986racer
986racer's JournalHey Mitch, where does it say in the Constitution that a private citizen can't be impeached? ...
I started looking at little more closely at this... As near as I can tell, there is no language that prevents it. Here is all the cases where the word impeach shows up in the Constitution.
The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers;and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment
So, from my reading of this, the House can Impeach anyone. I see no limitation of who can be Impeached. This makes sense, because how do you handle the case of people who were Impeachable but you only find out about the crimes after their term has ended?
The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.
Again, there is no limit on who can be Impeached here. It does describe the process for what should occur when the sitting President is being tried. It describes the maximum punishment (we know it is the maximum from another section).
and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment
President has no Pardon power for Impeachments.
Section 4
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
This just describes the minimum punishment for Impeachment of these officials when convicted of Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. It doesn't say that they can't be Impeached for other things nor does it say that other people can't be Impeached.
The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment; shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed
I mention this for completeness, but it's the last time the word shows up in the Constitution
If Mitch felt that strongly, he shouldn't have voted at all...
He should have not voted at all. The vote to rule the trial constitutional already occurred.
There is no "not guilty because of constitutional reasons". It's either guilty or non-guilty. To truly object the process, then sit out completely.
The nation should consider itself lucky that we have someone like Biden in charge...
Imagine if we had a President who was a demagogue in office right now...
He could be looking at today's acquittal and start thinking, "I can now say anything I want without consequence."
For instance, he could start saying (and repeating for months)...
* The Supreme Court was "stolen" from us
* We need to "fight like hell" to take it back
* We can't let those who "stole" the court from us get away with it again
The he could start releasing the stuff Trump did to sell out the country, but he wouldn't be able to discuss details for security reasons
* Start calling Trump's behavior "treason"
* Anybody who voted for acquittal is a "traitor"
* Everybody knows what to do to "traitors" or "we won't have a country anymore"
Then...
* Invite people down to DC in the "take the country back" rally
* Make sure to invite the worst dregs of society (sorry, only the "finest" people)
* At the rally make sure that people have all of the baseball bats, tasers, flex cuffs, metal poles, riot shields, fireworks, and anything else they need to "protest peacefully"
* Say that people should "peacefully" march to Supreme Court and to the Capitol building and then "fight like hell to take their country back"
Sit back, make some popcorn and watch our nation crumble.
When done, just proclaim that all he was suggesting that people should "fight" in the political system by voting at the ballot box. Of course, nobody could ever have expected physical violence to occur.
Again... let's all be happy that Biden is in office right now. I don't think this scenario is far-fetched.
Not much time left argument...
If Republicans really believe that, I've got a few vendettas to take care of when I'm on my deathbed.
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Member since: Thu Nov 26, 2020, 07:52 PMNumber of posts: 31
