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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWaPo: Calls for Justice Kavanaugh's impeachment are mounting. Here's how it could work.
https://beta.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/09/15/calls-justice-kavanaughs-impeachment-are-mounting-heres-how-it-could-work/
Now, as the Oct. 8 anniversary of his confirmation nears, the New York Times reports it has uncovered and corroborated a previously unreported claim of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh, and that it found the FBI interviewed none of the potential witnesses. The story, published Saturday evening, compelled several Democrats to demand a new investigation into the Supreme Court Justice.
Even before the recent spate of sexual misconduct allegations, murmurs among Kavanaugh opponents fixated on whether he had lied under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Saturdays story from the Times quickly raised new questions about whether Kavanaugh perjured himself and reignited calls for his impeachment.
Impeachment proceedings are contingent on Democrats controlling the House, the only body that can bring an article of impeachment. The current House breakdown is 235 Democrats, 198 Republicans, one Independent and one vacancy, according to the Cook Political Report, which puts impeachment in the realm of political possibility.
Yet Kavanaughs removal is exceedingly unlikely, given the supermajority threshold in the Senate, where there are 51 Republicans and 49 Democrats. The supermajority threshold for removal is exceedingly high by design: The delegates crafted it to prevent politics from driving the outcome, instead ensuring any misconduct was offensive enough to have bipartisan support for removal.
leftieNanner
(14,997 posts)There are currently 47 Democrats and 53 Republicans, so the threshold is even higher.
And even if we had video of Kavanaugh's behavior, and solid gold evidence of his purjury, the Republicans will never vote to throw him off the court.
What a very sad state of affairs we have here. SMH
FBaggins
(26,695 posts)There were several allegations during the hearings (some more credible than others) and he was still confirmed. An additional claim that cant possibly be proven is not suddenly going to result in a ground shift of that magnitude.
Its a PR play to sell a book... and if recent sources (all RW at this point) are even close to true... were more likely to be harmed by pushing it.
Baked Potato
(7,733 posts)... They want to take away our guns!
... Now they want to take away our beloved Justice!
standingtall
(2,785 posts)We will look cowardly. The republican senate wont vote to convict Kavanaugh either so we can't use that as an excuse for not impeaching Trump. If we impeach Kavanaugh.
Takket
(21,424 posts)1. Impeachment of drumpf and his acquittal in the Senate (which is a given) leads to a blue wave in the Senate. Make no mistake, this is the prize Pelosi is playing for in her build up to impeachment. leaving the 2020 voter with absolutely NO DOUBT that the GOP Senate has betrayed America by allowing a traitor to stay in power. drumpf's trial is about winning the Senate, because removing him from office is impossible.
2. In 2021, a (hopefully) Dem DOJ, white house and congress see the arrest and conviction of drumpf and his cohorts.
3. also during 2021, an investigation of Kavanaugh actually takes place (not a sham one that investigates nothing)
4. Sometime around 2022 Kavanaugh is impeached and survives the trial in the Senate.
5. Last step... this is where Democrats and the People step in. The call should come out that it is unjust for drumpf, a convicted criminal, to have placed two lifetime appointees on SCOTUS. Especially one that the public sees as a serial sexual assaulter (again we are hoping here that the public sees him as guilty and only surviving the trial because of the Senate rethugs). Protests and sit ins will need to be organized, SCOTUS will need to be occupied and shut down. The People must refuse to allow SCOTUS to hold hearings and demand the resignation of Gorsuch and Kavanaugh. This is the hardest part but with public sentiment on our side it could be done.
Polybius
(15,238 posts)He hasn't done anything impeachable (not that you said he would be impeached). As for him resigning in point 5:
There won't be sit-ins. If we were to get a Democratic President and Senate, the will to protest greatly diminishes because many would be happy. We can't even get people to protect in massive numbers now.
brooklynite
(93,847 posts)Even a blue wave won't win back the Senate with enough votes to convict Trump or Kavanaugh. Assuming that Doug Jones loses (a strong possibility in Alabama), we need net four pickups, and there are only three likely: Arizona, Colorado and Maine. The remaining Senators up for re-election are in solid Red States.
elias7
(3,976 posts)"The supermajority threshold for removal is exceedingly high by design: The delegates crafted it to prevent politics from driving the outcome", yet it is precisely that which allows one party to NOT do the right thing.
triron
(21,914 posts)Drunken Irishman
(34,857 posts)The probability of, say, Bill Clinton being removed from office increases. On obstruction of justice charges, they were defeated at 50/50. In that instance, all it would have taken was one additional 'guilty' vote and Bill Clinton would have been removed from office.
madville
(7,397 posts)Editors' Note: An earlier version of this article, which was adapted from a forthcoming book, did not include one element of the book's account regarding an assertion by a Yale classmate that friends of Brett Kavanaugh pushed his penis into the hand of a female student at a drunken dorm party. The book reports that the female student declined to be interviewed and friends say that she does not recall the incident. That information has been added to the article."
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)Drunken Irishman
(34,857 posts)And changes things remarkably if true.
jcgoldie
(11,582 posts)I think someone forgot to proofread this.