House Announces Impeachment Inquiry against the President.

[RevolverRob]

I see three possibilities here:

1. Rep. Pelosi has hesitated to impeach because that could put Mike Pence in the driver's seat. Unlike Mr. Trump, he knows how to get things done and he could do infinitely more damage to the causes that she holds dear.
2. If Rep. Pelosi can drop Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence with one shot, then she's the boss, so she might be lining up things that we're not seeing.
3. Rep. Pelosi is third in line for the throne if Mr. Trump goes down, so any impeachment effort that she leads will look like a coup, especially if VP Pence is also implicated and she vaults into the catbird seat. She may want to avoid that--for now.

And so many people thought Hillary was the master politician...


Okie John

This could occur, but it is highly unlikely. In the event that Pence is co-implicated and could actually be impeached, he will likely resign ahead of Trump. This will allow Trump to nominate a new VP that will require approval of both the house and senate, but it is unlikely that the Senate will vote against Trump anyways.

Fortunately, the 25th Amendment allows for the replacement of a VP even mid-office. And confirmation hearings would likely mire Congress for months if not all the way through 2020 - at which point Trump could just pick a new VP running mate.

Then, if Trump is impeached or resigns they are covered. If this were to occur it’s basically Agnew -> Ford -> Nixon -> Ford kind of situation.

That said, we’ve never had a successful presidential impeachment that required a a POTUS to leave office.

I also don’t believe it is possible to bring simultaneous impeachment proceedings against a President and Vice President. Even if the are “co-conspirators”, because of the nature of the crimes that allow impeachment proceedings to be brought.

[GardoneVT]

Trump ain’t goin anywhere. Even if he shot a tourist dead in Times Square at high noon, the Senate would never vote to impeach its own party leader.

[Drang]

Trump ain’t goin anywhere. Even if he shot a tourist dead in Times Square at high noon, the Senate would never vote to impeach its own party leader.

The reason Nixon resigned is that Goldwater marched a contingent of GOP Senators into the Oval Office and told him he was toast. "Resign or be impeached."

That out of the way, since the so-called whistleblower on the Ukraine call apparently was not actually privy to the call itself, it seems unlikely Trump has anything to worry about.

[wvincent]

That out of the way, since the so-called whistleblower on the Ukraine call apparently was not actually privy to the call itself, it seems unlikely Trump has anything to worry about.

Hey buddy, don't facts get in the way of a freaking great narrative okay??!!
The Dem's never do.

You're absolutely correct, they haven't seen the actual complaint, they haven't seen transcripts of the call, BUT, they sure have rallied their base.

Plus, their 2020 Presidential run is a yuuuge dumpster fire at the moment, AND the FISA investigation is set to drop soon, so better do something to grab the spotlight for a bit.

[Joe in PNG]

There's a few tinfoil reasons I can think of why this is going on:

-A power play by Nancy and the old Dem establishment to discredit the young party radicals in order to save the party (or at least their positions in it).

-or-

-Some o' dat 4-D Chess by Trump, by planting a phony story that would entice the Democrats into trying to impeach him, thus saving him from any possible future proceeding no matter what happens.

-or-

-Both, in that Nancy and Trump are working together to maintain the current status quo.

[txdpd]

Have them Dems considered that there might be legitimate legal reason for requesting the inquiry.

The lack of outrage from Joe is telling. He seems to be playing awfully safe for being the innocent victim of the big bad Trump.

[GardoneVT]

The reason Nixon resigned is that Goldwater marched a contingent of GOP Senators into the Oval Office and told him he was toast. "Resign or be impeached."

That out of the way, since the so-called whistleblower on the Ukraine call apparently was not actually privy to the call itself, it seems unlikely Trump has anything to worry about.

By that point Nixon was a PR liability to the GOP and himself. Trump is on the other end of that scale; again, even if he got caught red handed breaking the law his popularity among the GOP base is too valuable.

[Joe in PNG]

By that point Nixon was a PR liability to the GOP and himself. Trump is on the other end of that scale; again, even if he got caught red handed breaking the law his popularity among the GOP base is too valuable.

At that point, the '72 election was also safely over, and McGovern soundly beaten. Watergate gained no traction during that election because a whole lot of people didn't want George as president.

[Totem Polar]

Man, I got nothing on this. Except: Pelosi is in this for Pelosi. 1-D chess. JMO. Feel encouraged to prove me wrong.

[JodyH]

Pelosi and Biden are getting railroaded into retirement by the Young Turks in her party.
I'm starting to think AOC is a Manchurian candidate sent in by Trump to assassinate the Democrat party.