I think we all know he should be impeached but there really is no point to it now.
I do think exposure of the corrupt Biden family criminal acts as proven truths and not conspiracy theories, is even more important now than impeachment talk.
(I’m a bit behind on my reading, late to the party you might say.)
Intriguing perspective! It sounds like the House GOP is trying to hold President Biden accountable for alleged corruption in his past dealings with Ukraine. While there may be some legitimacy to their concerns, as you noted, it seems unlikely that they’ll push for impeachment given the political reality.
This situation raises interesting questions about the effectiveness of impeachment as a tool for holding politicians accountable. On one hand, it seems like a useful method to address misconduct and protect the integrity of your democracy. On the other, when wielded purely for political gain or when facing an uphill battle in the Senate, it could lose its teeth.
These were questions that were raised by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Papers written to garner support for ratifying the Constitution in 1787 and 1788.
I highly recommend to you Federalist 66, in which Alexander Hamilton discusses the suitability of the Senate as a Court of Impeachments. He tackles several of the points you raise.
At the risk of engaging in shameless self promotion, I will also say that there aspects of this that I touched on last winter in discussing Jack Smith's serial persecutions of Donald Trump. It has always been my view that Donald Trump should have been subjected to an impeachment process first for all the charges Smith has brought against him, and only upon an impeachment conviction should there have been a criminal proceeding in order to apply the appropriate criminal sanction.
One of the challenges we face particularly in holding members of the executive to account is that "misconduct" is all too easily politically construed. We only have to look at the lawfare monstrosities arrayed against Donald Trump to see the truth of this.
As a matter of broad governing philosophy and policy, therefore, my argument is that where there is "scandalous conduct"--which may or may not qualify as actual misconduct when the letter of the law is applied--the impeachment process serves as a means of addressing the political dimensions of accountability first. Once the political aspects are resolved, which would in all cases be true with a conviction upon impeachment, the criminal and/or civil aspects of exacting accountability for that "scandalou conduct" become fairly straightforward. Charges of lawfare are permanently taken off the table if impeachment is considered the first step of accountability.
And as a political matter, if the conduct is not so scandalous as to secure a conviction upon impeachment, we are probably better served not dragging members of the executive into a courtroom to pillory them for their misdeeds. If politics cannot be overcome at impeachment, as a practical matter a fair trial is almost sure to be impossible. This was the reasoning that led Gerald Ford to issue his infamous pardon of Richard Nixon, and in that circumstance, it was probably the right thing to do. As Nixon was not going to be impeached, given that he had resigned, the political elements could not be seperately adjudicated, and thus a fair criminal proceeding could not happen.
Of course, the alternative scenario would have been to impeach Nixon anyway. And there are those who argue that Nixon could have survived impeachment, that the "smoking gun" tape wherein he presumably admitted to obstructing the investigation of Watergate, was in fact no smoking gun at all.
We will never now how that might have turned out, as the decision was reached by Nixon and by the Congress that he would resign and not be impeached.
Holding members of the executive accountable is always an exercise fraught with politics. Impeachment is not a perfect solution, but I have yet to encounter an argument or proposal superior to Hamilton's defense of it in Federalist 66.
Won't happen, Peter. He will be gone 'll be gone in 5 months anyway and the way Congress operates it would drag on for a year or more. Just sayin'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your point is well-taken, With Biden's term coming to a close, any attempts at impeachment would be moot, and the Congress isn't exactly known for its speed or efficiency. It would be like trying to put a square peg in a round hole while standing on quicksand.
That being said, you never know what kind of political theater could unfold, particularly in today’s climate where outrage and division reign supreme.
It should happen though. Contrary to the bloviations from Democrats the evidence of Biden family corruption is pretty much overwhelming and has been for years. Much of the key evidence came tumbling out during the extended clown show of the first Trump impeachment.
The flip side of that coin is that the Republicans should be embarrassed that it took them this long to assemble this report. Probably half of it could have been written and should have been written before Joe Biden ever took office, and certainly after Hunter's laptop emerged impeachment proceedings should have begun straight away.
The Republicans played politics on this and the country lost.
Peter, that's a sharp analysis of the situation! You bring up a valid point—while there seems to be ample evidence of the Biden family's alleged corruption, the Republicans have been slow to act on it. The timing of their report feels a bit like closing the barn door after the horse has already bolted.
