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mia

(8,480 posts)
6. Without impeachment that's where we stand.
Thu May 2, 2019, 08:23 AM
May 2019
Mueller Left a Gap. Barr Just Filled It.
Expecting the Justice Department to do Congress’s job was always a mistake.

...Impeachment must be the only solution to Trump’s challenge to the constitutional order. The Constitution did not envision that the criminal-justice system would address abuses of presidential power. Since Watergate, we have embarked on a 40-year experiment in using the criminal law to resolve separation-of-powers disputes. If Ken Starr’s sprawling Whitewater probe had not already demonstrated it, the Mueller report should prove that the experiment has failed. The Framers vested in the president the authority to oversee all federal law enforcement. As Alexander Hamilton observed in Federalist No. 70, “good government” requires “energy in the executive,” and a vigorous president is “essential to the protection of the community from foreign attacks” and “the steady administration of the laws.” Because of this original design, a president can order the end of any investigation, even one into his own White House.

The creation of independent counsels was an attempt to solve this conflict of interest, but the cure was worse than the disease. A special counsel, as even Trump realized upon learning of Mueller’s appointment, could spell the end of a presidency by diverting executive power outside constitutional controls and sapping the White House of its energy. Independent counsels further have the convenient effect of relieving Congress of its own constitutional duty to constrain an abusive president.

If Congress truly believes that a president has abused his powers, it can cut off funds, block his nominees, and impede his legislative priorities. It can proceed under impeachment, which allows for the removal of a president for treason, bribery, “or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” As Hamilton explained in Federalist No. 65, this last category of offenses includes those which “proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust. They are of a nature which may with peculiar propriety be denominated political, as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself.” Congress can conclude that the same conduct raised in the Mueller report justifies removal from office, even if it is not criminal.

The Framers did not want legislators to avoid the responsibility of curbing presidential abuse of power by hiding behind prosecutors or the courts. Impeachment may place that awesome duty in a body subject to political pressures and sensitive to other national demands. Nevertheless, the Constitution makes Congress alone accountable for removing a president who abuses his office. Ultimately, both Attorney General Barr and Special Counsel Mueller have done the nation a service not just by clearing the president of collusion, but by returning the question of obstruction to Congress, where it belongs.


https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/05/barr-isnt-problem-special-counsels-are/588523/

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

No, it's not StarfishSaver May 2019 #1
Without impeachment that's where we stand. mia May 2019 #6
If a coup were taking place, impeachment wouldn't be an option StarfishSaver May 2019 #8
More information, please. pazzyanne May 2019 #13
Effective impeachment, resulting in removal from office, is probably NOT an option. MH1 May 2019 #14
It actually IS an option. The fact that we don't yet have the votes for it StarfishSaver May 2019 #27
The most important thing is how history will judge all this - AND us. calimary May 2019 #48
Well said. mia May 2019 #49
Clinton remained in office but dems lost Congress Cetacea May 2019 #41
May the reverse scenario happen in 2020. mia May 2019 #43
This message was self-deleted by its author Cetacea May 2019 #44
In Nixon's case there were Republicans who still respected the law and democratic principes. olegramps May 2019 #24
+1000 mr_lebowski May 2019 #30
This message was self-deleted by its author Cetacea May 2019 #45
Correction: Unitary (Republican) Executive. Does not apply to Dems. nt Doremus May 2019 #46
A slow moving coup is still a coup Bradshaw3 May 2019 #31
You don't seem to understand what a coup actually is StarfishSaver May 2019 #33
Thanks for proving my point Bradshaw3 May 2019 #47
You are kidding yourself. Or just obfuscating. triron May 2019 #38
We are teetering on the brink of a bloodless coup. pnwmom May 2019 #51
He also claimed duforsure May 2019 #2
Barr hates the Constitution and any rules of laws only Iliyah May 2019 #5
T H I S - media should note this Cosmocat May 2019 #20
This guy (Rivkin?) spouted on PBS News Hour just now that sprinkleeninow May 2019 #54
The coup occurred on election night 2016. Zoonart May 2019 #3
Exactly. The exact date: 11/8/16. jrthin May 2019 #7
You are absolutely right!!! Left-over May 2019 #12
Yes. MH1 May 2019 #15
Excuse me, but having an opinion about the Clintons, Wall Street, or any other part of political... DemocracyMouse May 2019 #25
Correct malaise May 2019 #21
Exactly Generic Other May 2019 #22
That wasn't a coup. That was an election. And the person who got the most electoral votes won StarfishSaver May 2019 #28
You forgot about the "sweeping and systematic" Russian interference in the 2016 election. mia May 2019 #34
Still not a coup StarfishSaver May 2019 #35
Kennedy got 303 electoral votes standingtall May 2019 #40
You are ignoring Texas. former9thward May 2019 #50
Voter fraud was never proven in Texas in 1960 standingtall May 2019 #53
yeah and it was stolen from the person who got the most votes AGAIN Blues Heron May 2019 #37
"episode" FFS this whole show needs to be shitcanned Blues Heron May 2019 #4
Wow! pazzyanne May 2019 #16
the maladministration not the oversight Blues Heron May 2019 #36
It took place back in 2016 yaesu May 2019 #9
It's More of an Attempted Coup-We Can't Allow Republicans to Continue to Flout the Law dlk May 2019 #10
Barr proffered "remove" is not the same as "fire" which is 100% sophistry uponit7771 May 2019 #11
1984 nt TommyCelt May 2019 #17
Anybody still think the Constitution can wait until 2020? Nt Fiendish Thingy May 2019 #18
Hillary is warning the 2020 democratic presidential candidates. triron May 2019 #39
What's happening is more like a "capture" than a coup. There will still be the veneer of govt, ancianita May 2019 #19
It's been going on for awhile. 2000 and 2016 elections where the loser is the winner, jalan48 May 2019 #23
Unless pelosi starts passing articles of impeachment against the likes of Barr, beachbum bob May 2019 #26
What's your endgame after Articles of Impeachment are approved by the House? StarfishSaver May 2019 #29
the end game is to use full power of the House, IF the framers of the constitution were worried beachbum bob May 2019 #55
No. That would be dumb. pnwmom May 2019 #52
Too many people want instant gratification, a feeling of "We sure showed HIM!" StarfishSaver May 2019 #56
this Kurt V. May 2019 #32
the coup began 11/9/2016 niyad May 2019 #42
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