It was clear even then and without the exculpatory evidence that emerged since that the Democrats did not have a substantive case during the first impeachment. Even without the exculpatory evidence the Democrats struggled to define exactly of what "high crimes and misdemeanors" was to be accus…
It was clear even then and without the exculpatory evidence that emerged since that the Democrats did not have a substantive case during the first impeachment. Even without the exculpatory evidence the Democrats struggled to define exactly of what "high crimes and misdemeanors" was to be accused. In the end they simply characterized his conduct and declared that to be a "high crime".
It was as cynical an exploitation of the impeachment process as could be imagined, arguably even more cynical than the impeachment of Andrew Johnson in 1868. Yet the votes themselves were duly held and recorded by the House. The testimonies that were gathered were properly entered into the Congressional record. Given that each house of Congress is given charge of its own records, I'm not sure there is a legal mechanism by which a portion of that record may be excised.
Certainly there needs to be recognition of the depth of mendacity that went into the impeachment trials, and the Democrats need to be properly pilloried for that mendacity. I'm just not certain expungng the impeachments from the record is an option.
Is expunging the impeachments even an option?
It was clear even then and without the exculpatory evidence that emerged since that the Democrats did not have a substantive case during the first impeachment. Even without the exculpatory evidence the Democrats struggled to define exactly of what "high crimes and misdemeanors" was to be accused. In the end they simply characterized his conduct and declared that to be a "high crime".
It was as cynical an exploitation of the impeachment process as could be imagined, arguably even more cynical than the impeachment of Andrew Johnson in 1868. Yet the votes themselves were duly held and recorded by the House. The testimonies that were gathered were properly entered into the Congressional record. Given that each house of Congress is given charge of its own records, I'm not sure there is a legal mechanism by which a portion of that record may be excised.
Certainly there needs to be recognition of the depth of mendacity that went into the impeachment trials, and the Democrats need to be properly pilloried for that mendacity. I'm just not certain expungng the impeachments from the record is an option.