Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the calls for the impeachment of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. While the key sponsors have indicated that they may be willing to delay this effort, many continue to advocate for a vote on articles of impeachment. As I have previously said, that would be a mistake. Putting aside the historical and constitutional reasons discussed below, this is the worst possible time for the Republicans to lower the standard for impeachment. The Democrats could well retake the house in November and the effort against Rosenstein could make it all the more easy for Democrats to pursue Donald Trump after the midterm elections.
“Time is up.” That is how Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the House Republicans Freedom Caucus, explained the filing of articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Wednesday. Less than a day later, the congressman backed off that strategy, saying he would pursue a contempt vote instead in late August. That decision however is unlikely to quell continued demands for impeachment by some advocates in and outside of Congress.
His effort would have been the first impeachment of a senior executive officer other than a president since 1876. But it likely would have been unsuccessful because it is not a valid basis for impeachment. Indeed, the impeachment standard is designed to prevent this type of impulse-buying response to a fairly common conflict with the executive branch. No matter how one may feel about Rosenstein’s tenure, his impeachment would come at a far greater cost to our Constitution and political system.
I have long agreed with critics in Congress who have objected to the conduct of the Justice Department in response to legitimate demands from oversight committees looking into the handling of both the Clinton and Russia investigations. The FBI has abused classification authority in redacting clearly unclassified but embarrassing information, as well as slow-walking the disclosure of information. For more than a decade I have testified in Congress calling for it to more aggressively use its contempt authority in such cases, including reexamining the role played by the Justice Department in killing every contempt referral against its own officials. However, contempt proceedings are vastly different from impeachment proceedings in both purpose and standards.
Disagreements over the disclosure of information have existed between the legislative and executive branches from the very start of the Republic. George Washington invoked the precursors of what would become known as executive privilege in refusing to share some information with Congress. While he should have done more in relation to these investigations, Rosenstein has actually produced far more than prior administration. The Justice Department already has handed over about 880,000 documents to Congress. There is remaining information that should have been turned over months ago. However, this action by 11 congressional members takes a disagreement to DEFCON 1.
I previously have written academic pieces arguing for the use of impeachment for non-presidential figures when warranted. However, the gravity of the misconduct still remains very high under the constitutional standard of “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” It is so high that only one such impeachment of a cabinet member has occurred.
Actually, two such cases occurred, historically. The first was that of William Blount, soon after the ratification of the Constitution, in times not unlike our own: The country was deeply, bitterly divided between Federalists and Republicans. The one difference is that, when people today attack like they want to kill each other, the Federalists and Republicans actually wanted to kill each other; the Federalists under President John Adams used the Alien and Sedition Acts to arrest their opponents, and violence was commonplace. There also were fears, in some cases well-founded, of secret conspiracies with England and other countries to retake lost territory or even overthrow the nascent American republic.
In that very first impeachment, Blount, a Republican from Tennessee, was accused of conspiring with the British to invade the Southwest; the evidence included an incriminating letter with British operatives. Blount was expelled from the Senate under its inherent authority to discipline its members. The reason: “a high misdemeanor, entirely inconsistent with his public trust and duty as a Senator.” The House, however, instituted its own proceedings and debated an impeachment; Blount was impeached and all of the “House managers” taking the case to the Senate for trial were Federalists. Ultimately, the Senate, including seven Federalists, voted that legislative officials are not civil officers subject to impeachment.
The second analogous impeachment was that of William Belknap, who served as President Grant’s secretary of War and was accused of accepting bribes after the Civil War, a time of great corruption. An investigation of military contracts uncovered kickbacks to Belknap. Just two hours before his impeachment, Belknap resigned but he still was impeached. The Senate trial lasted five months, and Belknap was acquitted with the help of a Republican senator who broke ranks. Only two senators believed him to be innocent, but the jurisdictional questions over the fact of his resignation ultimately prevailed.
These cases were hugely important in laying the foundations for the rules and procedures governing impeachments. They were important in another way as well. In both cases, in the worst of political times, members of the governing parties crossed the aisle to reject impeachment or conviction of their political enemies. They understood that this process had to be reserved for only the most extreme possible cases of “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” The same courage would be shown in later impeachments such as the trial of President Andrew Johnson, when seven Republicans abandoned the party – and their careers – to vote to acquit.
