One Month Ago – January 6, Washington D.C.
Just in case you forgot what occurred a month ago yesterday. The Capitol under attack.
Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.
Just in case you forgot what occurred a month ago yesterday. The Capitol under attack.
Spurning Calls to Resign, Liz Cheney Says G.O.P. Must Move Past Trump
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/07/us/politics/liz-cheney-trump.html?smid=tw-share
(In the January 6 aftermath, how unlikely is
it that Liz Cheney will turn Dem?)
Ms. Cheney, having fended off a challenge to her House leadership role, was defiant in defending her impeachment vote and called for Republicans to be “the party of truth.” …
Why Chuck Schumer Is Cozying Up to the A.O.C. Wing of His Party
The senator, at the height of his power, hopes to avoid a potential primary
challenge from the left in New York, including from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. …
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/07/us/politics/schumer-impeachment-new-york.html?smid=tw-share
Why Chuck Schumer Is Cozying Up to the A.O.C. Wing of His Party
As he prepares for an impeachment trial this week,
Senator Chuck Schumer is at the height of
his political power in Washington.
At home in New York, he is taking steps to
head off a primary challenge from the left. …
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http://Impeachment Case Aims to Marshal Outrage of Capitol Attack Against Trump https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/07/us/politics/trump-impeachment.html?smid=tw-share
“The story of the president’s actions is both riveting and horrifying,” Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland and the lead prosecutor, said in an interview. “We think that every American should be aware of what happened — that the reason he was impeached by the House and the reason he should be convicted and disqualified from holding future federal office is to make sure that such an attack on our democracy and Constitution never happens again.” …
Mr. Trump’s lawyers have indicated that they once again intend to mount a largely technical defense, contending that the Senate “lacks jurisdiction” to judge a former president at all after he has left office because the Constitution does not explicitly say it can. Though many legal scholars and a majority of the Senate disagree, Republicans have flocked to the argument in droves as a justification for dismissing the case without weighing in on Mr. Trump’s conduct.
But the lawyers, Bruce L. Castor Jr. and David Schoen, also plan to deny that Mr. Trump incited the violence at all or intended to interfere with Congress’s formalizing of Mr. Biden’s victory, asserting that his baseless claims that the election was “stolen” are protected by the First Amendment. …
Breaking With GOP, Top Conservative Lawyer Says Trump Can Stand Trial
NY Times – February 7
One of Washington’s leading conservative constitutional lawyers publicly broke on Sunday with the main Republican argument against convicting former President Donald J. Trump in his impeachment trial, asserting that an ex-president can indeed be tried for high crimes and misdemeanors.
In an opinion piece posted on The Wall Street Journal’s website, the lawyer, Charles J. Cooper, who is closely allied with top Republicans in Congress, dismissed as illogical the claim that it is unconstitutional to hold an impeachment trial for a former president. The piece came two days before the Senate was set to start the proceeding, in which Mr. Trump is charged with “incitement of insurrection” in connection with the deadly assault on the Capitol by his supporters on Jan. 6. …
He argued that because the Constitution allows the Senate to bar officials convicted of impeachable offenses from holding public office again in the future, “it defies logic to suggest that the Senate is prohibited from trying and convicting former officeholders.”
Mr. Cooper’s decision to take on the argument was particularly significant because of his standing in conservative legal circles. He was a close confidant and adviser to Senate Republicans, like Ted Cruz of Texas when he ran for president, and represented House Republicans — including the minority leader, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California — in a lawsuit against Speaker Nancy Pelosi. …
Trump Team Offers a Deeper Look at His Impeachment Defense
Donald Trump’s lawyers denounced the case against him as “political theater,” arguing it was unconstitutional for the Senate to try a former president.
In a brief submitted to the Senate on the eve of the trial, they asserted that Mr. Trump bore no responsibility for the deadly assault at the Capitol.
The House impeachment managers rebutted Mr. Trump’s effort to dismiss the “incitement of insurrection” charge as “wholly without merit.”
… Legal scholars, lincluding prominent conservatives, argue that the founders never intended to exempt someone like Mr. Trump from trial — a president who was impeached while in office but left before senators could judge him. They note that the Senate voted in the 19th century to try a former war secretary, and can do so now for a president who is no longer in office.
The House impeachment managers, echoed that argument in their own five-page memo filed on Monday rebutting Mr. Trump’s effort to dismiss the charge as “wholly without merit.” …
Fred:
Not a bad idea to add articles associated with the D.C. Capitol Insurrection
Impeachment IS just a political show trial. What is the worst thing that could happen to Trump if only tried by Congress? The FBI should arrest Trump and he should be tried in federal court and then sent to do hard time in federal prison.