The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    Impeachment related news and analysis

    By artappraiser on Tue, 01/26/2021 - 1:52am |

    From Ryan Goodman Former Special Counsel @DeptofDefense Co-editor-in-chief @just_security; Chaired Professor NYU Law; Former Chaired Professor Harvard Law; Co-director @RCLS_NYU

    Comments

    1st 2 impeachment witnesses speak ;-)


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 01/26/2021 - 3:17am

    Full Just Security story with 10 min video

    https://www.justsecurity.org/74335/fight-for-trump-video-evidence-of-inc...


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 01/26/2021 - 3:19am

    The lone five Republicans who voted with Democrats: Romney, Sasse, Collins, Murkowski and Toomey https://t.co/QEipHJEloJ

    — Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 26, 2021

     


    by artappraiser on Tue, 01/26/2021 - 5:58pm


    by artappraiser on Tue, 01/26/2021 - 6:13pm


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 01/27/2021 - 4:40am

    Mostly but not entirely. More damning evidence may emerge that would make a no vote more difficult. And some of those saying it is unconstitutional could stay away from the vote, making the 2/3rds threshold lower.

    — Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) January 26, 2021

     


    by artappraiser on Tue, 01/26/2021 - 7:13pm

    If the GOP Senators declare that the process is not "constitutional", refusing to participate would be a censure of the House putting forth the articles in the first place. I can't find the place in the Constitution where such a censure is a thing. That absurdity is especially absurd after being sworn in as a jury. If they had an ounce of courage, refusing to participate would have forbade them from taking the oath.


    by moat on Tue, 01/26/2021 - 8:19pm

    Of course that's largely what they did last time, took the oath and abandoned duty to do the job seriously and faithfully.


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 01/27/2021 - 1:56am

    Since the GOP has checked out on the whole process, I would like to see the other half ram this through as quickly as possible. They have jobs cleaning up the mess left by the previous administration that require immediate attention.

    Keep the rhetoric short and push the evidence in hand. When the quislings start to prevaricate, demand a vote. One and done.


    by moat on Wed, 01/27/2021 - 9:01pm


    by artappraiser on Wed, 01/27/2021 - 10:34pm

    Bipartisan Senate duo crafts censure resolution that seeks to bar Trump from office

    The senators say censuring Trump is optimal given GOP objections to impeachment.

    By Trish Turner and Allison Pecorin Today, 5:44 PM EST @ ABCNews.com

    [....] Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, are crafting a resolution to censure Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 riot that left five dead, including a Capitol police officer. But it is not just any censure resolution. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told reporters Tuesday that what Kaine and Collins are looking to do is “include the elements of the 14th Amendment that lead to disqualification from future office."

    "That's intriguing to me and something I'm willing to look at. The bottom line here is we have to deliver accountability for the events of January 6,” Coons said.

    That accountability -- through an impeachment trial, and a vote afterward to disqualify Trump from holding future office -- looked far less likely on Monday after 45 Republicans voted for a measure claiming that such a proceeding against a former president would be unconstitutional. Just five Republicans -- including Collins -- joined with Democrats in opposing the declaration, far short of the 67 votes needed to convict the president of “incitement of insurrection,” the charge in the House impeachment article.

    Censure resolutions against presidents do not have the force of law but are a strong reprimand from one or both houses of Congress. It is unclear, however, what the possible inclusion of language from Section 3 of the 14th Amendment might mean [....]


    by artappraiser on Wed, 01/27/2021 - 11:39pm

    Cool, telling the weirdly paranoid disenfranchised that their leader is unwanted and disapproved of will do a heckuva lot of good. I bet Trump will even learn from that - Susan Collins may even sign in. BTW, the Bundy's are back.


    by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 01/28/2021 - 1:29am


    by artappraiser on Thu, 01/28/2021 - 5:40pm

    McCarthy Error? MSNBC rickrolled, impeachment edition
    (no one knows what goes on behind closed doors)


    by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 01/29/2021 - 5:59am

    Deep State? 1yr probation 

    Between the anger of the judge remanding the Pelosi squatter, and the resistance of the judge to overhyping the mistake Clinesmith made, the legal world ilseems to be returning to sanity.

