- 08 Dec 2019 14:07
#15053148
Prof Tribe wrote a book about impeachment that argued against impeaching Trump. I didn't agree, but he's one of a handful of guys that knows this sort of thing cold.
I have 2 points to make today. The first is that Trump's "favor to ask" phone call changed Prof Tribe's mind. It changed the mind of most serious people, from Pelosi on down.
The second is why I disagreed with Prof Tribe. I was using a 'beyond reasonable doubt' standard. Prosecutors routinely prosecute cases without proof. They try to establish the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
Trump clearly has something going on with Russia that he is desperate to keep hidden. When the Founding Fathers said "High Crimes and Misdemeanors", they weren't talking about case law. There was no book of criminal statutes, for one thing. But the important bit is that they wanted Congress to pass judgement if the president acted against the interests of the country.
That has happened repeatedly, blatantly...
If you read what the Founding Fathers wrote, Trump has done it all, except treason. We're not in a declared war. Which is something of a technicality these days, we're always fighting somebody somewhere, usually several somebodies in several places. Congress passes the buck because they don't want to take the blame, because these military adventures go wrong so often.
I digress. My respect for Prof Tribe is total, but this was something about which reasonable people could disagree.
Once Mueller had testified, and that chapter was over, Trump picked up the phone and called Ukraine. The timelines have not gotten much attention in the press, but they are crucial. It tells us Trump immediately went back to his attempt at undermining the election, which is the beating heart of a democracy, and tried to plunge a dagger into it. He won't stop.
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKP4cfU28vM
I have 2 points to make today. The first is that Trump's "favor to ask" phone call changed Prof Tribe's mind. It changed the mind of most serious people, from Pelosi on down.
The second is why I disagreed with Prof Tribe. I was using a 'beyond reasonable doubt' standard. Prosecutors routinely prosecute cases without proof. They try to establish the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
Trump clearly has something going on with Russia that he is desperate to keep hidden. When the Founding Fathers said "High Crimes and Misdemeanors", they weren't talking about case law. There was no book of criminal statutes, for one thing. But the important bit is that they wanted Congress to pass judgement if the president acted against the interests of the country.
That has happened repeatedly, blatantly...
If you read what the Founding Fathers wrote, Trump has done it all, except treason. We're not in a declared war. Which is something of a technicality these days, we're always fighting somebody somewhere, usually several somebodies in several places. Congress passes the buck because they don't want to take the blame, because these military adventures go wrong so often.
I digress. My respect for Prof Tribe is total, but this was something about which reasonable people could disagree.
Once Mueller had testified, and that chapter was over, Trump picked up the phone and called Ukraine. The timelines have not gotten much attention in the press, but they are crucial. It tells us Trump immediately went back to his attempt at undermining the election, which is the beating heart of a democracy, and tried to plunge a dagger into it. He won't stop.
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKP4cfU28vM
Facts have a well known liberal bias