Impeachment timing

[Loki]

Please someone tell me what the strategy is for the Senate Trial. No conviction, so there must be some other win.

[George K]

@loki I agree. The prospects of getting 17 GOP votes (and all 50 Democrats) to vote to convict is slim. However, if the Speaker delivers the articles on Monday, he remains impeached (see my other post about what timing actually qualifies as "impeached." To wit; when the House votes (and that's been the standard since 1912), or when the articles are delivered (after he's left office).

This will be a constitutional lawyer's wet dream. The constitution is, according to one camp very vague. According to the other camp, it says "The President." Join those arguments with the timing, and it's a food fight.

[Jolly]

In other words, a steaming pile of political horse dung that does nobody any good.

[George K]

@jolly said in Impeachment timing:

In other words, a steaming pile of political horse dung that does nobody any good.

An impeachment trial, if successful, will accomplish two things:

1. Prevent Trump from holding federal office in the future.
2. Put everything else on the back burner.

Priorities.

[Jolly]

1. They ain't finding 17 Republicans to vote for it. So it ain't happening.

2. It is going to suck all the oxygen out of the room.

[George K]

Rand Paul just commented that Chief Justice Roberts will not participate as the juror for an impeachment trial, because Trump is not the president.

The constitution states that the Chief Justice shall preside over the trial. If he's not coming over, the whole thing is little more than a show trial.

[LuFins Dad]

@jolly said in Impeachment timing:

In other words, a steaming pile of political horse dung that does nobody any good.

1. Red meat to the masses on both sides.

2. Sleight of hand always requires a distraction

3. Successful or not, it sends a message to other outsiders considering a run.

4. It’s all they got. Biden wasn’t elected to increase vaccinations by roughly 10K a day. He wasn’t elected rejoin the Paris Accord, he was elected to be Not-Trump.

[George K]

Federalist 39 (James Madison):

"The President of the United States is impeachable at any time during his continuance in office."

So, he has been impeached, but can he be convicted if no longer in office (though some will argue that impeachment doesn't occur until the articles are delivered to the Senate)?

[Jolly]

@george-k said in Impeachment timing:

Rand Paul just commented that Chief Justice Roberts will not participate as the juror for an impeachment trial, because Trump is not the president.

The constitution states that the Chief Justice shall preside over the trial. If he's not coming over, the whole thing is little more than a show trial.

But...but...Schumer said it would a be a deliberate and fair trial!

[George K]

I would love to see this go to SCOTUS.

I understand both sides of the argument - though watching heads explode (on both sides) regardless of how SCOTUS rules.