The point is that the Constitution was not just written for times like this, it was written in times like this. Yet, members transcended their partisan impulse – even in legitimate cases of wrongdoing – to follow the standards set out by the Framers for the use of impeachment.
Articles of impeachment against the deputy attorney general are not meritless because the grievances are frivolous. Rather, they are meritless because the grievances are extraneous to the conditions for impeachment. That leaves Congress with an array of powers to respond to any continued failure by Rosenstein and the Justice Department, from its control of the budget to confirmations to contempt.
It simply requires the will and clarity of purpose to use those powers. It is a welcomed decision to withdraw these articles and let us not speak of this again until someone actually commits “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanTurley.
The article seems to imply, that if the right doesn’t antagonize the left too badly, that the left will loosen up. This may or may not be true. But the right, if they err, should err on the safe side, and crush the left – to smithereens.
1. Congress can impeach Rosenstein for any reason it cares to. The trouble is the Democrats and the Capitol Hill plankton among the Republicans will never consent to it.
2. Yet another column from Turley telling us we have to play nice with the lawyers. Screw it.
3. Rosenstein deserves not only dismissal, but disbarment. If there’s any justice in our system, he’ll be looking for a new career in a few years, as will Mueller. Of course, there’s little justice in our system, and almost none in regard to the professional discipline of the bar. Rank and file lawyers who dip into escrow accounts get disbarred. Someone like Rosenstein is immune unless they’re vulgar and exuberantly evil, like Roy Cohn. Even some of them escape the crook (Michael Avanetti and foul-mouthed lush Hillary Clinton have never been disbarred).
4. I’ll note that the classification of congressional races by Rothenberg / Gonzalez has been consistent in recent months and suggests the Republicans lose 11 seats in the House and gain 1 or 2 in the Senate. The smart money says that Trump will have a free hand to power wash the Justice Department in three months or so, provided that Senate Majority Leader Whatshisname doesn’t get in the way.
5. If the congressional Republicans had much sense, they’d have bills on deck to re-organize federal solicitation and prosecution, law enforcement, intelligence, and general security services that would include breaking up the Department of Justice and the FBI. Ha ha. The House Judiciary Committee is currently pre-occupied with maneuvers to get more ‘refugee’ admissions as well as an amnesty. Because when you’re donors want beef, bacon, and cheese, you give it to them. (Your voting constituents, of course, are just marks).
The Great Republican Plot to dethrone the demented Emperor Trumpski.
Rosenstein, Mueller, Sessions etc.
In Mueller I trust.
Don’t mess with the Marine. You won’t live long enough to regret it.
Marco – JFK found that out. Lee Harvey Oswald was a former Marine.
Do nothing and this garbage will continue. Nothing happens to any of them from the wicked witch to Paige. Nothing happened to Lerner she’s off enjoying a nice pension and bennies.
What would the democrat/socialist do if they were in power, they’ve been screaming “impeach” since day one and they will try.
/Users/Billwild/Documents/Screen Shot 2018-07-29 at 9.36.32 AM.png
Professor Turley didn’t say do nothing. As for the rest of your comment, irrelevant.
It’s relevant and on point. We have a lousy political class and a lousy government because they operate with impunity.
Political theater by Meadows and the extreme wing of the House Republicans. Louis Gohmert secures his position as the stupidest person in Congress.
It’s going nowhere but they’ll get some ink.
“Louis Gohmert secures his position as the stupidest person in Congress.”
Can you back that up Wildbill? Gohmert is a former judge and quite smart though appears a bit eccentric. It seems big mouths don’t have the brains to back up things they say. Time for a new alias.
He may have overlooked Mad Max….or perhaps he’s just impressed with her intellect.
Tom, For Wildbill it is a matter of hot air and a masculinity problem.
Gohmert is a loon who stands out amongst his cohort of loons. Though his district is made up of backwoods hillbillies, actual klan types an rubes, so he represents them accurately.
Mark and WildBill
Louie wants you to think he’s dumb. Bubbas love messin’ with yankeeboy minds..
Watching a Baylor Law grad in a courtroom is breathtaking….a real thing of beauty… Especially watching the grads from the earlier days, grads like my husband and Louie.
To you Mark, everyone is crazy. That is not much different than those in an insane asylum. The inmates think everyone else is crazy.
The stupidest person in Congress is a graduate of Texas A & M and Baylor and spent 27 years in the legal profession. Barack Obama was a working lawyer for about 4 years (if you pro-rate part-time and seasonal work).
