General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHow are impeachment proceedings started?
Can a member of the minority Party introduce articles of impeachment? It surely is obvious to the majority of the House of Representatives that he is unfit, incompetent, and is guilty of high crimes OR misdemeanors.
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"The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the right to impeach the president. Impeachment means that a charge of misconduct is filed against the president. A majority of the members of the House must vote for these charges in order to impeach the president."
https://www.google.com/webhp?ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=how+is+the+impeachment+process+started
InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,122 posts)truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)can be the basis for Articles of Impeachment, since "high crimes and misdemeanors" is not defined.
Still won't happen, until the basest of the base of the Republican Party turns against Trump. He's too useful and they will use him, along with his "mandate."
Ohioblue22
(1,430 posts)you can yell and scream, call things outragrous like daschell used to to but that's it
Orrex
(63,213 posts)The rest is simple.
onenote
(42,704 posts)But that doesn't mean there will be any action taken. One or more resolutions relating to impeachment have introduced with respect to every president from Reagan through Obama. They get referred to committee where they typically die, often without any hearings or further investigation.
This, when the inevitable impeachment resinous introduced against Trump, history suggests that, despite the rejoicing that will occur here, it more likely than not will be an empty gesture.
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)There's no point in jumping the gun, here. Also, such articles would never be considered if they came from the minority party, frankly.
We don't want to be the Crying Wolf party.
N_E_1 for Tennis
(9,728 posts)Robert Kuttner is the co-founder and co-editor of "The American Prospect".
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/impeaching-trump_us_5869b806e4b0eb586489f3a4
"Donald Trump is wildly unfit to be president, and he will demonstrate that in ways that break the law and violate the Constitution. Since the election, there have been three wishful efforts to keep Trump from the presidency: a recount doomed by a lack of evidence; a futile campaign to flip Trump electors; and an even more improbable drive to get the Supreme Court to annul the 2016 election.
These moves, indicative of magical thinking, make Trumps opposition look a lot weaker than it is―at a time when the stakes for the Republic could not be higher. There will also be marches and demonstrations, but they will also look weak unless they have a strategic focus.
There is only one constitutional way to remove a president, and that is via impeachment.
Whats needed is a citizens impeachment inquiry, to begin on Trumps first day in office."
More at link.
onenote
(42,704 posts)His article correctly labels previous attempts to block Trump from taking office as the product of magical thinking. But he then engages in his own magical thinking. A "citizens investigation" by a group of people with no authority to call witnesses to testify under oath, no authority to subpoena documents, would at best be ignored by the Judiciary Committee (and the media) and, at worst, mocked as another desperate effort with no chance of success.
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)unless the majority wants it to...and even if they did, having Pence--a "smart" missile, with a guidance system--is not an improvement over a loose cannon like Trump. There is no way out of this debacle except forward--retake at least the Senate in 2018.
I do wonder if the military would step in to prevent a nuclear war.
And there is another option: if Congress decides Trump is unable to fulfill the duties of the office, they can so declare and remove him (25th amendment). There is some toing-and-froing involved, but the upshot is they could make Pence "acting President" without impeaching or actually removing Trump, and they could do it in a matter of days, without investigations and hearings and so on. I bet Trump would be happier: still has the title, no responsiblity; he could go on another victory tour or something. And we would still have Pence.
N_E_1 for Tennis
(9,728 posts)I was searching for info about the citizens impeachment. Could a citizen start the process? Etc, etc....
http://impeachforpeace.org/
http://impeachforpeace.org/ImpeachNow.html
Very interesting.
onenote
(42,704 posts)And a member isn't required to do so.
If a member was so inclined, why not simply introduce his or her own petition.
And like any other impeachment-related resolution, it will be referred to Committee where it will die, probably without any further investigation or hearings.
In other words, more magical thinking.