ETA: I listened to a lot of the beginning though couldn't really deal listening to the Republicans (led by the guy who sued a cow and the former wrestler fast talker who doesn't wear a suit jacket / appears to have looked the other way when warned of sexual abuse) since they seem more spam than anything else. Some powerful stuff with two career public servants as the opening witnesses. You have the ambassador to the Ukraine there. Hard to hand-wave it as just Democratic b.s., but hey a Vietnam vet/lifelong Republican, former Bush43 appointed FBI head (Robert Mueller) was.
Today is the first day of public hearings after the impeachment resolution (labels are tricky; after all, some argue we have been in de facto impeachment mode for months now), which is a historical moment. It's sometimes hard to see history clearly as it happens, but it is. I experienced the Clinton impeachment (toddler me did not register the Nixon impeachment), and thought that he did something wrong, if not something that warranted removal. I thought it important though that he receive at least a majority vote against in the Senate. He received a 50-50 vote. Okay. Trump is a whole new animal here. He deserves removal.
As with other things, not getting all you want (or need) does not mean something is a failure. There are also levels of need. It is very important to get something here (impeachment is not removal after all) since Trump is guilty of range of crimes (not just Ukraine; please don't just impeach on that!) that go far above simple electoral disputes. Too much has been normalized over the years here. Some line -- think waterboarding -- has to be drawn in the sand here. It's of fundamental importance. It won't be easy and we will feel like hitting our head against the wall repeatedly.
The hearings will focus on the Ukraine matters (I suggested the "Ukraine Extortion Racket" label at one point), but we should not ignore the other crimes Trump has committed. I speak here specifically that of the high crimes and misdemeanors variety (bribery in there as well). Other congressional hearings and efforts were and continue from what I understand to be in place regarding other matters. For instance, Robert Mueller testified. Just yesterday, even more evidence came out related to those matters in the Roger Stone trial. The Mueller Report itself ended in an open fashion -- matters were forwarded to others and prosecutions still open. Roger Stone was one such matter.
The Ukraine matter has been shown to have some special effect on the public and relevant parties, the latter some rough unclear set of markers to get a sense of what "matters" out there. That sort of thing can be a fool's errand, but realistically it means something. And, there are people who judge such things, such "opinion leaders" or tipping points or whatever. Anyway, it has been noted that it is seen as a tipping point because it occurred while he was in office, we having a "smoking gun" and it seems so blatant and stupid. Yes. But, it is only part of the story. Paul Manafort's connection to Ukraine alone shows how it fits in to other things.
And, things continue to come out. Court opinions on a variety of matters, involving both local (New York) and national (emoluments, congressional investigations) based investigations on a variety of matters. Stormy Daniels and campaign matters, taxes, financial investigations, emoluments, the stuff in the Mueller Report and obstructions of justice overall. The Roger Stone trial, e.g., brought evidence that Trump lied in his written answers to Robert Mueller. Shades of Clinton. This would be evidence that he is obstructing justice. Denying resources including people subpoenaed to testify to Congress is of that caliber. It was part of the Nixon impeachment. Again, overlap to the current matter.
Some strongly against Trump was and maybe some still are against impeachment for various reasons. But, impeachment to me is a fundamental thing. We are a limited government, and when members of the executive department and judiciary cross the line, there is a constitutional means to address it. Members of Congress also fall under this rubric but it is a lot easier to remove them, including by basic prosecution. If we don't use impeachment, even if we use investigations, again, it normalizes it. This is not just about election politics.
We cannot make it only about that. We can not.
Today is the first day of public hearings after the impeachment resolution (labels are tricky; after all, some argue we have been in de facto impeachment mode for months now), which is a historical moment. It's sometimes hard to see history clearly as it happens, but it is. I experienced the Clinton impeachment (toddler me did not register the Nixon impeachment), and thought that he did something wrong, if not something that warranted removal. I thought it important though that he receive at least a majority vote against in the Senate. He received a 50-50 vote. Okay. Trump is a whole new animal here. He deserves removal.
As with other things, not getting all you want (or need) does not mean something is a failure. There are also levels of need. It is very important to get something here (impeachment is not removal after all) since Trump is guilty of range of crimes (not just Ukraine; please don't just impeach on that!) that go far above simple electoral disputes. Too much has been normalized over the years here. Some line -- think waterboarding -- has to be drawn in the sand here. It's of fundamental importance. It won't be easy and we will feel like hitting our head against the wall repeatedly.
The hearings will focus on the Ukraine matters (I suggested the "Ukraine Extortion Racket" label at one point), but we should not ignore the other crimes Trump has committed. I speak here specifically that of the high crimes and misdemeanors variety (bribery in there as well). Other congressional hearings and efforts were and continue from what I understand to be in place regarding other matters. For instance, Robert Mueller testified. Just yesterday, even more evidence came out related to those matters in the Roger Stone trial. The Mueller Report itself ended in an open fashion -- matters were forwarded to others and prosecutions still open. Roger Stone was one such matter.
The Ukraine matter has been shown to have some special effect on the public and relevant parties, the latter some rough unclear set of markers to get a sense of what "matters" out there. That sort of thing can be a fool's errand, but realistically it means something. And, there are people who judge such things, such "opinion leaders" or tipping points or whatever. Anyway, it has been noted that it is seen as a tipping point because it occurred while he was in office, we having a "smoking gun" and it seems so blatant and stupid. Yes. But, it is only part of the story. Paul Manafort's connection to Ukraine alone shows how it fits in to other things.
And, things continue to come out. Court opinions on a variety of matters, involving both local (New York) and national (emoluments, congressional investigations) based investigations on a variety of matters. Stormy Daniels and campaign matters, taxes, financial investigations, emoluments, the stuff in the Mueller Report and obstructions of justice overall. The Roger Stone trial, e.g., brought evidence that Trump lied in his written answers to Robert Mueller. Shades of Clinton. This would be evidence that he is obstructing justice. Denying resources including people subpoenaed to testify to Congress is of that caliber. It was part of the Nixon impeachment. Again, overlap to the current matter.
Some strongly against Trump was and maybe some still are against impeachment for various reasons. But, impeachment to me is a fundamental thing. We are a limited government, and when members of the executive department and judiciary cross the line, there is a constitutional means to address it. Members of Congress also fall under this rubric but it is a lot easier to remove them, including by basic prosecution. If we don't use impeachment, even if we use investigations, again, it normalizes it. This is not just about election politics.
We cannot make it only about that. We can not.
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