Partisan Democrats are adept at reminding you that they’re the sum of their conceits.
Based on your previous posts, being a lawyer does not assure competence and Gohmert is a fool.
WildBill,
If you care to read it, I posted a comment for you and Mark down thread.
WildBill. That’s upthread, I believe.
Cindy, I think Wildbill fits that “yankeeboy” mind, but take note, not all northerners are that dumb.
Allan, Oh,no, no…. They’re not all dumb. To wit: Prof Turley!
Also, all the nice ones who gather here.:)
We need a new party in America. The name Constitutional Party is a good name. There is one here in NC. The RepubliCons and Democraps have lost their muster. Or their mutard.
Impeachment for a fly like Rosenstein? Demand that Sessions fire his arse or refuse to take up any appropriations for the DOJ until he does. That’s how a legislative body pummels — with a purse. The ancient Romans summarized the dust up beteeen petty officials and the Senate with the proverb: “Aquila non capit muscas” – Eagles don’t hunt flies.
Another way would be a bill to re-organize federal law enforcement and allied service which simply eliminates his job.
One thing Congress could do and will not is a bill which would set the number of subcabinet officials in each department according to a formula and insist that anyone holding such a position be an administrator with constituent agencies reporting to him, or a standard pool of staff offices reporting to him, or a defined pool of policy development office reporting to him. You’d limit a formal second-in-command to departments with a large number of constituent units, like State and Defense. The Justice Department is not such a department. (And the Justice Department should not exist as such).
When jaw-boning the refs won’t work, change the rules in the middle of the game. Next time around, change the rules right back the way they were in the first place.
Do they still do counter-terrorism investigations at the NSD/DOJ/FBI??? Oopsie daisy.
L4D still enables David Benson – I am reading a history of the FBI entitled Enemies. In one of the chapters, it explains specifically why the FBI is NOT to do counter-intelligence.
Rod Rosenstein won’t be fired by Sessions because that’s the exact same thing Nixon attempted to do… and look what happened to him.
1. No it isn’t.
2. The situations aren’t remotely analogous.
3. No, the Republican Congress isn’t going to vote to impeach Trump.
Well the history is wrong but your point is erroneous.
Mespo, Mary… needs to read better with her ears.
A short while ago my wife called me to watch Professor Turley on TV. His argument on this subject was strong and changed my wife’s position to not impeach. When something like that happens I take notice.
I never was happy with the idea of impeachment though I liked the idea of Congress exerting control over Rosenstein who should have recused himself at the onset. I didn’t like the reason for the Clinton impeachment so I guess if I had to pull the lever I would have said no.
One of my misgivings, in this case, is giving the ability of one branch of government too much political control over the other where the offenses could become petty. Further, I think it is the President’s responsibility to fire Rosenstein. However, the President hasn’t had the support from his own party to politically do so. I don’t like the way the dice are laying and something feels wrong.
Right now I will stick with contempt and the other abilities Congress has. That is basically what the President is doing.
I agree, why stop with just one deep state swap dweller?
I only read some of the comments on this thread. Low signal to noise ratio, as we used to say.
You missed another signal. Time to change your Depends.
“Time to change your Depends.”
DSS, are you accusing David Benson of using his Peter Meter?
Where it all began just might be what it’s still all about:
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/is_devin_nunes_helping_trump_obstruct_justice_legal_experts
Excerpted from the article linked above:
Typically Nunes and his staff would be protected from criminal liability by the speech or debate clause of the Constitution. It provides that U.S. lawmakers “shall not be questioned in any other place” for “any speech or debate in either House.”
“In this case, however,” the op-ed says, “Nunes and company may have ranged so far afield that those protections no longer apply. Under the clause, mere peripheral connection to legislative acts cannot serve as a fig leaf to shield criminal conduct.”
The op-ed cites a 1972 Supreme Court case that declined to give U.S. Sen. Daniel Brewster of Maryland speech or debate immunity in a bribery prosecution. Another Supreme Court case involving the Pentagon Papers found that the clause protected a senator who entered the Pentagon Papers into the record at a subcommittee hearing, but did not protect him and his staffers in arranging private publication of the papers. Arranging the private publication wasn’t protected because it wasn’t essential to Senate deliberations, the court said.
The op-ed says it is difficult to see how coordinating with the White House to stifle the special counsel probe would be considered essential to the deliberations of the committee or the House. “That would look a lot more like orchestrating than legislating,” the op-ed says.
