I don't understand all the calls for impeachment.

[RocRizzo55]

Don't these people realize that impeachment will go nowhere. There would be no chance of prosecution with Moscow Mitch in charge.

Therefore, I feel that it would be better to charge him with all of his crimes at 12:01 on 21 January. That way there could be a proper trial by the courts, not by his lackeys in the Senate, and he could be charged with his many offenses since he took office. Granted, he would spend a lot of time in the courts, but many of the charges will stick, resulting in jail time. He could end up in prison for the rest of his life if we are lucky.

I am certain that New York State will apprehend him shortly after he is out of office, and proceed to try him for his crimes in New York. Will other states join in? It would do well to serve justice.

Then there are the more than 350,000 counts of negligent homicide that he should answer to, but I will not harp on that one.

He needs to go to jail for the rest of his life, and this can only be accomplished in the courts.

So, forget impeachment, get him when he is out of office.

[soothsayer]

1. Ties him up, forces people to take a stand for or against

I wouldn’t mind it.

[Zoonart]

5. Plus he would be banned from running again for ANY office.

[Celerity]

25. That is only if he is convicted in the Senate and THEN barred via a 2nd vote in the Senate, albeit

Trump can be convicted and removed and still not barred from holding future office, unless a simple majority voted to bar him via that 2nd vote (I assume they WOULD do so, for if they do not he would surely try and run in 2024 if for no other reason than red, raw revenge).

Alcee Hastings (when he was a Federal Judge) was impeached, convicted, and removed, but was not barred, and now has been a US House Rep from Florida for what will be 30 years. He is 84yo, so no idea how many more times he runs for re-election.

[rzemanfl]

30. Thank you for posting this. I had forgotten. n/t

[SheltieLover]

22. Right!

I'd love it!

And many perceive silence as condoning an act.

[StarfishSaver]

39. How does it tie him up?

He doesn't need to do anything in an impeachment proceeding

[soothsayer]

54. It weighs on him mentally

It did last time, I’m sure of it. Preoccupies him.

[StarfishSaver]

58. Yeah. That's gonna make a difference

[soothsayer]

61. I guess I just like anything that assaults his ego

But in reality I guess nothing can

[dware]

47. How does it "tie him up"? nt

[Irish_Dem]

2. I agree, impeachment now is a waste of time and money.

The money is better spent helping the American people.
Start legal action right after the inauguration.

[Firestorm49]

21. I agree with you, but it would be a good thing to let him live with the fact.....

that he was the only President to be twice impeached. I must sound childish, but I hate him enough to relish in seeing the worm squirm.

[Irish_Dem]

24. Right, would be nice to see him squirm about that.

But also nice to see the him hit with a ton of legal bricks on Jan 20th.

[Iwasthere]

3. Stop him 100% from having the ability to run for office

... which in turn would curb his grifting and his cult for the next 4 years, he wouldn't have a 2024 run possibility.

[RocRizzo55]

9. Do you think that

he would run from prison? Somehow, I don't think that he would get the votes from there. He's no Eugene Debs, for cryin' out loud!

[DonViejo]

20. He's not going to jail or prison. He might face some charges in a court of law but, even if found...

guilty, he will spend no time locked up. He might face a huge monetary fine and maybe be placed under house arrest but jail/prison is not in his future. Besides, he and his lawyers will drag out any court case until he gets his great reward in hell.

[Irish_Dem]

26. I agree, I would be surprised if he actually serves jail time. nt

[DonViejo]

29. His worst punishment would probably be a big $$$ fine and house arrest

[Irish_Dem]

37. I even doubt the house arrest, but agree about a big $$$$ fine. nt

[panader0]

55. Not much good to fine him either. He's already 500 mil to 1B in debt.

He could never pay.

[DonViejo]

59. Sell all of his real estate holdings

[StarfishSaver]

42. No, it wouldn't

An impeached president can be barred from running again ONLY if convicted and removed by the Senate on a 2/3 vote AND if the Senate votes - again with a 2/3 majority - to ban him from holding office in the future. That's not going to happen.

[dware]

48. ...

Stop him 100% from having the ability to run for office

Except that's 100% false.

[LisaL]

4. Moscow Mitch might not remain in charge for long.

Of course any impeachment has to be done before 21st, so that won't help. I still don't mind if Trump gets impeached again.

[Thomas Hurt]

6. Not sure the House could prepare and schedule impeachment hearings and vote in 20 days...

in the first place, even if you do it, just to do it on principle.

House committees must investigate and expose to the public Trump's bad acts though.

Impeachment just isn't the right way to go about it IMO.

[Botany]

7. Do it now open and shut case and then make the republican senators defend the indefensible

They have him on tape committing crimes.

[Karadeniz]

8. How many presidents have been impeached twice...so it's for the history books. Also, if by chance

The Senate convicted the criminal, he'd never again be able to hold a public office.

[dware]

35. That's not true.

There would have to be a second vote to bar him from ever holding Fed. office again.
And an Impeachment trial is not a criminal trial.

[tinrobot]

10. I tend to agree, but there could be an upside for McConnell

I seriously doubt McConnell enjoys having Trump around. A successful impeachment could be a good power play for McConnell. He'd dispense with Trump's attempts at a 2024 run and neuter his ability to control the party. McConnell would then become the presumed head of the party.

Of course, the party could fracture, so that's the downside.

[Irish_Dem]

28. McConnell is seeing his coalition fracture right now in front of his eyes.

Does he want to add fuel to that fire?
That is the downside.