    Whether Congress follows suit is different story... But the impeachment evidence sure is gathering up.


    by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 01/29/2021 - 12:56pm

    In De-Nile? Or planning another raid? Or yugest genius gonna do a D.I.Y.?


    by artappraiser on Sat, 01/30/2021 - 9:19pm

    Dersh? Turley? Judge Jeanine? Avenatti?

    Meanwhile, here are the scheduled events for Jan 6.

    Only thing missing is "Wild River" (prolly too cold?) and chopping/dismembering exhibit.

    Why won't anyone defend Donnie? He gave so much to us, and for *no pay*!!!


    by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 01/31/2021 - 2:16am

    Maggie says the latest is D.I.Y., believe it or not:


    by artappraiser on Sun, 01/31/2021 - 4:08am

    Perjury trap?


    by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 01/31/2021 - 5:12am


    by artappraiser on Sun, 01/31/2021 - 2:36pm

    Fake press reported it as being last.


    by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 01/31/2021 - 2:42pm

    lessee if they really got the stamina for abuse, how long will they last?


    by artappraiser on Sun, 01/31/2021 - 6:19pm

    This team?

     


    by ocean-kat on Sun, 01/31/2021 - 6:26pm

    now I am really confused, are these not relations of an infamous Dagblog member? surprise


    by artappraiser on Sun, 01/31/2021 - 6:34pm

    He's got the law firm of Howard, Fine and Howard to work with, but with that Tom Cruz senator fella on his side, I'm betting on A Few Good Men repeat.


    by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 01/31/2021 - 11:26pm


    by artappraiser on Sun, 01/31/2021 - 9:22pm

    I think Omar is seeing the answer to "why do it?"


    by artappraiser on Sun, 01/31/2021 - 7:04pm

    now I see Wasow's been thinking on this for several days, where it fits in our history and how we operate, and including the possible remedies:

     


    by artappraiser on Sun, 01/31/2021 - 7:12pm

    NYTimes gathers a team of 7 for the job of being the main prosecutors as the House is busy with other stuff and can't do a fancy job:

    77 Days: Trump’s Campaign to Subvert the Election

    Hours after the United States voted, the president declared the election a fraud — a lie that unleashed a movement that would shatter democratic norms and upend the peaceful transfer of power.

    By Jim Rutenberg, Jo Becker, Eric Lipton, Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Martin, Matthew Rosenberg and Michael S. Schmidt @ NYTimes.com, Jan. 31, 202, Updated 7:46 p.m. ET

    ​


    by artappraiser on Sun, 01/31/2021 - 7:46pm


    by artappraiser on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 5:04am


    by artappraiser on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 5:07am

    Dems screw up 2nd impeachment?

    (long thread)


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 12:37pm


    by artappraiser on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 1:37pm


    by artappraiser on Wed, 02/03/2021 - 2:06am


    by artappraiser on Wed, 02/03/2021 - 4:02am


    by artappraiser on Wed, 02/03/2021 - 9:07pm

    If that was done to cover GOP rear ends, I think it would backfire. The Trumpsters would lap up the conspiratorial feast of wondering who the traitors were.


    by moat on Wed, 02/03/2021 - 9:56pm

    daring him to appear in person:


    by artappraiser on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 3:20pm

    Taunting like it ought to be.


    by moat on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 4:21pm

    now this is quite the intriguing angle on it, especially given the cult's effect on our society:


    by artappraiser on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 10:52pm

    Republican Accountability Project is doing an ad campaign to convict Trump in the home states of 22 Republican senators:

    Republican senators must do the right thing and vote to convict Trump for inciting the attack on the Capitol, and to disqualify him from holding future office.

