General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAre Gorsuch and Kavanaugh now shielding themselves from impeachment?
"The guy is toast. The Senate is lost. Maybe we should pretend to be correct minded jurists?"
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,659 posts)SoonerPride
(12,286 posts)Unfortunately, they will be there for life.
getagrip_already
(14,692 posts)No republican not up for re-election would agree to it after what is going to happen to collins and company (hopefully) this fall.. And there aren't enough of them up for close elections in any cycle to make a huge difference.
Of course, if he were criminally indicted on perjury charges and convicted, he might decide to resign if offered a pardon. But the gop senate wouldn't remove him, even if he were in prison and absent from the court. They wouldn't hand the seat to a dem potus under any circumstance.
There is no hook to remove a justice just because he or she is in jail (same for potus btw).
Besides, any indictment would be challenged as unconstitutional and would end up in scotus, and he would't have to recuse himself.
That's for each justice to determine is what they have always said.
Can we talk about packing the court(s) yet?
Polybius
(15,367 posts)He hasn't done anything to warrant it. Kavanaugh on the other hand has.
getagrip_already
(14,692 posts)Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)or a Commission that investigates Trump Crime Syndicate and asked a Grand Jury for criminal indictments .
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,659 posts)even close to other acts that have resulted in the impeachment of federal judges. Only one Supreme Court justice has ever been impeached - Samuel Chase in 1803 - and he was acquitted. "After the 1800 elections, President Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans sought to weaken Federalist influence on the federal courts. Chase's actions on the court had been accused of demonstrating bias, and Jefferson believed that Chase should be removed from office. The House of Representatives impeached Chase on eight articles of impeachment, all centering on Chase's alleged political bias. The Senate voted to acquit Chase on all counts..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Chase Most of the lower federal court judges who were impeached and removed from office had been convicted of serious felonies, usually bribery.
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)as of today. 2021 and beyond will be a reckoning for at least a decade for bringing Political Appointees to Justice,watch and see.
Kavanah will be Job One,he lied to Harris and that was his ticket out the door. Stick a pin in it.
getagrip_already
(14,692 posts)If that is investigated and they find fire....
just saying, there is a better than even chance he lied under oath.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,659 posts)getagrip_already
(14,692 posts)There is a blood lust growing. All it will take is a referal from the senate to the doj.... that and a dem controlled senate and doj... smov.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,659 posts)that Kavanaugh has written or joined in a number of decisions against the Trump administration. I don't like him and I don't he should be there, but he actually isn't as bad, so far, as Thomas or Alito. If anybody ought to go it's those two.
getagrip_already
(14,692 posts)fair or not. nuke it. As he sowed, so shall he reap.
But kavanaugh is a snake and can't be trusted. If he lied under oath, that is disqualifying for any judge, let alone someone who could become chief justice.........
grantcart
(53,061 posts)If it is proven that he a) committed perjury and b) tampered with witnesses (apparently he sent emails coaching witnesses) he could be charged with either contempt of Congress or perjury.
He could be arrested.
He could be incarcerated, even for a short period.
I agree that there is no chance of impeaching him from the court directly but that if he was found to have committed felony perjury and obstruction he would be vulnerable if
1) It was intentional
2) material to a substantive fact
3) involved getting others to offer false testimony.
Under those circumstances he could be tried and convicted. If he was tried and convicted he could be impeached and removed and might even resign as a plea bargain.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,659 posts)grantcart
(53,061 posts)He said that Ramirez was shopping her story for personal gain and that he didn't contact anyone to lie about Ramirez but apparently there are texts doing exactly that (allegedly).
Woodward says he flat out lied about being a leak on a story. I read once that Woodward, having developed an affection for tapes records every interview.
Also when the Times declined publish it they did so only because they didn't want to violate source confidentiality not because it wasn't credible.
Lying before Congress must stop. We should have a special prosecutor investigate the obvious cases. Not arguing that we should "look until we find something" but we should not be giving passes out to cases where testimony was thought to be likely false based on known facts already in hand.
If we don't investigate Cavanaugh then we are giving permission for every SC nominee to lie going forward, every single one.
ProudMNDemocrat
(16,783 posts)That they were in the majority today.
Expect Trump to tweet that Gorsuch and Kavanaugh BETRAYED him.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,659 posts)they are not obligated to do favors for Trump just because he appointed them. This is why the lifetime appointment thing is actually good. We might be stuck with justices that we don't like (Alito and Thomas are actually much worse), but those justice are also not beholden to the president who appointed them and might not always toe the line. So far both Kavanaugh and Gorsuch have decided against the Trump administration in several cases. I don't expect either of them to become another Earl Warren, but it should be obvious to Trump that he can't count on their fealty. He's probably raging at Bill Barr about figuring out a way to fire them (which, of course, he can't).
Kaleva
(36,291 posts)Goodheart
(5,318 posts)I'm not one to summarily dismiss the self-serving nature of Republicans.
enough
(13,255 posts)safeinOhio
(32,658 posts)They knew he is nuts and a defeat by the SC might save the last of the Publican Party.
JCMach1
(27,555 posts)muriel_volestrangler
(101,295 posts)the tide of public and corporate opinion will have shifted well away from Trump, so they've nothing to gain by making bad decisions on his behalf, and get the chance to build bridges with the SC judges they'll serve with for a long time - Roberts, Sotomayor and Kagan. Alito and Thomas might retire soon, and they see the wingnut welfare circuit still pledging fealty to Trump and think "better stay partisan".
irisblue
(32,955 posts)lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Plus term limits.
brooklynite
(94,483 posts)Goodheart
(5,318 posts)brooklynite
(94,483 posts)Goodheart
(5,318 posts)brooklynite
(94,483 posts)They (like everyone in Congress) knows that there won't be an attempt to Impeach anyone on the Court.
Goodheart
(5,318 posts)PTWB
(4,131 posts)These folks are in no danger of impeachment and never were. They wouldnt be if we held every single senate seat.
Polybius
(15,367 posts)Gorsuch never did anything to warrant impeachment anyway. He'd be acquitted 100-0.
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,315 posts)mnmoderatedem
(3,722 posts)that you can't fire these guys.
I'm sure they had to explain it to him multiple times. Probably with sock puppets.