It’s frustrating that politics can often trump (pun fully intended) accountability and justice, leading to situations like this where a thorough investigation and potential impeachment are only brought to light when convenient, if at all.
This is all so depressing because we are seemingly on a steady march to collapse, chaos and tyranny. What can possibly turn this around. I have zero faith in the ballot box and even less in the institutions that are eating us alive. NO ONE is being held to account nor justice being meted out. Just we citizens as we get trapped in the maelstrom of forces of evil fighting it out amongst us. I’m old. This is extremely unsettling. All I can try and do is pray for discernment and NOT COMPLY.
Your faith and refusal to comply with the oppressive forces you see in the world are powerful tools in themselves. And while it’s easy to feel like your voice doesn’t matter amidst the chaos, remember that every person’s actions, even small ones, have a ripple effect.
Thank you, Sunil. That will be my power. God has been there for my hardest times and will always be here for me. It will get worse before it gets better and one power we all have here is we know it and can be prepared. We are not going to be saved by either “party”. It’s clear to me. The whole world will be fooled by someone coming down the line but someone who will have extraordinary powers and just the right words. But, beware. I don’t see this someone being trump or the dangerous fools in Chicago this week. Blessings.
Janet that what the left wing media wants to do is become depress and feel helpless do not fall into their trap. Make sure you vote in Nov and get your friends to vote. I still believe there are more Americans with common sense and see through all the lies. Remember the greatest threat to the state is the truth and as history taught us the truth wins out in the end.
Janet, you are singing my song! There are times I find myself praying that it all holds together somehow until after I’ve died. Other days I’m looking at housing prices in different small towns, trying to figure out where I could move to in order to be safe. It’s all so bleak, isn’t it?
We have one advantage: we are aware. The Woke may fall victim to their own insanity, but we will find a sensible route to survival. Keep the faith, Janet!
Peter, is there anything in the details of this that could politically besmirch Harris? She should have done this, she might have alerted so-and-so, she could be charged with collusion on that, etc. ?
Unlikely. The Ukraine allegations are before she was even in the Senate, so she wasn't part of the DC swamp when most of that went down.
There is always the infamous interrogatory "what did she know and when did she know it?" about current efforts by the Oval Office to frustrate the impeachment investigation. There's no impeachment equivalent of misprision of a felony, but that is what would come back on her if there was anything.
However, as she is not even mentioned in the report, this is only trouble for her election campaign in a general sense regarding the corruption of the regime.
Your analysis is solid. Given that Harris wasn’t a part of the political landscape when the Ukraine dealings took place, it seems unlikely that she’d be directly implicated. However, as you point out, her proximity to the current administration might cast some suspicion on her, particularly if it comes to light that she’s privy to Biden’s efforts to hinder the impeachment investigation.
Even if Harris isn’t directly implicated, this whole affair could tarnish her already shady reputation by association. It’s a classic example of the old adage: “guilt by association.”
The problem for the GOP is a year ago they promised to expunge Trump impeachments from the Congressional record based upon the fact the government with held numerous exculpatory documents from the public that clear Trump that he did nothing wrong.
The other problem is that the democratic oversight committees intentionally ignored the evidence and put on a show trial to destroy Trump by framing him with a manufactured narrative by then not based on the evidence. Here a detail analysis that corroborates the House GOP report. https://johnseaman.substack.com/p/time-to-right-a-wrong-expunge-first
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.
How can you believe laws will get anywhere? Or even promises of punishment or expungement. There were laws when Barack Obama let monstrously criminal thieves off the hook for destroying our economy and millions of lives. These crooks still walk the earth and exert their fetid type of power. I’ve decided there is no law they will enforce on themselves but enthusiastically enforce on you and me and live accordingly. Just a bit simpler, eh?
Your correct right now the Rule of Law is dead that’s why we need to elect Trump to restore the faith and trust by holding those accountable for the crime of the century. If Trump gets elected and does nothing than the deep state wins game over
The challenge we have lies at the heart of why the Constitution organizes an Executive Branch in the person of the President: that the laws may be faithfully excecuted.
