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Here is some of what I thought was most memorable, from today Impeachment Hearings in the Judiciary Committee. I listened to most of it on NPR today, at work.
(My head is still spinning ...)
‘Attempt’ Counts as Wrongdoing, Scholars Say (12:17 p.m.)
Trump isn’t cleared of wrongdoing by the fact that the U.S. military aid was ultimately sent to Ukraine and that Ukraine never announced an investigation of Joe Biden, said the three law professors called by Democrats.
“The attempt itself is the impeachable act,” said Feldman, adding that President Richard Nixon failed in his effort to cover up the Watergate break-in but still faced an impeachment process before he resigned.
Karlan likened the situation to a traffic cop asking a motorist to pay $20 to avoid a speeding ticket. Even if the motorist doesn’t have the money and the police officer drops the request, the officer is still guilty of soliciting a bribe, she said.
“Soliciting itself is an impeachable offense regardless of whether the other person comes up with it,” Karlan said.
Gerhardt said that like someone caught committing a burglary, in Trump’s case “we’ve got someone caught right in the middle of it, and that doesn’t excuse the consequences.”
Feldman also said that if getting Ukraine to announce an investigation of Biden counts as a “thing of value” aiding Trump’s re-election, it can be considered bribery.[...]
“Yes, you have bribery,” in this example, Karlan said, in response to a question about whether these allegations meet the constitutional threshold for impeachment, which includes bribery.
“If what we’re talking about is not impeachable, then nothing is impeachable,” Gerhardt said. If Congress gives a pass to Trump, “every other president will say ‘I can do the same thing.’”
Afterall, cheating is the ONLY way the GOP can win.
Because it sure isn’t by them — “following the Law” ...
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