Some idle thoughts on impeachment this Saturday morning

[EarlG]

15. My argument is that actually impeaching him again is a mistake

My evidence is that we already tried it twice, and the effect in both cases was that Trump was acquitted by the Senate, which then allowed him to sell the lie that he had been exonerated and was innocent.

Repeatedly holding impeachment trials at the end of each mini-investigation would, IMO, give the impression of banging one's head against a wall. Each trial would quickly end with Senate Republicans acquitting Trump. Each time that happened, Trump would say, "They held an investigation, and I've been exonerated!" Senate Republicans would say, "When are we going to end this partisan nonsense and get back to working for the American people?"

And each time that happened, the Democrats' will to continue would wane. I can picture the pundits now: "How long are Democrats going to keep up this useless endeavor? Why are they wasting everyone's time?" It's inevitable that some Democrats would quickly give up and start reinforcing the Republicans' message that "We should get back to work for the American people" -- we've seen this kind of thing time and again. Those Democrats would be immediately attacked by more activist Democrats, which would give the impression of a party in disarray, trying to enact a strategy they disagreed on. Not only would each impeachment trial give Trump the opportunity to claim innocence, it would increase the chance that Democrats would damage themselves with infighting and accusations of spinelessness.

I don't disagree that we need to do the right thing. But in this case I believe that the right thing to do is, "whatever we can to politically damage Trump and Republicans to the point that this kind of government corruption and criminality is not seen again for generations." Trump has given us all the ammunition we need -- we just need to use it correctly.

So in that regard, and to your points, I definitely agree that:

1) As well as these impeachment investigations, Democrats should also pass bills seeking to reverse the damage of the first two years. A dual track of anti-corruption bills plus impeachment investigations (which highlight the crimes we need the anti-corruption bills for) would, I think, be highly effective.

2) Cabinet officials and advisers like Stephen Miller should definitely get dragged into this as much as possible. The entire regime needs to be held responsible for what's going on. And cabinet officials are notably not granted the same immunity from criminal prosecution that the president is. They would have more incentive to turn on each other. No doubt they would all claim "executive privilege"/Fifth Amendment etc. to try to dodge accountability, but that's fine -- let them do it. It'll just look like they are engaged in a cover-up.

3) This would have the likely effect of dragging JD Vance through the mud while he's trying to prep a run for president. "Four more years of Trumpian criminality without Trump" might not be the best message in 2028.

4) And finally, as a sweetener: I've stated flatly that there is no way in hell that Senate Republicans would vote to actually convict Trump. But maybe, just maybe, after months upon months of televised crime-of-the-week hearings, some of those Republicans might actually start to come around. And maybe, if the damage becomes bad enough, and Trump continues his mental decline, and is seen as a clear liability for the party, then there might eventually be enough of those Republicans to actually convict. If and when that time ever comes, and there is clear back-channeling from Senate Republican leadership that they're on board, then boom -- immediately end the investigations and hold the trial. By this point there will be more than enough evidence from all the investigations, and all that will be needed is a quick trial and conviction.