This will be short.
I think that people don’t always mean the same thing when they use the word “impeach.”
1. In one sense the word “impeachment” refers to the official vote by the House of Representatives to impeach the president (Art 1, Sec 2, 5) and send his case to the Senate to decide on removal (Art 1, sec 2, 6).
2. In a broader sense, the word “impeachment” refers to the whole process of investigations, hearings, testimony, articles of impeachment, committee votes.
We are nowhere near a vote on articles of impeachment. In that sense, we cannot impeach Donald Trump anytime soon.
We are precisely in the process of investigations, etc., that will lead to the vote of impeachment.
Should President Trump (and others) be impeached?
- No. We’re nowhere near ready for a vote on impeachment (definition one).
- Hell, yes! Start the impeachment process (definition two) that will lead to that vote.
The way forward, it seems to me has been put forward by
- House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Adam B. Schiff,
- Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler,
- Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairman Elijah E. Cummings,
- Committee on Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters,
- Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot L. Engel, and
- Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal
who issued the following joint statement on the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report:
“We are profoundly troubled by the astonishing efforts by President Trump identified in the report to obstruct the investigation, including his attempts to remove the Special Counsel and encourage witnesses to lie and to destroy or conceal evidence. In direct contradiction to the statements of the Attorney General this morning that the Special Counsel did not consider Department of Justice policy against indicting a sitting president, the Special Counsel stated that ‘fairness concerns counseled against potentially reaching that judgment [of criminal conduct] when no charges can be brought.’ Nor do we believe it was the Attorney General’s place to make such a judgment, either, and it is now apparent that the Special Counsel expressed no desire to have Barr make that decision himself. Instead, as the Special Counsel undoubtedly anticipated, it must fall to Congress to assess the President’s improper, corrupt and immoral conduct in an effort to obstruct the investigation.
. . .
“Although the details of the report are shocking, much of it still remains redacted and many questions remain. We must get the full report and the underlying evidence, including grand jury material, in order to perform our constitutional duties, including deciding whether new legislation is necessary. Special Counsel Mueller’s fact-gathering has concluded. It is now Congress’ responsibility to review and assess the evidence.”
I see no division between those who, on the one hand, who want to put forward a motion to impeach and then see it investigated through public hearings and those, on the other hand, who want to have hearings and investigations that will lead to the passage of articles of impeachment. They are all dealing with the process of impeachment (definition two). I look forward to the day when these public hearings will result in the welcome passage of articles of impeachment (definition one).
Then, if the public hearings have done their job, we will be ready for a Senate vote to remove. (No, we aren’t there yet.)
A note from the past: I remember the Watergate hearings. We watched them in the break room of a branch of the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland. We were working for the government, watching the government do its duty to bring the actions of the government to light. And yes, the hearings began in 1973, a year before the 1974 elections. Nixon resigned in August, 1974, less than three months before the (mid-term) elections. Nixon’s accusers and his defenders were on the ballot. The Democrats gained 49 seats in the House and four seats in the Senate. (Just saying,)
We’re in a similar time frame now.
As Elizabeth Warren correctly stated
“The correct process for exercising that authority is impeachment.” (definition two)
Impeach (definition one)? Not yet.
Start the impeachment process (definition two)? NOW!