"The Mueller Report Was My Tipping Point"

[babylonsister]

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/04/gop-staffer-advocates-trumps-impeachment/587785/

The Mueller Report Was My Tipping Point
I was a Trump transition staffer, and I’ve seen enough. It’s time for impeachment.
8:22 AM ET
J. W. Verret
Professor of law at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

snip//

I wanted to share my experience transitioning from Trump team member to pragmatist about Trump to advocate for his impeachment, because I think many other Republicans are starting a similar transition. Politics is a team sport, and if you actively work within a political party, there is some expectation that you will follow orders and rally behind the leader, even when you disagree. There is a point, though, at which that expectation turns from a mix of loyalty and pragmatism into something more sinister, a blind devotion that serves to enable criminal conduct.

The Mueller report was that tipping point for me, and it should be for Republican and independent voters, and for Republicans in Congress. In the face of a Department of Justice policy that prohibited him from indicting a sitting president, Mueller drafted what any reasonable reader would see as a referral to Congress to commence impeachment hearings.

Depending on how you count, roughly a dozen separate instances of obstruction of justice are contained in the Mueller report. The president dangled pardons in front of witnesses to encourage them to lie to the special counsel, and directly ordered people to lie to throw the special counsel off the scent.

This elaborate pattern of obstruction may have successfully impeded the Mueller investigation from uncovering a conspiracy to commit more serious crimes. At a minimum, there’s enough here to get the impeachment process started. In impeachment proceedings, the House serves as a sort of grand jury and the Senate conducts the trial. There is enough in the Mueller report to commence the Constitution’s version of a grand-jury investigation in the form of impeachment proceedings.

The Founders knew that impeachment would be, in part, a political exercise. They decided that the legislative branch would operate as the best check on the president by channeling the people’s will. Congress has an opportunity to shape that public sentiment with the hearings ahead. As sentiments shift, more and more Republicans in Congress will feel emboldened to stand up to the president. The nation has been through this drama before, with more than a year of hearings in the Richard Nixon scandal, which ultimately forced his resignation.

Republicans who stand up to Trump today may face some friendly fire. Today’s Republican electorate seems spellbound by the sound bites of Twitter and cable news, for which Trump is a born wizard. Yet, in time, we can help rebuild the Republican Party, enabling it to rise from the ashes of the post-Trump apocalypse into a party with renewed commitment to principles of liberty, opportunity, and the rule of law.

[watoos]

1. Want to know something?

The good dirt on Trump is in the redacted grand jury testimony. Barr stated that he would release the grand jury information for an impeachment hearing.

Without impeachment we will never see the grand jury information, Barr will stone wall a subpoena right to the SC.

Republicans are ignoring subpoenas now, there is only one logical course of action, impeachment.

An impeachment hearing will control the narrative, and trust me, the narrative is extremely important.

Without impeachment, the narrative is going to be Barr investigating the FBI and Democrats who overreached and carried on a witch hunt against Trump.

[Chin music]

3. Couldn't agree more.

Come on Mrs. Speaker. I want to know what Hillary thinks we should do. And some of our other D icons. Time to go on record.

[Fiendish Thingy]

12. I haven't seen or heard a Barr quote on providing the unredacted report

But whether he’s willing or not, the law requires grand jury testimony to be provided to any impeachment inquiry.

[Pantagruel]

2. "transitioning from Trump team member"

I'd be curious as to how you rationalized supporting the self-admitted sexual predator in the first place. I understand how Trump got the knuckle draggers to support him but a "Professor of law at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School " must have gagged pulling the Trump lever?

[PatSeg]

9. I was wondering the same thing

The support of prominent intelligent republicans still blows my mind. Well, aside from those who have been bought or compromised by the Russians.

[Me.]

4. A Professor Of Law Who Was/Is A Trumper?

Why did it take 2 years, if it actually has? And why would I listen to him instead of the person who I trust to be on our side?

[BSdetect]

5. An academic qualification does not guarantee perception or insight or awareness.

[Me.]

6. Clearly

or he wouldn't have been a trumper in the first place. Love these Cons who are now getting worried and think the Dems must listen to their advice.

[wryter2000]

7. Exactly

John Yoo is a law professor

[ancianita]

8. He sounded fake. His last sentence clinched it for me. AS IF we care that the Republicans get better

Fuck this stupid excuse of a Koch law "professor" and the Koch funded university he rode in on.

He and his kind actually think we're gonna go for this shit.

[snort]

10. Perhaps a renewed commitment to the rule of law

but liberty and opportunity? On that they are simply full of shit.

[Perseus]

11. Here is the saddest line in the article, IMHO

"there is some expectation that you will follow orders and rally behind the leader, even when you disagree."


If you are a person who has principles and place a high value on your principles, you would never "rally behind the leader when you disagree", or when these decisions go against your principles. You either have principles or you don't.

Anyone who did not see the low value of the buffoon as a human being did not pay attention or had his/her party as more important than their country. No one with some sense could have voted for the ignorant and evil buffoon who is sitting in DC.

When this guy said he admires Pence, that is when I threw the towel on him...If you admire Pence that means you enjoy the same twisted values he does, which makes you, at least in my book, a low value citizen, low value human being.

[yardwork]

13. Too late.

[H2O Man]

14. Recommended.

[Perseus]

15. I just sent the author of the article this email

To tell you the truth, your tipping point should have been the fact that trump has a a history of corruption, during the campaign he had to pay $25 million because due to fraud with "trump university". How about the tipping point of the video and audio of his "pussy grabbing" confession? That didn't do it for you?

The tipping point of the well known fact that he is an amoral man, who has cheated on all his wives, including the current wife with a playboy bunny and an adult dancer? That didn't tip it for you either?

How about the fact that he has cheated his was throughout his life as a businessman, that was a well known fact before and during the campaign.

Not sure if you are a Christian, but there can be no man in politics today who is the worst example of a Christian, that didn't do it for you either?

Let me tell you what I feel is the saddest line in your article, "there is some expectation that you will follow orders and rally behind the leader, even when you disagree." I have principles, there is no way that I would follow orders or rally behind a "leader", if you can call trump that, if these orders go against my principles. You either have principles, or you don't.

I always wonder what takes for fanatics of a political party to reach that "tipping point", is it when something happens that actually affects them personally? Nothing to do with how it affects other people, of course, it is always about me. People seem to accept the unacceptable as long as it doesn't affect them personally.

Yes, he should be impeached, the only problem with that is that it would place your idol in the presidency, and Pence is as bad or worst than trump, he is a religious fanatic, and being a fanatic leads to extremes, as we have seen from the actions Pence took as Governor.

I believe that if your tipping point had come during the campaign, that you would be more believable, but ignoring so many facts that were clear tipping points to many other people (3 million of them to be precise) is very concerning. I do doubt your sincerity on the impeachment, it is hard for me to understand why now, and not earlier when so much filth about trump and Pence were known.

Perseus

[Leith]

17. This post deserves a K&R of its own

Fantastic.

[malaise]

16. I am convinced that the Con has dirt on lots of ReTHUGs

Additionally many were in on the coup