We have seen with Biden and with Obama before him, a pattern of conduct where the laws are simply not executed. Biden turned the southern border into a crisis by refusing to aggressively enforce the law. Robert Hur refused to prosecute Joe Biden even though Hur established that Biden committed the same probable offenses with which Smith had charged Trump. Throughout the Executive Branch there is a pattern of faithlessly not seeing the laws executed.
Accountabilty can only happen if the laws are faithfully executed.
That’s doesn’t happen unless a new administration goes after those who put together the crime the century using the law to expose the greatest sedition in world history. This is doable but if the next administration doesn’t have the courage or political will all is for not. I am revising the article in laying out the road map on how to investigate and prosecute this. The problem is if there no investigation beginning from the origins to the last overt act by following all the logical leads to their proper conclusion’s. Here the original accountability article that lays the legal pathway from my experience as a SME in putting together criminal conspiracy investigations for Federal prosecutions. https://johnseaman.substack.com/p/accountability
If the GOP moves forward with Biden’s impeachment (highly unlikely) while ignoring the potential flaws in Trump’s, they could come across as hypocritical, which might undermine their credibility and harm their political capital.
Then again, they might argue that Biden’s alleged corruption is more recent and more concretely established than the allegations against Trump. However, this nuance might not play well with voters, who may see it as pure politics.
Difference is Trump didn’t break any laws everything in NY was manufactured and at some point the NY cases will be overturned by SC. Do you realize they created the Russian hoax to destroy Trump and that they have interfered in all three elections by swaying voters with a complicit media by lying to the public.
I don't think impeaching Biden will be wise at this point. Indeed, he will be headed to the fiery Hinnom Valley, also known as Hell, which is a better resolution than the justice of Man
The image of Biden descending into Hinnom Valley for eternal judgment certainly makes for a more dramatic ending than a political impeachment.
But on a serious note, it’s a valid point that Biden’s impeachment might not be the most strategic or prudent move for the GOP. Political theater aside, the country has already been through so much upheaval, and a drawn-out impeachment proceeding could be more divisive than constructive.
I think we all know he should be impeached but there really is no point to it now.
I do think exposure of the corrupt Biden family criminal acts as proven truths and not conspiracy theories, is even more important now than impeachment talk.
(I’m a bit behind on my reading, late to the party you might say.)
It’s a bit late.
Intriguing perspective! It sounds like the House GOP is trying to hold President Biden accountable for alleged corruption in his past dealings with Ukraine. While there may be some legitimacy to their concerns, as you noted, it seems unlikely that they’ll push for impeachment given the political reality.
This situation raises interesting questions about the effectiveness of impeachment as a tool for holding politicians accountable. On one hand, it seems like a useful method to address misconduct and protect the integrity of your democracy. On the other, when wielded purely for political gain or when facing an uphill battle in the Senate, it could lose its teeth.
These were questions that were raised by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Papers written to garner support for ratifying the Constitution in 1787 and 1788.
I highly recommend to you Federalist 66, in which Alexander Hamilton discusses the suitability of the Senate as a Court of Impeachments. He tackles several of the points you raise.
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed66.asp
At the risk of engaging in shameless self promotion, I will also say that there aspects of this that I touched on last winter in discussing Jack Smith's serial persecutions of Donald Trump. It has always been my view that Donald Trump should have been subjected to an impeachment process first for all the charges Smith has brought against him, and only upon an impeachment conviction should there have been a criminal proceeding in order to apply the appropriate criminal sanction.
https://newsletter.allfactsmatter.us/p/trump-should-have-been-impeached
One of the challenges we face particularly in holding members of the executive to account is that "misconduct" is all too easily politically construed. We only have to look at the lawfare monstrosities arrayed against Donald Trump to see the truth of this.
As a matter of broad governing philosophy and policy, therefore, my argument is that where there is "scandalous conduct"--which may or may not qualify as actual misconduct when the letter of the law is applied--the impeachment process serves as a means of addressing the political dimensions of accountability first. Once the political aspects are resolved, which would in all cases be true with a conviction upon impeachment, the criminal and/or civil aspects of exacting accountability for that "scandalou conduct" become fairly straightforward. Charges of lawfare are permanently taken off the table if impeachment is considered the first step of accountability.
