OH FFS!!!!Beware of Impeaching Trump. It Could Hurt the Presidency.

[elleng]

by JOHN YOO!!!

'We must avoid doing long-term harm to the president’s ability to conduct foreign policy and protect our nation.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi authorized the opening of an impeachment inquiry over accusations that President Trump abused his foreign-relations powers to target political rivals. Realizing the gravity of the affair, the president had announced that the White House would release an unclassified and unredacted transcript of a phone call at the center of the whistle-blower complaint.

Mr. Trump already acknowledged that he had called Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in July to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, for corruption. He may also have reportedly told his chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to withhold $400 million in military aid to Ukraine

“If the president is essentially withholding military aid at the same time he is trying to browbeat a foreign leader into doing something illicit, providing dirt on his opponent during a presidential campaign,” Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on Sunday, then impeachment may be the “only remedy that is coequal to the evil.”

But we should beware that rushing into an impeachment may do long-term harm to the presidency and our national security.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/24/opinion/ukraine-trump.html?

[Wounded Bear]

1. Uh, John, that's kind of the whole point...

[2naSalit]

2. He needs to just STFU...nt

[BeyondGeography]

4. Torture Memo guy frets about the greater good

Sniff, sniff.

[elleng]

13. REALLY!!!!

[Wellstone ruled]

5. Funny thing,

Bloomberg TV was pumping this same B.S. at 10 am pacific by their intrepid homer of a reporter on Capital hill interviewing some lame ass Rethug Congress Guy on the Ways and Means Committee.

We heard this same garbage from the Nixon Cabal.

[TheRealNorth]

6. Forgive me if I object to the Orange Anus using that office

To persuade foreign countries to interfere in our elections.

What a clueless shill.

[unblock]

7. That's really tortured logic.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Ahhh - the "enhanced interrogation techniques are not torture" jackass.

[Claritie Pixie]

9. John Yoo? Torture Memos John Yoo?

[malaise]

10. I'll have to dig this up again

Fuck Yoo!

[berni_mccoy]

11. FFS John Yoo should not be given space in the NYT

[BlueStater]

12. Trump BEING president is what has hurt the presidency possibly beyond repair.

Give me a fucking break with this shit.

[chowder66]

14. RUSHING? nt

[kurtcagle]

15. Riiiight

This was an argument made during Watergate, and it was an argument made when the Republicans impeached Clinton over an affair. Given the vindictive nature of most Republicans, it will almost certainly be the case with the next Democratic president when the Republicans attempt to impeach him or her for jaywalking.

The grounds for impeachment here are simple - abuse of power. Repeated violations of the Emoluments clause, use of the security apparatus for political and financial gain, nepotism, election fraud, obstruction, graft, bribery, extortion and more. The Ukraine scandal was just the straw that broke the camel's back. In general, the Democrats recognize that a president must be free to make decisions - when given approval by Congress - in foreign affairs, but this is a case where the President of the United States is soliciting a foreign power's help to throw an election. This is ultimately what Watergate was about - coverup of a theft intended to gain dirt on political opponents, with the strong whiff of treason added for good measure.

I'm glad Pelosi finally greenlit impeachment proceedings. It gives teeth to the House to investigate, something they didn't really have with Mueller, and it lets the Democrats move into a more offensive stance. It also puts the Senate Republicans on the defensive, as they know that too swift an acquittal will play poorly at home.

[still_one]

16. No it won't. I don't think it will have an impact on the Democratic primaries, because the vast

majority of the Democrats are well aware of what Trump has done.

However, I think the impeachment proceedings will have an effect on the general election, especially among the undecideds