Decision to Not Vote on Impeachment
conandrob240 said:
Thoughts? I’m not sure I fully understand this. I think I don’t like it because it’s an important step and it seems the only reason it’s not happening is for fear of political/election ramifications. That feels disingenuous to me. The majority is there, why not put it to house vote like it’s supposed to happen?
As I understand it, the reason they had the vote with Nixon was to grant the investigators various powers that, in this case they already have, so there's not actually a logistical necessity to have a vote to start an impeachment inquiry. And there's nothing in the constitution requiring one either. So really, it does come down to a political/optics decision, and I think people can argue various pros and cons there.
I think it's got a pretty good explanation of the politics behind such a vote.
Steve said:
I think it's got a pretty good explanation of the politics behind such a vote.
Yes, impeachment is all about politics. And since she became speaker, she has run circles around Trump, so I trust her judgement on this.
"Like all bright-line rules, this 'House resolution' test is appealing in terms of being easy to apply. Yet, the reasoning supporting this proposed test is fatally flawed. The precedential support cited for the “House resolution” test is cherry-picked and incomplete, and more significantly, this test has no textual support in the U.S. Constitution, the governing rules of the House, or Rule 6(e), as interpreted in binding decisions."
Court decision yesterday:
https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.209590/gov.uscourts.dcd.209590.46.0_1.pdf
Shifting Course, Democrats Plan First Floor Vote on Impeachment Inquiry
The House plans to take its first formal vote Thursday on the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, Democratic leaders said Monday, ushering in a new phase as they prepare to go public with their investigation into his dealings with Ukraine.
Democrats described the vote, in which they plan to “affirm” the inquiry, as a necessary next step to be able to push it forward, rather than a response to sustained criticism from Republicans and the White House, who have accused them of throwing out past impeachment precedents and denying the president due process rights.
But it will be the first time that the full House has gone on record with regard to an inquiry that has been underway since late September. And it comes after Democrats have insisted for weeks that they did not need a formal vote of the full House to authorize the proceedings.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the vote in a letter to colleagues Monday afternoon.
“This resolution establishes the procedure for hearings that are open to the American people, authorizes the disclosure of deposition transcripts, outlines procedures to transfer evidence to the Judiciary Committee as it considers potential articles of impeachment, and sets forth due process rights for the president and his counsel,” Ms. Pelosi said in a statement.
Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts and chairman of the House Rules Committee, said he would introduce the resolution, which has not yet been finalized, on Tuesday. His panel plans to consider it on Wednesday, followed by a vote of the full House on Thursday.
“We are taking this step to eliminate any doubt as to whether the Trump administration may withhold documents, prevent witness testimony, disregard duly authorized subpoenas or continue obstructing the House of Representatives,” Ms. Pelosi wrote.
Here is the Resolution on continuing the Investigation.
https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20191028/BILLS-116-HRes660.pdf
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Thoughts? I’m not sure I fully understand this. I think I don’t like it because it’s an important step and it seems the only reason it’s not happening is for fear of political/election ramifications. That feels disingenuous to me. The majority is there, why not put it to house vote like it’s supposed to happen?