Monday, November 18, 2019

understanding the impeachment process

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPEACHMENT PROCESS

archives.gov

the impeachment of a president has only happened 4 times in the lifetime of our country
the impeachment of a  president has happened 3 times in my lifetime

here is what the constitution says

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.
wikepedia.com

impeachment just means they were charged with something they did that met these criteria

andrew johnsons probably did not really meet those criteria but he got impeached anyway
remember being impeached doesnt mean you get convicted
its like us regular folks getting charged with a crime
we would go to trial and get convicted
or not

the vote on andrew johnson was 35 to 19 one vote shy of conviction

or not seems to be what usually happens with the impeachment trial of the president

in nixons case he just did a lot of illegal things after they hired folks to break into the democratic office
remember they didnt have emails back then
it was all the lying and cheating and corruption he did afterwards that got him impeached

if he had gone to trial in the senate he would most likely have been convicted and removed from office
he like his vice president did before him resigned before the process could go forward to the senate

if nixon would have just admitted the breakin in the beginning and stopped there he might have made it through his term
but
he didnt
he resigned instead

then there was bill clinton who lied about having sexual encounters with an intern
if he just would have said yes i did it and ended there then so would have the whole investigation and process stopped
remember this was a spinoff of the whitewater investigation that showed no corruption or crimes by  clinton just that he lied about the affair

rule one
dont lie to congress or the police or the fbi or to a grand jury
clinton his actions were not a crime until he lied

now was it a reason to impeach him in the house and convict him in the senate
no
the senate didnt think so

on article one the vote was 55 to 45 not guilty
on aricle two the vote was 50 to 50 not guilty
remember you need 67 to convict

now here we are today
i am not going to get political here
or
take a side

so the house has the right to investigate what the majority a simple majority decides could be a impeachable offence
above is what the constitution says

so the house can investigate doing either a special prosecutor like in the nixon or clinton case
or do their own investigation like they are now

thats whats called an impeachment inquiry
like a grand jury except in this case we get to watch it all

if potential crimes are found then the house votes to impeach
a simple majority is all thats needed

if he is impeached then the trial happens in the senate
the judge will be chief justice john roberts
who has the reputation of doing whats right legally

the case will be presented again
the senators will vote
then
this is where the writers of the constitution our forefathers did a good job
2/3 of the senators have to vote to convict him

if he is convicted he is removed from office
the vice president then becomes president

now
most of us know that in our present political climate that the president unless something else pops up is not going to be convicted

most of us agree that he pressured a foreign countrys president to dig up dirt on one of his opponents
thats all there in the open in that transcript for us all to read in black and white

most of us agree as do a lot of the republicans that what he did was wrong
but
does it meet the criteria for removal of office established under the constitution

well
only 67 people in the united states can make that decision
and
they are all senators

so
the president will be impeached probalby on more than one article ie crimes like with clinton
eg
withholding aid to urkraine for poltical reasons ie bribery
obstruction of justice
intimidation of witnesses

he will be tried
he is unlikely to be convicted

the real jury and real trial though will be on tuesday november 3 2020
you and i will make that final decision

as it should be

may this never happen to us again

the organicgreen doctor

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