Merry Impeachmas!

"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." – Thomas Jefferson

No silent night for us. We mobilized, we protested, we formed a blue wave, we voted, we told our representatives what we wanted, and last Wednesday, we impeached the 45th President* of the United States. Just in time for Christmas!

As some brilliant internetter said, it's "Treason's Greetings"

The Berder King (thanks, SR Anne for the nickname!) has done many crimes and many immoral acts over the last three years, but we got him on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress for his strong-arm scheme in Ukraine.

What's next? A trial in the Senate. But it's not at all clear what that will look like, or when it will happen. The conclusion is foregone, however: acquittal.

The impeachment itself is analogous to a criminal indictment. An investigation was completed, witnesses testified, documents were attempted to be gathered, and charges were brought. The next stage corresponds to a criminal trial, where the defendant brings a defense. Members of the House are the managers in the trial, acting as prosecutors; the president mounts a defense; the Senate acts as a jury. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court oversees the proceedings. It's really a remarkable event. The impeachment of a president brings all three branches, including both houses of Congress, together in one room at one time to hash out the issue.

But it's not a criminal trial, and the procedures are not well defined – actually not at all defined – in the Constitution. The Constitution's only instructions are (spelling and punctuation original):

Article I, Section 2, Clause 5: The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. 

Article I, Section 3, Clause 6: The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present. 

Article II, Section 4: The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

As for punishment, it's definitely not like a criminal trial. Punishment is the removal from office and the disqualification from holding any other federal office, though the Constitution specifically does not preclude future criminal indictment:

Article I, Section 3, Clause 7: Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

So, now the articles of impeachment go to the venerable halls of the Senate, where they will be met by sober men with the gravity that the elevated office and the serious charges warrant.

Bwahahahahaha! Who am I kidding? Did we forget who is in charge of the United States Senate? None other than marble-mouthed obstructionist from Kentucky, Senator McCancel!

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McTurtle, has clearly said, in front of cameras: “Everything I do during this, I’m coordinating with White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this to the extent that we can. We have no choice but to take [the impeachment trial] up, but we will be working through this process, hopefully in a fairly short period of time, in total coordination with the White House counsel’s office and the people who are representing the president in the well of the Senate.”

That's concerning enough as it is, but wait! There's more! McConnell does not want to allow any witnesses. Huh? A trial without witnesses? He wants a speedy proceeding. Let's just get to the vote to acquit and move on. But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has requested the following witnesses: Robert Blair, senior adviser to the acting White House chief of staff; Mick Mulvaney, acting White House chief of staff; John Bolton, former national security adviser; and Michael Duffey, associate director for national security at the Office of Management and Budget. TЯUMP disallowed all those folks from testifying in front of the House, but it's still important that we hear from them. We want to hear from them – even 60% of Republicans want to hear from them. The witnesses know stuff.

It's up to the the Majority Leader and the rest of the Senate to make the rules for the trial and define the standard of proof. They get to make the rules and act as jurors. Hmmmmm. But don't discount Nancy Pelosi and the House of Representatives. They are very much part of the impeachment trial. With the Representatives becoming the managers of the trial, and the House having control of the articles themselves, the House under Speaker Pelosi has power.

And power, she has.

The brilliant Nancy Pelosi is again bringing her amazing political prowess to the ball game. She has decided to delay sending the articles to the Senate until she is satisfied that there will be a fair trial. Harvard Constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe wrote an opinion piece outlining this very situation. In our lofty Democratic Republic, the public has a right to observe a fair and open trial, even (especially?) when it is opposed by the accused. And until the rules are more clearly established to ensure such a fair trial, Speaker Pelosi is right to withhold progressing the articles. I look forward to watching her work. She is da boss.

Chief Justice Roberts's role may turn out to be an integral part of the trial, as the Senate is being wonky about the rules of engagement.

How might his role play out? If witnesses are deemed unnecessary by the Senate, the House managers can appeal to the Chief Justice for a ruling. He can issue a ruling – but is not required to do so. And he may rule in favor of the managers. The ruling is not binding; the Senate can overturn his decision by a simple majority vote. Doing this might be politically risky, though; frankly, it's imprudent to overturn a ruling by the freaking Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Roberts may yet bring a bearing of fairness and solemnity to the trial. One can hope.

So, it may get interesting. If those witnesses are allowed, it could very well be all over for 45. They know damning information. And his best bet would be to resign before there can be a vote to remove him from office. If the trial ends in acquittal, as most predict it will, he won't be removed from office, but he gets to keep the IMPEACHED mark on his record for eternity.

What could also happen: the House could keep investigating these and other matters. We don't yet know the full story, and information continues to drip out (for example, we learned today that emails show 45 asked about the aid for Ukraine a month before the July 25 phone call). There is no provision for a one-time impeachment and done. If he keeps doing bad things, the House could conceivably impeach him again.

More and more people and entities are calling for his removal, even those from the far right. Former Republican Senator from Arizona, Jeff Flake, implores the members of the GOP to do dig deep and the right thing. The right-leaning National Review states he meets four tests for impeachment. The evangelical Christian publication Christianity Today also called for his removal. This last one is especially jaw-dropping, and predictably, the publication was on the receiving end of hate tweets from 45, who called the publication "far left" and said in his third-grade voice, "[Christianity Today] knows nothing about reading a perfect transcript of a routine phone call..." Gads. It never ends.

Anyway, it's not clear when the trial that will decide his fate will start. For now, Congress is in recess until Tuesday, January 7, 2020. Nuttin' will be resolved until then. The Whitewash House does not get a recess. He will run unfettered, doing Putin's bidding, every day until he leaves office.

The danger to our country does not end until that day. And the danger may be growing, as it appears he is becoming more unhinged.

Yale forensic psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee has sounded another alarm about 45's mental state and the dangers that he poses. Lee takes a look at the letter that IMPOTUS (thanks for the nickname, George Conway!) sent to Nancy Pelosi. First, Lee "translated" the letter into the underlying, subconscious message it is telegraphing, and then he sounded a warning about the bigger danger, that of the masses sharing in his psychosis. It's a sobering read.

Ms. Magazine is also sounding a warning. Justine Andronici writes from the perspective that 45 is an abuser, and the nation is his victim. It is an especially dangerous time for us, as an abuser is at his most dangerous at the time of attempted separation. I also wrote recently about his abusive tendencies and how we can cope while we attempt to separate.

We cannot accept these behaviors as normal, and we must not turn away! We have got to pull back the curtain and see this man for who he truly is. If we don't, we are helping him destroy what we hold dear. We must continue our path of separation from this man. It's imperative that we do so.

#RESIST!!


And finally, here is an Impeachmas rhyme written by Frank Bruni of the New York Times.


.......and to all, a goodnight.