And I also agree that McConnell wants Trump gone in the worst way.
But he will have to find another way to do that.

And yes McConnell wants to be the undisputed head of the GOP.

[tinrobot]

32. With chaos comes opportunity.

That fracture could cut both ways. It could either drag the party even further towards the abyss, or it could swing back.

If McConnell can find the votes to hit 2/3, he's suddenly the alpha male. And with a 6 year term, he'll be hard to topple. He could trumpet it as being for the 'good of the country' and redeem himself with the middle to some degree. The seditious senators would probably come back into the fold as well.

But you're right in that it probably won't happen.

[Irish_Dem]

50. It's headed for the abyss. The seditious senators won't roll back so easily.

I think McConnell may be having a few sleepless nights, wondering if he is going to lose control of the senate and his coalition. He must be making plans to get the 2/3 votes as you say to retain his alpha male status.

[Rorey]

11. We can multitask

As someone explained on Morning Joe this morning, another impeachment puts another black mark on his legacy. Has any other president been impeached TWICE???

The thing is, when somebody does something wrong, it should be noted. When the wrongdoings are as egregious as those of Donald J. Trump, there should be a HUGE spotlight shone on it. Even if there are no consequences, such as removal, another impeachment by the House sends the message that we WILL acknowlege the criminal behavior. WE won't excuse it. Just because the Senate won't do the right thing (again), doesn't mean the House shouldn't.

Anyway, that's how I see it.

[dubyadiprecession]

12. If anything, that kind of a headline will drive trump crazy...

Not that he doesn’t know how to get there on his own!

[Towlie]

13. Actually he could be busted Wednesday afternoon. Better to not let him slither away in the darkness.

 
?

[berni_mccoy]

14. Because it's the right thing to do. Because you need to send a damn message

That the President can be held accountable.

Even if he’s not convicted, you must perform the Constitutional requirement of holding a derelict President accountable.

[jobendorfer]

15. there is at least one reason

With respect to all who are questioning the utility of impeachment, I can think of one argument *for* impeachment.
If Trump is impeached by the house on a charge of interfering with an election / threatening an election official, then he cannot be pardoned for that act. Charges leveled by impeachment are exempt from federal pardons.

John

[tinrobot]

33. Can't pardon for impeachment? Good insight. I like that a lot.

Does that mean the orange turd can still be prosecuted for the Ukraine mess?

[stillcool]

16. there are no certainties...

especially with the GOP, Trump, and the in-Justice system.. I would welcome the official airing of every wrong-headed thing he's done.

[NoRoadUntravelled]

17. Of course this assumes there is no more damage left for him to do between today and Jan 20.

Perhaps too many still underestimate his desperation and depravity under the watch of his Russian boss.

[Demsrule86]

45. And impeachment does not remove him from office...he gone in just over two weeks...we have

to stay the course.

[servermsh]

18. Impeachment is the only thing that could make him ineligible to be President again

So I support the impeachment process, even after January 20th.

[sfstaxprep]

23. WRONG!

Conviction is the only thing that would make him ineligible.

There is NO scenario where 2/3rds of the Senate would vote to convict.

[dware]

36. Even a conviction and removal by the Senate will not bar him from

holding office again, there would have to be a second vote by the Senate to bar him from ever holding office again.

[Demsrule86]

38. If that is the case he would already be ineligible...he was impeached...but not convicted and

he would not be convicted this time either.

[dware]

43. ...

Impeachment is the only thing that could make him ineligible to be President again

100% false information.

[FSogol]

49. Where does this idea come from? I see people promoting in on many forums today. It isn't true.

[Timewas]

19. Just Because

It is the right thing to do regardless of the outcome...

[Demsrule86]

40. NO and NO. Nothing should ever be done without considering the political ramifications.

We need to win elections. We have a very tough one coming up in 2022.

[BadgerKid]

27. I bet some feel impeaching sedition is more essential than impeaching over Ukraine

[Demsrule86]

44. He is gone in 16 days...don't care what 'some' feel. It would not be a good idea

[mopinko]

31. i support it, cuz it goes in the history books.

[Demsrule86]

46. My favorite thing for the history books is...Biden has a great presidency, we win 2022 and

2024 (unprecedented) and Trump dies of natural causes (big macs). He will be gone and impeachment would be foolish.

[OLDMDDEM]

34. It won't work

If there is a trial by jury, how many cult members would be picked on a jury? He won't go to jail, but he sure may end up with nothing once New York gets done with him. I can see the state (and city) putting liens on his properties and leaving him with little or nothing.

[jalan48]

41. In the middle of a pandemic-bad optics for Democrats plus there is too little time. A motion

of censure makes more sense.

[Sogo]

51. If we win the GA seats, Mitch won't be in charge. nt.

[Sogo]

52. The simple fact is that the House members took an oath to defend the Constitution.

That obliges them to take action against blatant law breaking by the President.

The fact that the Rs in the Senate won't do the right thing should not preclude the House from doing the right thing.

They must stand on principle for the future of our form of government.

[Vinca]

53. The calls should be for indictment at this point. Lock him up.

[marie999]

56. Impeach him. Let him know he is the only president to be impeached twice.

He will have to live and die with that.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

57. He's on the way out of the door anyway

I think, symbolically, it would be the right thing to do but doubt that it should take up valuable time to address other things.

[JonLP24]

60. You're not wrong

Though it sickens me because impeachment is supposed to be the remedy for all this law breaking.

You're right that impeachment is not worth it considering we are in January.