Impeachment – And Opening Pandora's Box

As the overpowering stench of hypocrisy invaded their nostrils, Democrat senators voted for a second time in a year to convict President Donald John Trump, now out of office three weeks, on make-believe charges that sought to criminalize his lawful activities as president.

Now that the show trial is complete, we may soon witness an era of presidential impeachments as a regular occurrence in America.

"We've opened Pandora's box to future presidents," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said, according to The Blaze.

"If you use this model, I don't know how Kamala Harris doesn't get impeached if the Republicans take over the House, because she actually bailed out rioters and one of the rioters went back to the streets and broke somebody's head open," Graham said, referring to Harris encouraging people to donate to a bail fund for Black Lives Matter-Antifa rioters last summer.

One lawmaker has already filed articles of impeachment against Joe Biden, the nation’s new placeholder president.

Ahead of the curve, freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed articles against Biden the day after he was inaugurated. In a press release, her office explained that she was taking action because of Biden’s “corrupt actions involving his quid pro quo in Ukraine and his abuse of power by allowing his son, Hunter Biden, to siphon off cash from America’s greatest enemies Russia and China.”

Democrats lost the latest round in the impeachment wars when they failed to get the two-thirds Senate vote they needed. In the process these desperate radicals cheapened and trivialized the impeachment process, which is supposed to be reserved for actual baddies like current Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), a Teflon lawmaker who was impeached by the House in 1988 and convicted and removed from a federal judgeship on corruption charges by the Senate in 1989.

As Democrats geared up for a second Trump impeachment trial about nothing, bad omens abounded.

Hours after he was sworn in January 26 as presiding officer for the trial, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) was rushed to the hospital with a mystery illness. The enfeebled 80-year-old Senate president pro tempore, third in the presidential line of succession after Vice President Kamala Harris (who until last month was herself a U.S. senator) and the extensively surgically modified 80-year-old House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), is best known not for any legislative accomplishments, but for his cameo appearances in the Batman movie franchise.

Also on January 26, 45 Republican senators voted in favor of Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) resolution stating the trial was unconstitutional, a test vote in the 50-50 Senate that strongly suggested there was no chance the Democrats would get the 67 votes they needed to convict Trump.

But after this inauspicious beginning, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) still managed on February 13 to flip several GOP senators who went the other way in the first impeachment trial.

This time, 57 senators –including 7 disloyal Republicans— voted to convict Trump while 43 senators voted to acquit. Because a required supermajority of two-thirds, or 67 votes, was not attained, the charges, ridiculous as they were, failed. Even though it was too late to remove Trump from the presidency, Democrats, terrified of facing the most effective GOP president in generations again at the polls after they rigged the recent election in favor of a dementia sufferer, had hoped to bar Trump from running again, something they could only have accomplished in the event of a conviction.

The 7 turncoats whose accommodations in the ninth circle of hell await are: Richard Burr (North Carolina), Bill Cassidy (Louisiana), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah), Ben Sasse (Nebraska), and Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania). All were swiftly (and appropriately) condemned by grassroots Republicans in their respective home states.

Speaker Pelosi praised the sanctimonious septet for voting “their conscience and for our country.”

She condemned the principled senators who voted to acquit, smearing them as a “cowardly group of Republicans who apparently have no options because they were afraid to defend their job.”

“Senate Republicans’ refusal to hold Trump accountable for igniting a violent insurrection to cling to power will go down as one of the darkest days and most dishonorable acts in our nation's history," she sputtered.

The single article of impeachment, passed by the House of Representatives 232 to 197 (with 10 Republicans in favor) on January 13, alleged that Trump “engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States” by inciting a crowd on January 6 to “interfere with” a joint session of Congress engaged in its “solemn constitutional duty to certify the results of the 2020 Presidential election[.]”

A minor digression: oddly enough, no one seems interested in explaining why on earth Trump would ever want to disrupt the very congressional proceeding that served as his final shot at retaining the presidency if enough Democrat electoral votes could be rejected. The 45th president is many things but a nihilist is not among them. Frightening lawmakers into abandoning their support for challenging electoral votes isn’t the kind of tactic that would ever find its way into a book like Trump: The Art of the Deal.

Anyway, those 10 representatives, who foolishly put their political futures in jeopardy, are, by the way: Adam Kinzinger (Illinois); Liz Cheney (Wyoming); John Katko (New York); Fred Upton (Michigan); Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse (Washington); Peter Meijer (Michigan); Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio); Tom Rice (South Carolina); and David Valadao (California).

A reliable source advises that they have been waitlisted for the ninth circle, behind the 7 senators who have been given seating priority.

