Impeachment! Impeachment!

It's hard to keep up with all of the action in Washington, D.C. I had been in the middle of writing up a digest and suddenly, there it was! Impeachment Dos!

Impeachment! 

Today the United States House of Representatives voted 229-195 to impeach the 45th president of the United States for a historic second time.

Things went fast.

Last night, the House voted on a non-binding resolution asking the Vice President to invoke the 25th Amendment. Before they even voted on this symbolic resolution, Pence sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying, nope. 

So they went ahead with the only option left: impeachment.

Remarkably, Republicans stood up and declared their intention to vote for impeachment! Ten House Republicans joined the Democrats in voting to impeach. 

Reps. John Katko (R-NY), and Adam Kinzinger (IL) were among the first to publicly state they'd support impeachment. But most jaw-dropping was Rep. Liz Cheney (WY). Cheney is the #3 Republican in the House, and her state of Wyoming voted for ***** with 70% of the vote. She put her political ass on the line in her show of patriotism. She and her family have a long, deep history in the GOP. She is the daughter of Repug douchebag Dick Cheney. Her blood runs deep red, so this is big.

Her statement was powerful! 

On January 6, 2021 a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic.

Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.

I will vote to impeach the President.

And what's this?! Senate Majority-Leader-for-one-more-week McTurtle is "pleased" about impeachment? So, insurrection is the last the only straw, huh? He gave an impassioned speech on the floor of the Senate moments before the riot last week. The mind reels trying to process the cognitive dissonance in hearing this person actually voice reasonable thoughts.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, while against impeachment, did not whip votes against it. 

These high-ranking Repugs gave a huge signal to both House and Senate Republicans that it's not only ok but desirable to vote in favor of impeachment. There just may be a conviction!! In the end, 10 GOP members voted to impeach.

I watched the proceedings, and at times I felt like throwing something at the TV when the GOP members twisted themselves into pretzels justifying why he should not be impeached. The best economy in history! The Dems have been after him for four years! The left just wants to cancel everything! It's just so devisiiiive! 

And yet, it happened. It's official: ***** is the first U.S. President in history to be impeached twice! Though the label of "impeachment" by itself doesn't mean much other than that designation on his legacy and an extra half-hour lecture in a future history class, conviction is what holds the meat. The Constitution says this about an impeachment conviction:

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.

Translation: he can't hold federal office again and he does not get to enjoy his perks, like a pension, staff, and offices. Contrary to some chatter out there, he will still receive his Secret Service detail. And he can still be prosecuted by a regular court.

The Constitution is clear about it, but if that's not enough, it was spelled out the same way in the Impeachment Resolution itself. 

The Speaker came to sign the Article of Impeachment in front of the press. She stood at the same lectern that one of the terrorists stole. And with a stroke of the pen, ***** was officially impeached for a second time. 

The timing of the impeachment trial is still up in the air. When Pelosi sends the Article of Impeachment to the Senate is still unknown. The Senate is not due to come back to the Capitol until January 19, one day before the Inauguration, and it will be the new Senate with a new Majority Leader. There were thoughts that instead of sending the article to the Senate right away, perhaps the House would wait until after 100 days of Biden's term so that he can hit the ground running, get his cabinet confirmed, and set his plans for COVID and the economy in motion. President-elect Biden also voiced the thought that, if the trial starts immediately, perhaps the Senate could split their time, spending half their day on impeachment and half the day on other business, of which there will be a lot to get the new administration rolling.

There is the fact that McConnell, still Senate Majority Leader for one more week, is signaling that "his" senators are de-facto allowed to vote for conviction. He finally stated that he will not call them back to session before they are scheduled to return on January 19, so it'll be up to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to conduct the trial. 

It could be a quick trial, because after all, the victims are the witnesses are the prosecutors are the jury.

It will be fascinating to watch what evidence they present. It'll be interesting to see what defense the former president* will try to mount. And who will represent him? Oh, please please please let it be Chief Clown Counsel Rudy Giuliani!

Other news:

Further punishment? There's still speculation about a self-pardon, but his advisors have urged him not to do so. To self-pardon would be to admit wrongdoing. To admit wrongdoing opens one up to civil charges. Think of the civil suits arising from the insurrection! 

And the Constitution is also clear that an impeachment conviction is not the end. He will still be subject for the full weight of the law to come down on him. The U.S. Constitution reads, "the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law."

And for the rest of his crimes, well, he's in a world of hurt. Wouldn't it be delicious if he were roused from his Mar-a-Lago bed at 12:01pm next Wednesday and put into cuffs....

Maybe the most hurtful punishment is that his brand is tanking. Big time. Businesses are fleeing at record speed. 