    Some coverage of our $500k ad campaign in the home states of 22 Republican senators pic.twitter.com/cvxpZhVt2k

    — The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) February 5, 2021

    by artappraiser on Fri, 02/05/2021 - 5:23pm

    Cheney/Chris Wallace must-watch


    by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 02/07/2021 - 8:46pm

    Stop the Football Steal, Trump edition (longer thread)


    by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 02/08/2021 - 9:32am

    Biden definitely staying out of it:


    by artappraiser on Mon, 02/08/2021 - 12:55pm

    Frankly it's a matter for Congress - would be unseemly and counterproductive to get involved.


    by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 02/08/2021 - 2:48pm

    I'm certainly happy with the decision.


    by artappraiser on Mon, 02/08/2021 - 3:03pm

    If you click through you will see that they found online evidence that this particular Boogaloo was sympathetic to BLM causes. This guy claims he did not take part in storming the Capitol though.

    But overall, what this shows is defense intent to find examples of the silly stuff that we have heard on on Fox News, et. al. that  what they call "antifa" infiltrators caused all the agitation to violence, that it wasn't Trump's words that inspired violence:


    by artappraiser on Mon, 02/08/2021 - 7:40pm

    a reminder that impeachment is not necessarily about criminal behavior or speech:


    by artappraiser on Mon, 02/08/2021 - 9:20pm


    by artappraiser on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 12:21am

    Rep. Adam Kinzinger op-ed @ WaPo: My fellow Republicans, convicting Trump is necessary to save America, Feb. 8

    Winston Churchill famously said, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” All Americans, but especially my fellow Republicans, should remember this wisdom during the Senate’s trial of former president Donald Trump.

    I say this as a lifelong Republican who voted to impeach Trump last month. Virtually all my colleagues on the right side of the aisle took the opposite path. Most felt it was a waste of time — political theater that distracted from bigger issues. The overwhelming majority of Senate Republicans appear to feel the same way about conviction.

    But this isn’t a waste of time. It’s a matter of accountability. If the GOP doesn’t take a stand, the chaos of the past few months, and the past four years, could quickly return. The future of our party and our country depends on confronting what happened — so it doesn’t happen again.

    The immediate cause for Trump’s impeachment was Jan. 6. But the president’s rally and resulting riot on Capitol Hill didn’t come out of nowhere. They were the result of four-plus years of anger, outrage and outright lies. Perhaps the most dangerous lie — or at least the most recent — was that the election was stolen. Of course it wasn’t, but a huge number of Republican leaders encouraged the belief that it was. Every time that lie was repeated, the riots of Jan. 6 became more likely.

    Even now, many Republicans refuse to admit what happened. They continue to feed anger and resentment among the people. On Jan. 6, that fury led to the murder of a Capitol Police officer and the deaths of four other Americans. If that rage is still building, where does it go from here?

    Impeachment offers a chance to say enough is enough. It ought to force every American, regardless of party affiliation, to remember not only what happened on Jan. 6, but also the path that led there. After all, the situation could get much, much worse — with more violence and more division that cannot be overcome. The further down this road we go, the closer we come to the end of America as we know it [....]


    by artappraiser on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 12:52am


    by artappraiser on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 1:16am


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 2:28am

    Hang my client, please? Anyone understand what the heck he is going after here, I haven't been following it at all until now.


    by artappraiser on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 4:41pm

    comments on overall Castor performance from some who did watch--guess the Business Insider headline was just a minor part of the shtick:

     


    by artappraiser on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 5:09pm

    ah, yes, historical revisionism, makes perfect sense now, synchs totally with his being the first Post Modern president, what they are doing is making up a new story for the history books:


    by artappraiser on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 5:26pm

    Longer JustSecurity timeline

    https://www.justsecurity.org/74622/stopthesteal-timeline-of-social-media...


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 10:53am

    Good one:


    by artappraiser on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 12:10pm

    Republicans want to ride Trump into the next election - they're scared of him and his true believers. Punish? They want to exalt.