The supposed incitement, which the mainstream media piously insists led to an “insurrection” as opposed to a mere “riot,” took the form of Trump telling audience members at the January rally near the White House that “if you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore” after saying “we won this election, and we won it by a landslide.”

Of course, everybody knows that telling supporters to “fight like hell” is a staple of American political rhetoric. If Trump is guilty of incitement then so is every passionate politician in the country.

During the Senate trial, Trump defense lawyer David Schoen played a 9-minute video compilation of Democrats urging supporters to “fight,” “fight back,” “fight hard,” “fight in the streets,” and “fight like hell.”

The Democrats featured in the video using Trump’s exact phrase “fight like hell” were Sens. Jackie Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), along with Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut). Non-senators shown using the phrase include Biden’s new Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough (who was Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff) and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas who ran for the Senate.

“Some of the Democrats shown were senators serving as jurors at the impeachment trial, including New York's Chuck Schumer, New Jersey's Cory Booker, Massachusetts's Elizabeth Warren, Georgia's Raphael Warnock and New York's Kirsten Gillibrand, among others,” Politico reported.

Even Hillary Clinton herself, old Alinskyite that she is, appeared in the video using the word “fight.” Somehow the reworked version of “Fight Song,” which the Hollywood Reporter described as “the Clinton campaign’s unofficial anthem,” didn’t make the cut.

“Every single one of you and every one of you, that's okay,” Schoen said, addressing Democrats. “You didn't do anything wrong. It's a word people use. But please stop the hypocrisy.”

Democrats were not listening.

Trump’s acquittal lawyer Van Vreen leaned on the lying impeachment managers-——indicated they should be penalized.

FYI——The impeachment managers, selected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, laid out the case in the Senate chamber alleging Trump incited his supporters to launch an attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The assault came as lawmakers were working to certify President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. The attack left five dead, including a Capitol Hill police officer. House impeachment managers are expected to rely on lawmakers’ personal experiences during the riots to build the case against Trump.

Summing up, meet the half-wits who handed Pelosi an historic record for House Speakers-—her second consecutive impeachment flop.

<><> Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland will serve as the lead impeachment manager. He is a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform where he also serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. He previously served in the Maryland State Senate and taught constitutional law at American University’s Washington College of Law for more than a quarter century.Raskin also co-wrote the single article of impeachment against Trump. On a personal note, Raskin experienced tragedy at the end of 2020 when his 25-year-old son died by suicide on New Year’s Eve after battling depression.

<><> Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado has served in the House since 1997. She is a member of the Natural Resources Committee as well as the Energy and Commerce Committee. On the latter, she serves as the chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Previously DeGette served in the Colorado State House and was a civil rights attorney. Before the impeachment proceedings got underway, DeGette said the case against the former president is clear. “Here’s a situation where the entire crime is either on video or on social media,” she said, according to the CBS affiliate in Denver.

<><> Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island serves on the Foreign Relations and Judiciary committees, and is chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law. Now in his sixth term, Cicilline was previously a two-term mayor of Providence, his state’s capital, and a public defender in the District of Columbia. Shortly after the attack on the Capitol, Cicilline reported a high volume of threatening calls to his office, according to The Providence Journal.

<><> Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas is in his fifth term in Congress and serves on the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Education and Labor committees. Prior to serving in Congress Castro served five terms in the Texas legislature. The San Antonio Democrat is a second- generation Mexican American who studied at Stanford University and earned his law degree from Harvard Law School.His identical twin brother, Julián Castro, is a former Democratic presidential candidate and previously served as the secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama administration.

<><> Rep. Eric Swalwell of California is a member of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees and is chair of the Subcommittee on Intelligence Modernization and Readiness. He is also an outspoken critic of Trump. Swalwell ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination last cycle. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Maryland and formerly served as a prosecutor in California’s Alameda County District Attorney’s office. Late last year the top leaders of both parties in the House received a briefing from the FBI regarding Swalwell’s ties to a suspected Chinese spy that dates back to 2015. Those allegations led some House Republicans to call for his removal from committee assignments.

<><> Rep. Ted Lieu of California is also a member of the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees and is a former active-duty officer in the U.S. Air Force, where he served as a prosecutor in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He is currently a colonel in the Reserves. The fourth-term congressman also is whip of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and a vice-chair of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. Lieu is reported to have raised the issue of impeaching Trump as the insurrection was still taking place, according to the Los Angeles Times.

<><> Del. Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands sits on the House Ways and Means, Budget and Agriculture committees. The Brooklyn-born Plaskett was a prosecutor in the Bronx District Attorney’s office and served as senior counsel at the U.S. Justice Department. As a non-voting delegate to the House, Plaskett could not vote to impeach Trump, but told The Associated Press that her role as an impeachment manager will resonate for residents of American territories. “Virgin Islanders are always looking for space to be part of this America and try to make it better, even without a vote,” Plaskett said to the AP. “I’m going to make sure that their voice and the voice of people from territories representing four million Americans – Puerto Rico and other places – are actually heard.” She is also was a former student of lead impeachment manager Raskin.

