Another Meaningless Impeachment?

It was less than two years ago when House Democrats — under the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and such rabid anti-Trump partisans as Congressmen Jerry Nadler and Adam Schiff – launched the first politically motivated impeachment in the history of America.

It was the first time that Articles of Impeachment were sent to the Senate with full knowledge that there would be no conviction or removal from office. That means that for the first time, impeachment of a President of the United States was being pursued on an absence of compelling evidence.

Democrats knew that there was no chance of President Trump being removed.  They admitted as much.  They boasted of the fact that their intention was to place a bad mark on the Trump legacy.  It was not about high crimes and misdemeanors.  Just political advantage.

The evidence against Trump at the time was so weak that there was zero chance he would be convicted by the Senate and removed from office.

By political weaponizing impeachment, Pelosi & Company lowered the bar – degraded the entire impeachment process.  And now they want to do it again – and this time it is even worse.

Pelosi has announced that the House will take up an impeachment vote in a matter of days.  By any measure, that means a rush-to-judgment in a kangaroo court.  Whatever you might think of Trump’s culpability in the rioting that took place on Capitol Hill, there is just no time for a proper investigation, the hearing of witnesses and the consideration of evidence.

There is no allowance for time to have Trump mount a defense through Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee.  This is as close to vigilante justice as one can get within the powers of Congress.

It is also very unlikely that the Senate would vote without some level of hearings.  To do otherwise would be a dereliction of duty of the first order.  Senate Majority Leader McConnell has made the entire charade as moot by scheduling the “trail” by the Senate to commence at 1:00 p.m. on January 20^th – one hour after President-elect Biden assumes office.

The sole purpose of any 11^th-hour impeachment is to put another black mark on Trump’s legacy.  We know that because Democrat House Majority Whip James Clyburn said as much in a television interview.  He said the effort is worthwhile because it would give Trump a second impeachment – the first President ever to receive two such indictments.

Some Democrats see an impeachment as the means to prevent Trump from running in 2024

The Articles contain a section that would ban Trump from ever holding any federal office in the future.  But that happens only if there is a conviction – and that is not likely.

It surprises me that President-elect Biden has not told Pelosi that it is a bad idea.  Obviously, another impeachment attempt would suck all the oxygen out of the political reporting up to Inauguration Day.

Biden’s political appointments and policy decisions – his own messaging — would be swept under the media rug by another impeachment effort.  He has already seen how the Issues surrounding January 6^th – the objection to electors by members of Congress and the rioting at the Capitol – have buried one of the Democrats’ major stories – the election of two senators in Georgia and the taking of control of the Senate.  For the same reason, very few in the public are aware of Biden’s pick of Judge Merrick Garland as his Attorney General.

It would also open Democrats to playing political games – distracting from the management of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

They would be wasting time for nothing when they have critical matters to address in terms of preparing for the transition.

There will also be a bit of a negative backlash among the public.  The move is really a concession to the left-wing radicals in Pelosi’s caucus.  The move would further irritate Trump voters. This would make any effort at unifying the nation that much more difficult for the new President. And many others might see it as tackling a guy after the whistle blew.

The motivation for such an impeachment is not merit-based.  It is not even good politics.  It is the result of a venal obsessive hatred for Trump … period.  It is a destructive effort that changes nothing other than a footnote in the historic record.

So, there ‘tis.