L4D still enables David Benson – so, when Felix Frankfurter was telling FDR’s employees how to write legislation so it would pass Constitutional muster, he could have been arrested for obstructing justice?
That makes no sense whatsoever, Paul. Try again. Next time with an analogy.
L4D still enables David Benson – the ABA is a wing of the DNC. Politico is several rooms of the DNC. There is no obstruction being done. And I gave you another example of a government employee obstructing justice by working with the President in another branch. What more do you want?
Corrupt purpose. Where was Frankfurter’s corrupt purpose? And exactly what justice was obstructed there, anyhow?
L4D still enables David Benson – a justice of the Supreme Court was telling minions of FDR how regulations should be written to pass muster before the Supreme Court. That is collusion between two branches of government, or obstruction of justice, if you are Mueller.
Regulations that pass muster with the Supreme Court are neither crimes nor instances of injustice. Impeaching a law-enforcement officer for the corrupt purpose of impeding an investigation could far more plausibly be construed as obstruction of justice than the weak analogue that you cited.
You are an idiot. How is your Cheeto supply holding up?
TONY – I don’t eat Cheetos. This is why no one listens to you. Your information is bad.
L4D still enables David Benson – the President CANNOT obstruct justice by doing his Constitutionally mandated duties. BTW, Mueller is still in search of a crime.
Devin Nunes and the Republicans on HPSCI can obstruct justice. And so can the POTUS, Trump, if he does so for a corrupt purpose.
BTW, the crime is conspiracy to defraud the United States.
L4D still enables David Benson – speaking of defrauding the US government, Mueller has spent $20 million and gotten so little. Is he filling a Cayman bank account?
And here’s a whole State full of glass-house stone-throwers:
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article214837355.html
Excerpted from the article linked above:
“Congressman Curbelo has and continues to condemn any and all foreign interventions in the American democratic process, and neither he nor anyone on his campaign has ever contacted any foreign agent to request illegally obtained documents or information,” Curbelo campaign spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez said. “He welcomes today’s indictments and strongly encourages the Department of Justice to reveal the identity of the candidate for Congress who allegedly engaged a Russian agent.”
Rep. Ron DeSantis, a North Florida Republican who has called for Mueller to end his investigation and who is now running for governor, said he never contacted or received any contact from the Guccifer hackers. The 2016 document release included a file on Democrat George Pappas, who finished fourth in the Democratic primary for DeSantis’ seat.
“Congressman Ron DeSantis has never contacted or been contacted by Guccifer 2.0,” spokesperson David Vasquez said in an email.
Longtime South Florida Trump confidant Roger Stone had previously confirmed that he was in touch with the hackers, though he told CNN Friday that he didn’t think he was the person referred to in the indictment as “a person who was in regular contact with senior members” of the Trump administration who also communicated with the Guccifer hackers.
L4D still enables David Benson – wasn’t Guccifer 2.0 supposed to be just one person?
That’s what the 12 GRU officers pretended to be. [They were lying.]
L4D still enables David Benson – so says Mueller and minions. However, they do not have any validity.
6 of the 12 GRU officers got caught using mined bit-coin to pay for the domain registrations through which the Guccifer 2.0 online persona posted emails to journalists and others about the stolen DCCC, DNC and Podesta emails.
L4D still enables David Benson – Binney says it was leaked not hacked.
Binney is an embittered ex-employee–like Cohen. Binney’s transfer rate theory of the DNC leak was based upon an email written by Guccifer 2.0 stating that the DNC “hack” was the result of a “one-day vulnerability.” Binney got snookered, hoodwinked and bamboozled by the 6 of the 12 GRU officers who created the online persona of Guccifer 2.0. BTW, Guccifer 2.0 never said that the DNC emails were leaked to Wikileaks. Guccifer 2.0 said that they were hacked in one day. BTW, again, nobody ever claimed that the Podesta emails were not hacked. Not even Binney ever claimed that the Podesta emails were not hacked. Same thing for the DCCC emails. Do the head-scratching on that, Schulteacher.
L4D still enables David Benson – Podesta was spear phished. Binney probably knows more about it than you do. Wikileaks has said the emails did not come from a government.
