05-08-2019, 08:42 AM
(05-07-2019, 10:11 PM)michaelsean Wrote: Yeah I prefer it our way, but it just leads to, what appears to me, to be some tricky legal issues when you consider the unique position of the president. Can he perform a lawful act and be convicted of obstruction?
Which is why there is the impeachment process. The problem is that it only works when we have a functioning government that puts the interests of the people above their own. Because of decades of efforts to wrest power from the people, an ever decreasing level of representation in the legislature, and a reliance on tabloid style politics, we lack a Congress that puts that best interests of the country first.
As for your question: yes. Should he? No. Impeachment is an inherently political process, but it should be similar to a trial in that is relies on facts and evidence. The root of the question, though, is whether what he did was lawful.
What is in the Mueller report is enough to gain an indictment, at least according to 735 (as of right now) former federal prosecutors. It should be noted that an indictment is not saying he is guilty, it just moves the process to the next step. For impeachment proceedings, the House voting to impeach would be the same as a grand jury voting to indict.
The process then moves to a trial in the Senate overseen by the Chief Justice of the United States. Just like a criminal trial in the judicial system, this is intended to rely on the evidence before them during the trial. It provides an opportunity for a defense but it also allows questioning that can get at the root of intent. Corrupt intent can make lawful actions by the POTUS unlawful. The problem is that Trump's refusal to meet with Mueller or to cooperate fully with the investigation meant that intent was near impossible to ascertain during the investigation. If there were impeachment proceedings, then it would not be able to be avoided.
I've been against impeachment proceedings until the Mueller report came out, and have continued to be. I don't see the point when I know that it will be political theater instead of the serious process it is intended to be. I find my position harder to hold with the recent letter from prosecutors, but I'm still there.
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