Other actors in the January 6 Insurrection. There's more and more evidence that there were other bad actors that aided and abetted the mob. 

Police aiders: So, did officers really participate? Yes. Several Capitol Police officers have been suspended. Remember the officer who took a selfie with one of the terrorists? In my last post I speculated he might he might actually be an insurrectionist dressed as a cop. Turns out I was wrong. Well, it turns out I was right, too, I guess? He is a cop, and he did aid and abet the insurrection. He has been suspended. And I hope he is charged. 

And more surprising, and disgusting. It's possible that Members of Congress assisted the terrorists. There is nascent evidence about Repug Member of Congress from Colorado, Lauren Boebert. Newly elected, she had ads promising to take a gun inside the Capitol (and in fact, set off the metal detectors yesterday and caused a dust-up with security). Now she is is being called to resign. 

Boebert apparently tweeted the location of the Speaker as the insurrection was beginning, tweeting, "We were locked in the House Chambers," and a minute later, "The Speaker has been removed from the Chamber." Some allege that this was an attempt to help the insurgents. Earlier in the day, she tweeted, "Today is 1776." This was the rallying call of the insurrectionists before and during the riots. 

Now there is emerging evidence that some unnamed Member(s) gave "reconnaissance tours" to some groups the day before the insurrection. Keep in mind, since the pandemic, there have been no tours of the Capitol building. This is concerning. See the report about Rep. Mikie Sherrill's (D-NJ) observations.

And the photo below was reportedly posted to Boebert's Instagram account the day before the January 6 Insurrection. See those hand signals from some of her friends? That is a white supremacist gesture. Note: This is unconfirmed! If this is incorrect information, I will correct it. 

Remarkably, it appears that members of the military participated, too. In an astounding "Did they really have to say that?" moment, the Joint Chiefs issued a letter warning members of the military that their job is to protect and defend the Constitution. And that violence is bad. 

Arrests. 

Ricardo Caté

Growing up and learning about the Civil War, we were taught that "brother fought against brother." I never could understand that. Now I do. Though ***** is Person One in the January 6 Insurrection, arrests are proceeding apace, thanks to many being turned in by their family members. For example, Larry Rendell Brock, who was carrying flex cuffs inside the Capitol was turned in to the FBI by his ex-wife. And I came across this on the internet. Don't know if it's legit but I like it!

The "Camp Auschwitz" monster was arrested, thank goodness. There have been at least 70 arrests so far, and the FBI is working 24/7 to identify and arrest more. They have over 100,000 tips, photos, and videos to cull. Putting the terrorists on the No-Fly List is being considered. 

The FBI knew about threats. 9/11 much? 

It's not over yet. There are dire warnings about violence to come in the next several days, including a plot to assassinate Democrats in order for Republicans to take over the government. These, in addition to threats against state capitols in all 50 states. It's just too much to think about. 

The Inaguration. The National Guard is coming out in force. The District of Columbia will be occupied by more uniformed military than there are today in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. It's disheartening that our biggest enemy threatening the U.S. is home-grown. Domestic terrorism, in the form of white supremacy, is a clear and present danger. 

Looking at the pictures of these troops getting ready, it's both heartening that our inauguration ceremony will be protected, and horrifying that it needs to be. More photos and video of the troops here. And video here.

AP via Fox News

But there are plenty of other heroes and helpers.

One Hero. Our favorite hero is Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman. Remember the video of him, alone when confronted by a mob of terrorists? Turns out he used himself as a decoy. He saw that the door to the Senate Chambers was still open, so he confronted the evildoers and lured them in the opposite direction of the Senate. Thank you, Officer Goodman!

Oh, Melania. WTF are you talking about? True to the family brand, her official statement about the insurrection was all about her. What the hell?

I am disappointed and disheartened with what happened last week. I find it shameful that surrounding these tragic events there has been salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks, and false misleading accusations on me – from people who are looking to be relevant and have an agenda. 

No one knows what she was referring to. I just have to speculate that her husband told her lies; that "many people" were saying XYZ about her. Honey, don't get on that plane to Mar-a-Lago. Run the other way.

The Besties Break. Vice President Pence was livid after the attack. Of course he was! He could've been assassinated that day. It was reported that there was an icy silence between them until yesterday and now they are at a "détente." Just before Pence had set off for the Capitol to oversee the Electoral Count on January 6, ***** said to his Vice President, “You can either go down in history as a patriot or you can go down in history as a pussy.” And of course, afterwards, he sent his murderous mob to go get Pence. And yet, the Vice President refused to remove him from power. 

Thanks for reading LSR's news digest for today. It's a lot to keep up with! More soon!