The next administration, in my estimation, cannot afford to be so forgiving.
The current administration is creating real damage to the fabric of this country -- both through egregious corruption and outright subversion.
Eric Holder, e.g., must be brought to justice or a totally new --and lower -- standard for public behavior will have been set.
The next President needs the strength and the will to do what is necessary.
IMHO incoming administrations have been delicate in their treatment of their predecessors for well-founded reasons. It may be part of the reason that we have not had an administration attempt to refuse to leave office.I of course agree with your raising the issue of the dolorous precedents being set. But IMHO what is required is constitutional adjustments which change the power equations. One possibility is that the jury in a presidential impeachment should not be the Senate but - the best approximation of “peers” of the president - governors. At the very least, governors should be judges of what constitutes “high crimes and misdemeanors.” If the governors aren’t willing to have it be thought that they might be doing some thing, then that thing constitutes a “high crime or misdemeanor.”Obviously that extra layer of process would make it harder, not easier, to impeach and convict. I only suggest it in the context of a reduction in the standard of conviction from the permanently unreachable 2/3 to something attainable, such as 60% or even 55% in the Senate.
That's certainly a worthwhile idea.
The Senate has conclusively proven itself utterly incapable of fulfilling its constitutional duty as regards impeachment. If proven perjury in a federal court doesn't "rise to the level", what does? Even Robert Byrd admitted that it did...after voting to acquit.
A panel of governors would certainly be representative of the President's peers and capable of rendering a fair judgment.