Posted on 01/10/2022 4:20:26 AM PST by Kaslin
Sen. Ted Cruz created angst among Democrats when he kicked off the new year saying if Republicans recapture the House, resident Joe Biden could be impeached based on the standard Democrats established themselves. “The Democrats weaponized impeachment,” the Texas senator said.
The central warning in “Abuse of Power,” was that applying impeachment without a demonstrable crime, the political equivalent of the death penalty, and nullifying an election should not occur—nor should the attempt thereof even if there is no chance of a Senate conviction.
“The more you weaponize it and turn it into a partisan cudgel, you know, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” Cruz said on his podcast, The Verdict. He added, “That's not how impeachment is meant to work. But I think the Democrats crossed that line. I think there'll be enormous pressure on a Republican House to begin impeachment proceedings.”
Democrats certainly lowered the high crimes and misdemeanors bar in its vindictive 2019 impeachment of President Donald Trump over the Ukraine phone call. Unable to figure out even a theoretical criminal charge, Democrats settled on the vague articles of “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress,” neither found in statute and both of which almost any president could be accused. The second Trump impeachment, over the Jan. 6 riot, did not suffer the same fatal flaw, as it alleged the crime of incitement.
Cruz said there would be grounds to bring charges against Biden and, “Probably the most compelling is the utter lawlessness of President Biden's refusal to enforce the border.”
The border does pose a somewhat interesting question, as there is a tie-in to an obscure budgetary process law.
After the House Democrats voted to impeach Trump, the Government Accountability Office issued an opinion that said Trump violated the Impoundment Control Act by not releasing the congressionally-appropriated aid to Ukraine sooner. The 1974 law provides the executive branch only narrow and limited discretion in spending money appropriated by Congress and signed into law by the president in the budgetary process.
Here’s why this is relevant to Biden and the border. Last year, 40 Senate Republicans signed a letter asking the GAO to investigate whether Biden violated the same law for halting construction of the southern border wall. The letter included leader Mitch McConnell, conservatives like Cruz, as well as Sens. Susan Collins and Mitt Romney. They didn't broach impeachment. But notably, the only law Trump was ever credibly accused of violating in the Ukraine matter was the impoundment law. Importantly the GAO reviewed the matter and determined Biden didn’t violate this law, but the GAO can only issue opinions, not adjudicate matters—and Republican senators disagreed with the conclusion.
Even if Biden had violated it, as Sen. Mike Lee, a constitutional scholar, said in an interview for my book, “Violation of the Impoundment Control Act is to government operations what accidentally removing a do-not-remove tag from a mattress or failing to signal three seconds before making a turn.”
But under the newly created standard from Democrats, as Cruz noted, this might not matter. If a House majority simply wants to tar the president of another party with the scarlet I, it will do so, even if it’s not for a serious constitutional threat nor there is any chance of removal by the Senate.
As “Abuse of Power” argues, stipulations for impeachment should be: “1) That a president either clearly engaged in criminal conduct; 2) Short of violating a statutory crime, a president committed an act that poses a threat to constitutional government; or 3) A technically legal act that poses no threat to the government but makes a president unfit for the office beyond the pale of what past presidents have done—the most dangerous and arbitrary of the three.”
It might well be that those are in place under a Biden presidency and Republican House at some point. But if not, a revenge impeachment for a petty charge comparable to the Ukraine call would be unfortunate.
I’ve heard a sensible argument that the only way to prevent Democrats from weaponizing impeachment against the next Republican president is to play their game. However, it seems extremely unlikely that would stop them.
Rather, impeachment—a vehicle the founders believed necessary to protect the republic—would be so cheapened that a scarlet I would no longer have any sting, and voters would come to expect it as a ping pong between parties.
Cruz who?
the GOP will do NOTHING except what they always do:
Sell out their voters
to the CCP, NWO, DNC,
and whomever else they can.
DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH waiting for the GOP do anything
for this country.
I would argue that when you get the house and senate you establish committees or a joint committee to hold full blown hearings into Russia Gate, Impeachgate, and election fraud.
Oh and a separate committee on how the CHICOMS are subverting the Western World.
You won’t convict Biden in the Senate and so stop empty theater and do something useful. And that means you you wanna be RINO, Ted. You are a better person than that. Man up.
Of course. It’s not even worth placing the bet on them selling out. After the house takes their cut you get $1.80 on your $2.
There will not be enough Dem Assistants to impeach
I’ll just mention that Trump was certainly impeached over nothing at all. They didn’t need a crime, they just didn’t like him. This article hints that the same situation could apply to Biden.
Well, yeah. But, on the other hand, I just bet you could find an actual crime associated with the Biden family. You could probably impeach him over actual high crimes and misdemeanors just like you are supposed to. And it would be a shame if the end result were a [shrug] and a simple “Yeah, they just didn’t like him” equivalency.