What do you think spear phishing is, PCS? It’s sending emails that look like they’re from a trusted source for the purpose of having the recipient access a forged site through provided links in the email so as to collect a persons log-in credentials allowing the sender of the forged email to access, or ‘hack’ the recipient’s account.
You are really slow, PCS.
R. Lien – there is no indication who did the spear phishing.
“You are really slow, PCS.”
I won’t directly comment on PCS, R Lien, but you must be pretty stupid to think Podesta’s lack of security is one that we should expect from intelligent people that require secrecy.
Allan – I use 5 different passwords and my wife uses a different one for each account she has. None of them is password. 🙂
Paul, unlike Hillary, Podesta and perhaps you I don’t care what anyone sees on my computer. I have an alternate computer that is almost never connected to the Internet, Wifi, or any other device. That computer holds my business and private things.
L4D still enables David Benson – more tit for tat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_congressional_page_sex_scandal
Give us Al Franken and John Conyers back and you can keep Duncan Hunter and Gym Jordan.
Kind of ironic that Franken, who was doing his best to undercut Jeff Sessions, is the one who’s gone.
And Sessions, for better or worse, is still around.
Franken and Davis were a much better team than Franken and Conyers, but sadly Davis is not longer with us.
L4D still enables David Benson – much as I do not trust Wikipedia, they did have a list of Congressional sex scandals. It starts early.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_political_sex_scandals_in_the_United_States
Wow! Alexander Hamilton beat Thomas Jefferson for first sex scandal on the list. I’d bet Jefferson really resented that instance of one-ups-man-ship.
In the case of Rosenstein the argument for impeachment is that he is not following procedure as certain members of Congress would want it to be, generally speaking. Given that this is an investigation that could be compromised through interference or demands by an outside party or parties, the argument for impeachment would seem to be more appropriate after the investigation has been completely concluded. At this time the arguments of the investigators can be stacked up against the arguments for impeachment. At this point, with so many unknowns, yet to be knowns, etc., procedural license by the investigation is all there is; like it or not.
In the cases illustrated above and as with Nixon and Clinton, there were identifiable wrongs committed by both Presidents. There has been nothing concretely and clearly identified thus far with this investigation. What might be seen as an impeachable offense at this stage of the game could be justified at a later time of complete openness. It all comes down to political whining, playing to the core supporters of the right, more accusations of witch hunts, etc., and all the while stuff comes out justifying the procedure.
Gym Jordan is not the only glass-house stone-thrower doing Trump’s [“Putin’s ?”] bidding.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/08/duncan-hunter-campaign-funds-fbi-397621
You sure post a lot of propaganda.
Ron says: July 29, 2018 at 6:44 AM
I agree, why stop with just one deep state swap dweller?
Ron,…
I have mentioned before that L4D/ Dianne may establish and head a new Cabinet Department, Sec. of Mindless Propaganda.
The political tides will have to change before we sink that low, but that prolific clown is getting ready, tuning up, here.
L4D still enables David Benson – tit for tat
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sd-me-filner-accusation-20171120-story.html
Can you link me to a map with Sandie Gounion on it? I can’t find one on my own.
Gym Jordan lives in a glass house while throwing stones at law enforcement officers investigating Trump.
https://www.vox.com/2018/7/6/17536388/jim-jordan-ohio-state-sexual-abuse-accuser
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/18/us/politics/jim-jordan-ohio-state-sexual-abuse.html
Excerpted from the Vox article linked above. Gym Jordan in his own words:
“Look, the timing makes you wonder,” Jordan told CNN at a July 4 event. “All I know is, it’s not true. … It’s interesting that the timing is what it is, in light of things that are going on in Washington.”
Jordan doubled down in his denials Friday, attacking one of the former wrestlers for having a “vendetta against Ohio State” and a “vendetta against [Jordan’s] family.”
The Freedom Caucus founder has found support among conservatives. Fellow Republican lawmakers, like Freedom Caucus Chair Mark Meadows, have said the accusations are false. Even President Donald Trump chimed in, saying he doesn’t believe the former wrestlers.
“I don’t believe them at all. I believe him. Jim Jordan is one of the most outstanding people I’ve met since I’ve been in Washington,” Trump said. “I believe him 100 percent. No question in my mind. I believe Jim Jordan 100 percent. He’s an outstanding man.”
L4D still enables David Benson – slimy attack. You should be ashamed of yourself. You should go and wash your eyes out.