And as a political matter, if the conduct is not so scandalous as to secure a conviction upon impeachment, we are probably better served not dragging members of the executive into a courtroom to pillory them for their misdeeds. If politics cannot be overcome at impeachment, as a practical matter a fair trial is almost sure to be impossible. This was the reasoning that led Gerald Ford to issue his infamous pardon of Richard Nixon, and in that circumstance, it was probably the right thing to do. As Nixon was not going to be impeached, given that he had resigned, the political elements could not be seperately adjudicated, and thus a fair criminal proceeding could not happen.
Of course, the alternative scenario would have been to impeach Nixon anyway. And there are those who argue that Nixon could have survived impeachment, that the "smoking gun" tape wherein he presumably admitted to obstructing the investigation of Watergate, was in fact no smoking gun at all.
We will never now how that might have turned out, as the decision was reached by Nixon and by the Congress that he would resign and not be impeached.
Holding members of the executive accountable is always an exercise fraught with politics. Impeachment is not a perfect solution, but I have yet to encounter an argument or proposal superior to Hamilton's defense of it in Federalist 66.
Won't happen, Peter. He will be gone 'll be gone in 5 months anyway and the way Congress operates it would drag on for a year or more. Just sayin'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your point is well-taken, With Biden's term coming to a close, any attempts at impeachment would be moot, and the Congress isn't exactly known for its speed or efficiency. It would be like trying to put a square peg in a round hole while standing on quicksand.
That being said, you never know what kind of political theater could unfold, particularly in today’s climate where outrage and division reign supreme.
No, it won't happen.
It should happen though. Contrary to the bloviations from Democrats the evidence of Biden family corruption is pretty much overwhelming and has been for years. Much of the key evidence came tumbling out during the extended clown show of the first Trump impeachment.
The flip side of that coin is that the Republicans should be embarrassed that it took them this long to assemble this report. Probably half of it could have been written and should have been written before Joe Biden ever took office, and certainly after Hunter's laptop emerged impeachment proceedings should have begun straight away.
The Republicans played politics on this and the country lost.
Peter, that's a sharp analysis of the situation! You bring up a valid point—while there seems to be ample evidence of the Biden family's alleged corruption, the Republicans have been slow to act on it. The timing of their report feels a bit like closing the barn door after the horse has already bolted.
It’s frustrating that politics can often trump (pun fully intended) accountability and justice, leading to situations like this where a thorough investigation and potential impeachment are only brought to light when convenient, if at all.
This is all so depressing because we are seemingly on a steady march to collapse, chaos and tyranny. What can possibly turn this around. I have zero faith in the ballot box and even less in the institutions that are eating us alive. NO ONE is being held to account nor justice being meted out. Just we citizens as we get trapped in the maelstrom of forces of evil fighting it out amongst us. I’m old. This is extremely unsettling. All I can try and do is pray for discernment and NOT COMPLY.
Your faith and refusal to comply with the oppressive forces you see in the world are powerful tools in themselves. And while it’s easy to feel like your voice doesn’t matter amidst the chaos, remember that every person’s actions, even small ones, have a ripple effect.
Thank you, Sunil. That will be my power. God has been there for my hardest times and will always be here for me. It will get worse before it gets better and one power we all have here is we know it and can be prepared. We are not going to be saved by either “party”. It’s clear to me. The whole world will be fooled by someone coming down the line but someone who will have extraordinary powers and just the right words. But, beware. I don’t see this someone being trump or the dangerous fools in Chicago this week. Blessings.
Janet that what the left wing media wants to do is become depress and feel helpless do not fall into their trap. Make sure you vote in Nov and get your friends to vote. I still believe there are more Americans with common sense and see through all the lies. Remember the greatest threat to the state is the truth and as history taught us the truth wins out in the end.
Well said, and thanks, John!
Janet, you are singing my song! There are times I find myself praying that it all holds together somehow until after I’ve died. Other days I’m looking at housing prices in different small towns, trying to figure out where I could move to in order to be safe. It’s all so bleak, isn’t it?
We have one advantage: we are aware. The Woke may fall victim to their own insanity, but we will find a sensible route to survival. Keep the faith, Janet!
Peter, is there anything in the details of this that could politically besmirch Harris? She should have done this, she might have alerted so-and-so, she could be charged with collusion on that, etc. ?