They didn’t need a crime, they just didn’t like him.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
And it is curious that Trump attracted only partisan ire for the most part.
But Biden? He will be hated by bothe Republicans AND Democrats of the Blue Dog variety. You can see it coming.
So Biden’s impeachment will be bipartisan as opposed to that of Trump.
Nancy Pelosi tearing up the SOTU speech document behind Trump earns her the greatest accolade of censorship in US history. I would have applauded if Trump had turned around and pissed on her, but on Jan 6th, the patriots there made sure one of them actually sh*t on her desk..Let the caning commence.
Biden will soon be more reviled as Garland attempts to criminalize innocent Americans and make ballot harvesting legal despite state laws..
So this is how they decide to play now? This is actually what Cruz believes the people want?
I’d just like to see an honest election where I’m confident my vote meant something and where if fraud was discovered it was earnestly prosecuted. Would solve far more issues for a lot less tax payer money.
I thinking farting for the Duchess in public is *at minimum* a misdemeanor. If Biden went for the finger pull, it would be a high crime.
How about getting to the bottom of Wuhan, with The Bat Lady, Ralph Baric, Peter Dazak, Francis Collins and Fauci with a full what did you know/When did you know it, under oath, crimal cross examination focused on circumventing US law on GOF research and hiding the origins of CV-19.
If you want to bring the country together, Ted, give them a common, real, enemy.
Lol . Such a head fake. How about you go after him on the illegal imprisonments of Americans who have been detained for over a year and some in solitary confinement.
You know, Cruz....oh yeah that’s right...you called them terrorists.
My my how Mr. Cruz has been trying so hard to avoid the subject and actual activity on their behalf by giving talking points on ways a new Congress can waste time and money.
And when I say “you” I’m talking to Cruz and not the poster.
I disagree.
While Russia Gate, Impeachgate and election fraud are very important, the MOST important issue is reigning in the CIA,FBI and NSA.
They have become weaponized agents of the deep state and no longer protect and serve the American citizens.
Either the complete destruction or the verifiable restructuring of those agencies should be the most important issue taken up by the next congress.
And, don’t forget the FBI investigating and releasing tax returns of Conservatives coordinated with the DOJ. And, the weaponization of the DOJ and the FBI against Republicans.
I agree. I would have thought that was part of the story I had indicated. But it is bigger because all of it involves the political corruption of our agencies. And this is a left/right issue because the left discovered that while they cannot control the country by winning election they can control it by politicizing the agencies. The right doesn't care. Either they think the agencies are irrelevant - so who cares who mans them - or they are corrupt RINOs who don't actually care about anything except lining their own pockets while enjoying the good life and not working much.
In a “Payback” impeachment of Brandon,Republicians could probably quote the Democrat’s nonspecific charges verbatim after they select a new nonspecific offense they believed Brandon violated.
No it wouldn't. In fact, it not only would not be "unfortunate", it is positively necessary.
I’ve heard a sensible argument that the only way to prevent Democrats from weaponizing impeachment against the next Republican president is to play their game. However, it seems extremely unlikely that would stop them.
Its not about stopping them. They've already done it and at any rate, they are ideologues who cannot be reasoned with.
Rather, impeachment—a vehicle the founders believed necessary to protect the republic—would be so cheapened that a scarlet I would no longer have any sting, and voters would come to expect it as a ping pong between parties.
Stop with the "would be" language. IT ALREADY HAS BEEN. Its done now. The point is not deterrence. The point is to demonstrate to the American people that Impeachment is now nothing more than a political maneuver. There is zero legitimacy to it just as there was zero legitimacy to the Democrats' two impeachments of President Trump. When the Democrats' propaganda arm the Corporate Media inevitably complains about it, this will be another opportunity further discredit them by rubbing their noses in their massive hypocrisy by pointing out they had no problem with it when their side was doing it.
This is no holds barred, partisan trench warfare. There are no rules. There is no mercy. Fight to win at all costs. The Left is already doing so.
Who cares about a conviction of the pervert Biden. He needs to be made to SUFFER! Dirty up the entire democrat party. The party of lies. The point is that there are numerous things pervert Biden should be impeached for. Demand justice! The president is destroying the country and needs to be impeached. You need to man up yourself Andy.
There haven’t been hardly any Blue Dog Democrats since the first Obama administration. Rahm Emmanuel effectively twisted their arms and got them to vote for the most hard left radical socialist BS pushed by Obama. At that point, they died and were crushed in the next election. It was precisely the Blue Dogs and not the open and avowed hardcore Leftists in safe blue chitholes who got slaughtered at the polls.
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