On why our best chance might be if Mueller doesn't give his report to the House till January '19.

[pnwmom]

Last edited Mon Feb 26, 2018, 04:56 PM - Edit history (1)

I know that the prospect of going through another year of DT is almost unbearable.

But what would be even worse would be to have Mueller's investigation be completed and then his report be smothered to death by the Republicans in the House -- which they are legally able to do. Mueller won't be the one deciding to "release" his report. Legally, that decision is made by the House, not Mueller.

I suspect that Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer figured this out long ago, and this is why they haven't encouraged premature hopes for impeachment. And looking at Congressional Republicans, and their ability to excuse ANYTHING DT EVER does, I'm increasingly certain that they're right.

The piece below explains it better than I do.

http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2018/02/btrtn-four-dimensional-chess-what-does.html

In our pathetically partisan nation, the issue of Donald Trump’s guilt or innocence may well turn on which party holds each chamber of Congress and by what margin. If Mueller’s report is delivered to a Republican House of Representatives, then a Republican-led House Judiciary Committee would have to determine whether there is even reason to draft articles of impeachment. In the unlikely event that were to happen, the articles would have to be approved by a majority of a Republican House of Representatives. Again, highly unlikely.

There are those who believe that the best possible timing for Robert Mueller to deliver his comprehensive chronicle of Trump misdeeds is right before the 2018 mid-terms, as this would increase the likelihood that the anticipated “Blue Wave” would be solidified and amplified by the chapter and verse detailing of allegations. The reasoning is that this would best ensure that a Democratic House is seated in 2019, creating a far higher likelihood that articles of impeachment would be passed and force a trial.

However, this is a gambit that carries great risk. The minute Robert Mueller turns over his final report to the Department of Justice, he is no longer in control of the investigation. As soon as he turns over his findings to the Department of Justice, he has handed the authority for all subsequent steps to the Republican-led Department of Justice, then the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, and then the Republican-dominated House of Representatives. The entire impeachment process could be shut down cold at any of these three stages… before it ever gets to trial.

SNIP

Were such a scenario to unfold, you reason, wouldn’t the Democrats simply re-introduce articles of impeachment after the mid-terms? This raises a fascinating question… can a sitting President be subject to such double jeopardy? Ordinary citizens are protected from being prosecuted twice for the same crime. If the Republicans were to bring articles of impeachment to the House floor and vote them down, would that effectively preclude the Democrats from re-litigating the matter in 2019? Sure, Democrats could rewrite the articles of impeachment and submit a new brief for evaluation to the House, but a weary public could decide that such a Democratic maneuver was purely political and demand that Congress move on.

SNIP

We hope we see Mueller’s grand finale only after a new Congress is sworn in. As eager as we all are to see that justice is done, it may have a far greater chance of being done when the calendar shifts to 2019.

[IphengeniaBlumgarten]

1. Is impeachment the only goal of Mueller's investigation?

If so, then what you say may be reasonable.

But there are likely many indictments of more minor figures that will happen before the denouement. These are likely to change public perception, as well as induce increasing anxiety in elected Republicans, so we may see quite different attitudes emerge as time goes on. And what will be the public effect of Trump's reactions to this progress?

I look forward for the next shoe to drop.

[pnwmom]

2. Those indictments will keep coming, and I'd like to hope that they'd have such a great impact

on public opinion that the Congressional GOP leaders would take appropriate action.

But I'm more pessimistic about that than I used to be. There seem to be no depths they will not dive to in their willingness to toady to DT.

Also, I think a number of them will be implicated, and they'll be determined to bury that information forever.

[guillaumeb]

3. Agreed and recommended.

No one should count on the current GOP to do anything that might offend the racist and uninformed GOP base.

[Jim__]

4. Mueller may not last 'til January 2019.

If Mueller releases an excruciatingly detailed report, documenting Trump's treasonous behavior, and the Republicans refuse to act, that may just increase the size of the democratic wave in 2018. The democratic congress can then impeach Trump. If Trump manages to get rid of Mueller before Mueller releases his report, and then installs some stooge to whitewash everything, we may never get rid of Trump.

I really want Mueller to release his report as soon as he possibly can.

[pnwmom]

5. Mueller cannot "release" any kind of report. All he can legally do is turn it over -- to Republicans

because they are the ones who control both the Justice Department and the House.

Then they will decide what to do with it. And they can decide just to bury it, or release any bits they choose to.

[Jim__]

6. "Release his report" came directly from your thread title - which you've since changed.

But that's really beside the point. If Trump removes Mueller, the only "report" anyone will get will be, "No obstruction, no collusion."

[pnwmom]

7. And if that happens that might be a better result than a failed attempt at impeachment.

If Trump fires Mueller, that will probably energize even more voters in November. In January they can put Mueller back on the job.

[Downtown Hound]

8. I'm convinced we're going to give them a thrashing in November

regardless of what Mueller does. So I heartily encourage him to take his time and do it right.

[uponit7771]

9. K&R

[mythology]

10. What possible relevance is double jeopardy?

Impeachment isn't a criminal trial. That's a pretty basic fact the author got wrong.

[pnwmom]

11. It's a question I've heard people bring up. And I think his answer made sense:

Sure, Democrats could rewrite the articles of impeachment and submit a new brief for evaluation to the House, but a weary public could decide that such a Democratic maneuver was purely political and demand that Congress move on.

I agree with him on this. I think the public won't be willing to go through the same impeachment process twice. We should assume we'll only get one bite of the impeachment apple.

[leftstreet]

12. Or Democrats could run on issues and ignore impeachment

That's probably what voters would prefer

(What happened to those 17 Senators who endorsed Medicare For All late last summer?)

The party officials know Trump isn't going anywhere. They should just run on issues