11 December 2019

Two Articles

The House of Representatives released two proposed articles of impeachment yesterday against Donald Trump (details here; articles document annotated here). Two counts are alleged: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

I was disappointed they did not make a separate count for obstruction of justice in the Mueller investigation. However, they have a specific reason and strategy for not doing so, and I defer to their greater knowledge of the process.

The House will vote to approve the articles probably this week. If passed, Trump will become only the third President in American history to be impeached.

From there, the matter will move to a trial in the Senate, likely beginning in January. The strategy of Senate Republicans sounds like it will be "what he did was bad and wrong but not enough to remove him from office."

The second article, obstruction of Congress, will pose a much greater risk for Republicans. If they accept being stonewalled completely by the White House, they will set a terrible precedent for themselves if they wish in the future to investigate a future Democratic president.

Acquital seems likely but it's not a certainty. At a minimum, the trial will likely be damaging to Trump's chances for reelection. Stay tuned.

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