<><> Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania is in her second term in Congress and serves on the Judiciary Committee. Prior to that she served in the Pennsylvania legislature and before that was an attorney in private practice. She also is from the same Pennsylvania county as Bruce Castor, a member of Trump’s defense team. Prior to her career in public service, Dean spent a decade teaching in the English Department at LaSalle University in Philadelphia, according to her congressional biography.

<><> Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado is in his second term and serves on the Natural Resources, Climate Crisis and Judiciary committees. He is also the first African American to be elected to Congress from Colorado. Prior to serving in Congress, Neguse was appointed by former Gov. John Hickenlooper to his Cabinet as executive director of Colorado’s consumer protection agency. At 36, he is the youngest member of the House impeachment manager team.

Summing up, meet the half-wits who handed Pelosi an historic record for House Speakers-—her second consecutive impeachment flop.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland will serve as the lead impeachment manager. He is a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform where he also serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. He previously served in the Maryland State Senate and taught constitutional law at American University’s Washington College of Law for more than a quarter century.Raskin also co-wrote the single article of impeachment against Trump. On a personal note, Raskin experienced tragedy at the end of 2020 when his 25-year-old son died by suicide on New Year’s Eve after battling depression.
Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado has served in the House since 1997. She is a member of the Natural Resources Committee as well as the Energy and Commerce Committee. On the latter, she serves as the chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Previously DeGette served in the Colorado State House and was a civil rights attorney. Before the impeachment proceedings got underway, DeGette said the case against the former president is clear. “Here’s a situation where the entire crime is either on video or on social media,” she said, according to the CBS affiliate in Denver.
Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island serves on the Foreign Relations and Judiciary committees, and is chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law. Now in his sixth term, Cicilline was previously a two-term mayor of Providence, his state’s capital, and a public defender in the District of Columbia. Shortly after the attack on the Capitol, Cicilline reported a high volume of threatening calls to his office, according to The Providence Journal.
Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas is in his fifth term in Congress and serves on the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Education and Labor committees. Prior to serving in Congress Castro served five terms in the Texas legislature. The San Antonio Democrat is a second- generation Mexican American who studied at Stanford University and earned his law degree from Harvard Law School.His identical twin brother, Julián Castro, is a former Democratic presidential candidate and previously served as the secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama administration.
Rep. Eric Swalwell of California is a member of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees and is chair of the Subcommittee on Intelligence Modernization and Readiness. He is also an outspoken critic of Trump. Swalwell ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination last cycle. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Maryland and formerly served as a prosecutor in California’s Alameda County District Attorney’s office. Late last year the top leaders of both parties in the House received a briefing from the FBI regarding Swalwell’s ties to a suspected Chinese spy that dates back to 2015. Those allegations led some House Republicans to call for his removal from committee assignments.
Rep. Ted Lieu of California is also a member of the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees and is a former active-duty officer in the U.S. Air Force, where he served as a prosecutor in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He is currently a colonel in the Reserves. The fourth-term congressman also is whip of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and a vice-chair of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. Lieu is reported to have raised the issue of impeaching Trump as the insurrection was still taking place, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Del. Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands sits on the House Ways and Means, Budget and Agriculture committees. The Brooklyn-born Plaskett was a prosecutor in the Bronx District Attorney’s office and served as senior counsel at the U.S. Justice Department. As a non-voting delegate to the House, Plaskett could not vote to impeach Trump, but told The Associated Press that her role as an impeachment manager will resonate for residents of American territories. “Virgin Islanders are always looking for space to be part of this America and try to make it better, even without a vote,” Plaskett said to the AP. “I’m going to make sure that their voice and the voice of people from territories representing four million Americans – Puerto Rico and other places – are actually heard.” She is also was a former student of lead impeachment manager Raskin.
Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania is in her second term in Congress and serves on the Judiciary Committee. Prior to that she served in the Pennsylvania legislature and before that was an attorney in private practice. She also is from the same Pennsylvania county as Bruce Castor, a member of Trump’s defense team. Prior to her career in public service, Dean spent a decade teaching in the English Department at LaSalle University in Philadelphia, according to her congressional biography.
Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado is in his second term and serves on the Natural Resources, Climate Crisis and Judiciary committees. He is also the first African American to be elected to Congress from Colorado. Prior to serving in Congress, Neguse was appointed by former Gov. John Hickenlooper to his Cabinet as executive director of Colorado’s consumer protection agency. At 36, he is the youngest member of the House impeachment manager team.

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