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 12:18pm

    Yes, but, the tweet really made me think: Twitter just cut him off because of certain very specific behavior. He's still there, he can talk to the media, he can still do other political things. That if they were smart, there are ways they can agree with certain parts of what appealed about him to followers while punishing behavior. That they are selling out a whole political party for the skills of a narcissist demagogue.If you look at it from the perspective of a Lincoln Project member, it just seems lazy and crazy, as if they had no one else who can appeal to all these voters. When they started out in 2016, all hating him and they just let him take over! 


    by artappraiser on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 12:37pm

    P.S. Romney is such a good comparison. He just shrugs it off when he has some Trumpie hecklers at the airport, he has confidence in self and that his constituents mostly trust him to take care of them. It's really just insane to cower in fear of Trump if you have any self-confidence, he's just a man, not a god. And Senators need to stop thinking like House members.


    by artappraiser on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 12:43pm

    I think the intimidation is physical - one of these nuts can come out anywhere, and it could get quite worse. It's kind of amazing it hasn't get 10-15,000 nuts together..


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 1:02pm

    True, but this whole thing is how you stop that! The founders gave them the same power that Jack Dorsey has. It's: are you a mouse or a man? You want to live like this for the rest of your career? There's 50 of you and one of him, for chrissakes. You want to live in a civilization or a jungle? RULE OF LAW.  Start sending the message: rule of law for everyone, "lock em up" if they don't agree.


    by artappraiser on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 1:14pm

    powerful righteous men, not meese:


    by artappraiser on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 1:16pm

    Maybe can hire Pussy Riot to give seminars in being ballsy.


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 1:20pm

    Interesting fine point on populist demagoguery I just ran across here, just reiterates for me why we have a Senate in the founders design, that's what they are there for, that's their main raison d'etre, to counteract when this happens, the House is for the rabble and they are supposed to be the elite grownups who keep it from spinning out of control when some of "the masses" go off the rails

    One small data point I didn't include in my @monthly voting rights deep dive https://t.co/cwI96qDEje

    What's the greatest example of same-day registration upending an election?

    Answer: Jesse Ventura's '98 MN Gov win

    ...

    — Bill Scher (@billscher) February 10, 2021

    ...the former wrestler won with a 37% plurality thanks to young wrestling fans taking advantage of same-day registration.

    An estimated 70% of Ventura's vote came from same-day registrants https://t.co/LOz2IWyqAG

    ...

    — Bill Scher (@billscher) February 10, 2021

    ...Ventura ran on a third-party ticket and was not easy to peg ideologically (radical centrist/anti-establishment is how I'd put it). But same-day registration allowed non-voters captivated by a charismatic figure to determine the outcome.

    In other words...

    — Bill Scher (@billscher) February 10, 2021

    We don't have a "one man, one vote" simple democracy where demagogues can rule the day, we have a republic....

    ‘A republic, if you can keep it’: Did Ben Franklin really say Impeachment Day’s favorite quote?

    Here’s the history behind the quote.

     

     


    by artappraiser on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 1:43pm

    A few to many "theys" but assume you mean the GOP mostly. But I don't think they want to punish anything. Any behavior by Repubs is fine as long as it's owning or shocking the libs. There's simply not a lot of principle left - i guess passing certain legislation or appointing more judges, but does that really get them across the River Jordan, and is that a real goal, or simply a well-worn prop they don't take theologically/literally? I mean, do they really think Jesus is pro-2nd Amendment and Reagan would be happy with Trump deficit/debt?


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 12:59pm

    Twitter to uphold permanent ban on Trump, even if running for office


    by artappraiser on Thu, 02/11/2021 - 1:28am

    very talented retired veteran reporter of war and foreign civil unrest still worrying about "the troops":

     


    by artappraiser on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 7:18pm


    by artappraiser on Thu, 02/11/2021 - 3:05am


    by artappraiser on Thu, 02/11/2021 - 11:40pm