Bill Of Impeachment: Article I, Obstruction Of Justice

[BoSoxGal]

James Comey issued a nice tweet today in support of Andrew McCabe and the FBI. I couldn’t help noticing the banner on his Twitter account:



Forget Fire & Fury; THIS is the book I can’t wait to read!

[ex-khobar Andy]

[Lord Jim]

[Burning Petard]

You can read it yourself here.

https://assets.documentcloud.org/docume ... P-memo.pdf

My wife read and said "It really doesn't say much, does it?"

snailgate

[Econoline]

[ex-khobar Andy]

I would have preferred it to have been Exhibit 843.

[Econoline]

[Burning Petard]

From the Washington Post today, written by a law professor and former FBI agent:

"The point of the memo written by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and released Friday afternoon was supposed to be to expose corruption at the highest levels of the FBI. But what the memo actually did — albeit surely not intentionally — was exactly the opposite. In a brief 3½ pages, Nunes managed to confirm that the investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible ties with Russia has a very solid basis and that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III must keep looking into the case."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... cb0f64f446

The movie "POST" is up for academy awards. It is about the publication of the Pentagon Papers and the Vietnam War. The final scene has a night watchman calling a report of a break-in at the Demo party office in the Watergate Hotel.

It has always seemed clear to me that the big takeaway from Nixon's fall, Joe Biden's failed run for the presidential nomination and many other political 'scandals' is that the cover-up results are far worse than immediate confession and 'yes I made a mistake and accept full responsibility.' The later usually ends the story even when the 'mea culpa' is blatantly cynical. Now the GOP congress critters are nearly all running for cover and trying to disconnect from this memo. Too Late. It would have all been over long ago if the GOP and POTUS had said "yes, the nasty ROOSHIANS tried to meddle with us. Let's all gang up on them and make sure they don't do it again." Nope, they try to sell the country on the idea that it never happened, managing to jam their foot in their mouth and then insert it all where the sun don't shine.

snailgate

[rubato]

Saying the Nunes memo is based on facts is like saying the undigested corn and nuts in my bowel movements are 'nutrition'.

Is there something so loathesome, poxed and foul that Republicans won't do it? I can't find an example.


yrs,
rubato

[Burning Petard]

OK. question for the lawyers out there--what does it mean to be granted immunity, specifically in regard to our POTUS? Just what is impeachment?

There is an investigation into foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election. If POTUS is granted immunity, if he responds then to questions on this matter, could congress impeach him based on that same testimony? Impeachment is a legislative act of job termination, not a criminal action. Does the 5th amendment apply any and all federal actions, not just criminal? Impeachment does not apply just to POTUS. There have been several federal judges taken off the bench via impeachment. Do benefit and entitlements continue for a federal judge after impeachment, similar to a resignation?

snailgate

[BoSoxGal]

I want to take this opportunity to again plug Preet's podcast, Stay Tuned with Preet Bharara - it's the best thing I've been listening to these past few months, he hosts very intelligent guests and they engage in very engaging, informative conversations about the Mueller investigation - among other interesting topics. It isn't dry at all, very entertaining (Preet is pretty funny) as well as very educational - totally worth the hour (or less) each week.

https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/preetbharara

You can listen to it on your computer, it doesn't require an iPod or other gadget.

[Econoline]

"PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN."

[Big RR]

BP--in answer to your question, as I recall (mainly from readings during the Clinton impeachment), Congress makes it own rules regarding impeachment, and the USSC has chosen to stay out of any review of these rules or proceedings (some cases during the Nixon administration) . Thus, I believe Congress can choose to use whatever evidence it wants; during the trial in the Senate, any procedural questions (mainly allegations that those rules are not being followed) would be referred to the entire Senate, which will decide based on a majority vote; in the event of a tie, the Chief Justice (who is serving as the senate president for the trial) can cast a tie break vote (indeed, the CJ did this more than once during the Andrew Johnson impeachment trial), but it would be unlikely that a senate so divided on a major evidentiary issue would muster the 2/3 vote needed to convict.

[Lord Jim]

Not sure how they're ever going to arrest these folks:

Special counsel Mueller: Russians conducted 'information warfare' against US during election to help Donald Trump win

Special counsel Robert Mueller said a grand jury had indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The defendants allegedly conducted "information warfare" against the United States election process to help Donald Trump win.

The defendants used fake American personas, social media platforms, and other Internet media to advance their scheme, according to an indictment.

A federal grand jury has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for alleged interference in the 2016 presidential elections, during which they boosted the candidacy of Donald Trump, special counsel Robert Mueller's office said Friday.

The indictment says that a Russian organization called the Internet Research Agency sought to wage "information warfare" against the United States by using fictitious American personas and social media platforms and other Internet-based media.

While that effort was launched in 2014, by early to mid-2016 the defendants were "supporting the presidential campaign of then-candidate Donald J. Trump ... and disparaging Hillary Clinton," the indictment charges.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the defendants created hundreds of accounts using fake personas on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to advance their scheme.

Rosenstein said there is no allegation in the indictment that any American was a knowing participant in the scheme, nor is there any allegation that the scheme affected the outcome of the election.

The White House had no immediate comment on the indictment. According to NBC News, President Trump was briefed Friday morning personally by Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray about the indictment, before it was publicly released.

Under U.S law, foreign nationals generally are barred from federal election efforts.

The indictment said that the Internet Research Agency was registered with the Russian government as a corporate entity in 2013.

"By in or around May 2014, the organization's strategy included interfering with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, with the stated goal of "spread[ing] distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general," the indictment said.

An announcement from Mueller's office said that the government accuses all the defendants of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Three defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/16/russian ... probe.html

(You can also see a copy of the indictment at that link.)

[ex-khobar Andy]

I do like this phrase from the indictment, available at CNN:

Some Defendants, posing as U.S. persons without revealing their Russian association, communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump Campaign . . . to seek to coordinate political activities.

And if I go to Wiktionary, the first meaning I find for unwitting is:

1. unaware or uninformed; oblivious

Yes, I'll go along with that even though it doesn't narrow it down very much.

Unindicted co-conspirators for $200, please Alex.

[BoSoxGal]

He got briefed this morning on this very substantive proof of Russian interference, blowing his mantra of ‘the whole investigation is a witch hunt’, and he refused to answer questions about imposing the sanctions on Russia now, and only tweeted about HIMSELF.

He’s a worthless piece of shit. Our country was electronically invaded by spies, our election process stained - where is his patriotic outrage?! His head is up Putin’s ass!

[rubato]

"... His head is up Putin’s ass!

And his balls are in Putin's hand.


yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

Some Defendants, posing as U.S. persons without revealing their Russian association, communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump Campaign . . . to seek to coordinate political activities.

I believe there was a typo in that:

Some Defendants, posing as U.S. persons without revealing their Russian association, communicated with half-witted individuals associated with the Trump Campaign . . . to seek to coordinate political activities.

Predictably, Il Boobce is seizing upon the use of the word "unwitting" and the fact that there were no indictments of anyone in his campaign in this round of indictments, to repeat his bullshit claim of "complete exoneration"...

[ex-khobar Andy]

'Half-witted' gives them too much credit, LJ. 'Unwitting' is exactly right.

[Scooter]