president needs to be impeached and removed.

Exactly.

[lunatica]

11. Never underestimate what the public will do

The Impeachment inquiry will dominate the news. Fox won’t be able to pretend it isn’t happening because all things regarding the next elections will dominate the news. Fox will be working double overtime quashing and spinning and being dismissive and protecting and defending because they have to. The rest of the media will be covering the hearings and all things regarding the elections, so Fox will be heavy into defense mode. This MAGATs will be aware of some sort of something or other bad happening to their cult leader.