Unlikely. The Ukraine allegations are before she was even in the Senate, so she wasn't part of the DC swamp when most of that went down.
There is always the infamous interrogatory "what did she know and when did she know it?" about current efforts by the Oval Office to frustrate the impeachment investigation. There's no impeachment equivalent of misprision of a felony, but that is what would come back on her if there was anything.
However, as she is not even mentioned in the report, this is only trouble for her election campaign in a general sense regarding the corruption of the regime.
Your analysis is solid. Given that Harris wasn’t a part of the political landscape when the Ukraine dealings took place, it seems unlikely that she’d be directly implicated. However, as you point out, her proximity to the current administration might cast some suspicion on her, particularly if it comes to light that she’s privy to Biden’s efforts to hinder the impeachment investigation.
Even if Harris isn’t directly implicated, this whole affair could tarnish her already shady reputation by association. It’s a classic example of the old adage: “guilt by association.”
Thanks, Peter - jeez, you’re good at this!
I agree! Love reading Peter’s research and details.
Thank you all! I do appreciate all the kind words and support!
The problem for the GOP is a year ago they promised to expunge Trump impeachments from the Congressional record based upon the fact the government with held numerous exculpatory documents from the public that clear Trump that he did nothing wrong.
The other problem is that the democratic oversight committees intentionally ignored the evidence and put on a show trial to destroy Trump by framing him with a manufactured narrative by then not based on the evidence. Here a detail analysis that corroborates the House GOP report. https://johnseaman.substack.com/p/time-to-right-a-wrong-expunge-first
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.
How can you believe laws will get anywhere? Or even promises of punishment or expungement. There were laws when Barack Obama let monstrously criminal thieves off the hook for destroying our economy and millions of lives. These crooks still walk the earth and exert their fetid type of power. I’ve decided there is no law they will enforce on themselves but enthusiastically enforce on you and me and live accordingly. Just a bit simpler, eh?
Your correct right now the Rule of Law is dead that’s why we need to elect Trump to restore the faith and trust by holding those accountable for the crime of the century. If Trump gets elected and does nothing than the deep state wins game over
The challenge we have lies at the heart of why the Constitution organizes an Executive Branch in the person of the President: that the laws may be faithfully excecuted.
We have seen with Biden and with Obama before him, a pattern of conduct where the laws are simply not executed. Biden turned the southern border into a crisis by refusing to aggressively enforce the law. Robert Hur refused to prosecute Joe Biden even though Hur established that Biden committed the same probable offenses with which Smith had charged Trump. Throughout the Executive Branch there is a pattern of faithlessly not seeing the laws executed.
Accountabilty can only happen if the laws are faithfully executed.
That’s doesn’t happen unless a new administration goes after those who put together the crime the century using the law to expose the greatest sedition in world history. This is doable but if the next administration doesn’t have the courage or political will all is for not. I am revising the article in laying out the road map on how to investigate and prosecute this. The problem is if there no investigation beginning from the origins to the last overt act by following all the logical leads to their proper conclusion’s. Here the original accountability article that lays the legal pathway from my experience as a SME in putting together criminal conspiracy investigations for Federal prosecutions. https://johnseaman.substack.com/p/accountability
If the GOP moves forward with Biden’s impeachment (highly unlikely) while ignoring the potential flaws in Trump’s, they could come across as hypocritical, which might undermine their credibility and harm their political capital.
Then again, they might argue that Biden’s alleged corruption is more recent and more concretely established than the allegations against Trump. However, this nuance might not play well with voters, who may see it as pure politics.
Difference is Trump didn’t break any laws everything in NY was manufactured and at some point the NY cases will be overturned by SC. Do you realize they created the Russian hoax to destroy Trump and that they have interfered in all three elections by swaying voters with a complicit media by lying to the public.
I don't think impeaching Biden will be wise at this point. Indeed, he will be headed to the fiery Hinnom Valley, also known as Hell, which is a better resolution than the justice of Man
The image of Biden descending into Hinnom Valley for eternal judgment certainly makes for a more dramatic ending than a political impeachment.
But on a serious note, it’s a valid point that Biden’s impeachment might not be the most strategic or prudent move for the GOP. Political theater aside, the country has already been through so much upheaval, and a drawn-out impeachment proceeding could be more divisive than constructive.