Trump’s slimy attack on McCain:
“He’s not a war hero,” said Trump. “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
L4D still enables David Benson – I absolutely agree with Trump. The only reason John McCain won anything besides goat of his Academy class was he got shot down. He was a coward who abandoned the Forrestal after dropping a bomb on the deck (maybe two) and hid out for a couple of months until he could transfer ships.
Duncan Hunter served bravely in Fallujah and Afghanistan. I, for one, refuse to find any fault with Duncan Hunter on that count just because he wants to impeach Rod Rosenstein.
Paul, your details leave a lot to be desired. He didn’t drop a bomb or two, he wet started his own plane and the result was setting off a bomb from the plane behind him; and he was immediately removed from the Forrestal for his own protection. From investigative reporter Wayne Madsen:
It is believed by many crewmen and those who have investigated the case that McCain deliberately ‘wet-started’ his A-4E to shake up the guy in the plane behind his A-4. ‘Wet-starts’, done either deliberately or accidentally, shoot a large flame from the tail of the aircraft.
In McCain’s case, the ‘wet-start’ apparently ‘cooked off’ and launched the Zuni rocket from the rear F-4 that touched off the explosions and massive fire. The F-4 pilot was reportedly killed in the conflagration.
‘Wet starting’ was apparently a common practice among young ‘hot-dog’ pilots. McCain was quickly transferred to the USS Oriskany (the only Forrestal crewman to be immediately transferred). After the disaster, McCain was shot down over North Vietnam on October 26, 1967.
As WMR previously reported, at the time of the Forrestal disaster, McCain’s father, Admiral John McCain, Jr., was Commander-in-Chief of US Naval Forces Europe (CINCUSNAVEUR) and was busy covering up the details of the deadly and pre-meditated June 8, 1967, Israeli attack on the NSA spy ship, the USS Liberty. The fact that both McCains were involved in two incidents just weeks apart that resulted in a total death count of 168 on the Forrestal and the Liberty, with an additional injury count of 234 on both ships (with a number of them later dying from their wounds) with an accompanying classified paper trail inside the Pentagon, may be all that was needed to hold a Sword of Damocles over the head of the ‘family honor’-oriented McCain by the neocons.
bettykath – I already sent wildbill99 a counter-claim to your claims. I will stick by what I sent wildbill99.
Right. Let’s not let facts get in the way of ego.
bettykath – read what I sent to wildbill99. He seemed to think it had validity.
I think you need to quit reading things out of the Wacky World of Websites.
DDS – you are more than welcome to prove me wrong.
You are more then welcome to remember that when lodging gruesome criminal charges over an event which took place more than 50 years ago, you’d best have reliable primary source documentation. Hint: accounts by ‘investigative reporters’ don’t cut it.
DSS – Investigative reporters are often better than naval inquiries designed to cover up the damage.
Paul – also why did McStain have the records sealed of the POW/MIA s? This caused much grief to the families. He’s only a hero in his own mind.
Autumn – I got that Mesopotamia kit. 🙂
McCain did not drop a bomb on the ship. The bomb was on another plane on the ship that malfunctioned and destroyed the plane McCain was in at the time. He was injured in the explosion and almost killed.
http://usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil/2017/07/28/how-the-1967-fire-on-uss-forrestal-improved-future-u-s-navy-damage-control-readiness/
Marry – the rocket hit the plane next to him, McStain panicked and dropped one or two bombs on the deck and then climbed out of plane. After a quick trip to the infirmary where he was not treated, he took a chopper to Vietnam, w/o authorization.
L4D still enables David Benson – pretty old news and already disproved. You need to keep up.
If denial were the same as disproof, then Hillary would be as innocent as a lamb.
The Republicans don’t deserve to be in control of congress. However we don’t deserve to have the Democrats in control of us. The Republicans have no moral compass. What the Democrats have planned for us I hope never happens.
Did you know that the real reason the Russian GRU officers hacked the State Boards of Election and Voter Rolls Systems was not to change the vote tallies or the vote totals, but to plant disinformation that would implicate the Democrats in voter fraud in the event that Hillary Clinton had won the 2016 election? Do you also remember candidate Trump publically proclaiming that the Democrats were going to rig the election? Guess what? Guccifer 2.0 made the same claim before the election. And we now know that Guccifer 2.0 was, in fact, the GRU.
L4D still enables David Benson – we know what Mueller claims, however, I would not believe him if he said the sky was blue.
