Gaming Impeachment
https://prospect.org/impeachment/gaming-impeachment/
Gaming Impeachment
Trumps stonewall could pose a problem for some Senate Republicansand provide a protective cover for the Supreme Courts GOP-niks.
by Harold Meyerson
October 10, 2019
How will Republicans in the other branches of the federal government handle President Trumps refusal to allow administration officials to testify to Congress? House Republicans have already made clear theyll hang with the Donaldperhaps in several senses of the word hangas he insists on having his goons (excuse me, Cabinet secretaries) defy their subpoenas. But its not at all clear that Senate Republicans, much less the five Republicans on the Supreme Court, will be able and willing to defer to the Donald in matters this egregious.
If indeed the House impeaches Trump, the Senate will conduct some form of trial, in which House Democrats will be the prosecuting attorneys and will surely call witnesses and demand documents. Should Trump continue to refuse to produce those witnesses and documents, the prosecution will argue that hes defying the Senate. They might appeal to the presiding officer, who will be Chief Justice John Roberts. Of course, Mitch McConnell will likely seek some way to short-circuit all this, perhaps by prevailing on a party-line vote that limits the trial to three minutes, or some equivalently patent evasion. But would the Senate Republicans up for re-election in swing states (Susan Collins, Cory Gardner, Martha McSally, perhaps a few more) and those whove already broken with Trump (Mitt Romney and, well, Mitt Romney) go along with that? Politically, that hardly seems like the smart play.
And suppose the Democrats elect to take Trump to court, either now or sometime later in the process, for his stonewalling, despite the power the Constitution grants the Congress to conduct impeachment proceedings? Can Trump count on the Supreme Courts Republicans to uphold his resistance?
Im not at all sure he can. The Gang of Five (Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh) know that theyre increasingly regarded more as Republicans than judgesand for good reason! Ruling against Trumps withholding of documents and witnessesas Republican Warren Burgers Court ruled, unanimously, against Richard Nixons refusal to hand Congress the tapes that finally did him inwould give todays high-court Republicans an easy way to escape the taint of partisanship, creating more political space for them to issue one nutcase-originalist or gerrymandering-upholding decision after another. What better way for Trump appointees Gorsuch and Kavanaugh to display their ostensible independence? My hunch is that the only Court Republican willing to side with Trump to the bitter end would be Thomas.
And
if the Court ruled that Trump had to comply with Congresss investigation or a Senate trial, what would Collins and Company do then? Even Mitch McConnell might have trouble pulling that rabbit out of a hat.