OFCOLA. The Dutch AIVD hacked into the closed-circuit TV system for the 12 GRU officers.
P. S. Obviously the sky is clear–except when it’s cloudy. The sky only “appears” to be blue in the daytime, when the Sun is out and clouds are either scattered or altogether elsewhere.
It has been ie US Government. But I suggest that the step from letter to filing for impeachment is not a very great step it is the only step to take in this particular case.
Doing nothing is not acceptable. Going overboard and smacking the whole department is overkil. Confining it to the main law breaker is just right. It sends a stronger and more to he point first step or is it third step by now
It also serves notice on the RINO in chief Mr. Rand to start doing his job or take a hike. By putting it off or tabling or whatever he is serving notice on his base that he has truly been nothing but a lap dog for the other side. No more chances no more deceit get with the program or move your desk across the aisle where it belongs.
“It has been ie US Government. But” Apparently delete doesn’t work before hitting the post button and since there is no delete button any more please disregard that much at the beginning of the foregoing. I keep hearing rumours of a delete button etc but so far doesn’t exist. maybe it’s firefox?
Once again, the Repubs attempt to squander their hold in Congress.
Rosenstein’s protection is the political atmosphere. Absent a SC, Rosenstein would have been gone last week and we all know it. Impeachment is a political process and Rosenstein is a political animal. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. If the Republicans impeach Rosenstein they make their base happy. So, who should they make happy, their base or JT?
Stop beating around the bush. Just impeach Trump and be done with it.
So what are your grounds for impeachment?
Mike Peterman,…
There needs to actually be a basis for impeachment?!?😦
Man, are you ever picky😀.
I think a Constitutional scholar like Maxine Waters could drum something up, before she “goes after Putin”.
Impeaching Putin will be even tougher, but we have Maxine to show us the way.
I was forced to live through 8 years of total incompetency and never thought about impeachment because then we would have had VP Biden. At least I knew that Pres. Obama had the ability (and still does) to mesmerize his followers. As bad as impeaching Pres. Clinton would have been since we would have been stuck with VP Gore.
And I will now state that after learning about the horrendous shenanigans of Pres. Obama since leaving office, I wish we could impeach his retirement.
Tom
I just about woke-up the whole house laughing when I read “Constitutional scholar” and “Maxine Waters” in the same sentence.
Cindy B.,…
To be honest, I’d missed Rep. Waters if she wasn’t in Congress.
Her continued presence is an indication that the Democrats have not totally lost their sense of humor.
She provides unending and much-needed comic relief, so I hope her district keeps sending her back again and again with more and more landslide election victories.
True, Tom.
The Republicans don’t care about consequences or democracy. They don’t care about anything except their own self interest.
Justice Holmes – the only ones not thinking of their own self-interest are those not running for re-election in the next four years. That covers a lot of ground. 😉
Why should I, as non affiliated self governing independent citizen care about demoracy?
I live in a Republic… latin for of, by, and for the citizens or people. I do not live in a democracy. In my country it doesn’t exist and never has. Our founders discussed it nine times according to their journal or minutes through to Constitutional Conventions as they put it sitting in congress.
They rejected the notion of a democray nine times. It has never been brought up as a proposed amendment to our constitution the basic law of the land which required a 100% approval by 13 independent nation states. The word in any form does not exist in that document.
Why or Why not?
Because it had been shown to be too limited and too easy to circumvent. since the time of the originators over a thousand years before our founders considered it and other methods . Finding all of them lacking they spent two years inventing a brand new system a Representative Constitutional Republic.
I can’t answer for the Republicans or worse the problem they have with something called RINOs (aka right wing of the left.) I refuse to considered going back to a foreign ideology which has a sterling record of failure except in the very smallest population countries.
But I see no reason to waste time re-inventing the wheel or objectively speaking trying someting that has failed since inception especially with the word socialism added. or more accurately actingin in place of it.
And by the way. Sweden jettisoned socialism ten years plus ago and banned welfare. They and most enlightened countries are market capitalist with
Switzerland more successful than ourselves in their form of government. a representative republic.
Others may beat their head against the wall until it’s bloody from the dialectic bouncing back and forth but as for me., Give me liberty and give the left a rest.
“minutes through two Constitutional…”
J. Holmes,…
– We are truly blessed to have the Democratic Party to save us from the. GOP, and fortunate to have sanctimonious fools like you to “tell it like it is”.