The following was just submitted to Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R IN-09), via constituent contact form. Will also be posted to Indiana’s two senators, Mike Braun and Todd Young. <\/p>\n
Not that any of them will care. They are all in thrall to Trump, sycophants, the best, and spew nothing but the decreed on high GOP talking points, including the latest one that Congress cannot do an impeachment investigation without first voting to do so. Their latest lame excuse for refusing to cooperate and continue their acts of obstruction of justice. Because, to tell the unvarnished truth, that is all they have left at this point.<\/p>\n
Just read the following on judge’s decision, which makes the current sick Republican talking points look like the empty, lawless prattle they are. <\/p>\n
When are you going to adhere to your oath of office to uphold the Constitution and the Rule of Law, and stop enabling a madman who has committed multiple crimes, spits on the Constitution daily, refuses to follow the law, betrayed an ally sentencing them to death by genocide at the hands of the Turks, and is obviously descending into early stage dementia???<\/p>\n
Seriously, is that where you want your place in the history books to be??<\/p>\n
\nCarve it in stone, carry it through the Capitol rotunda, and prop it on Lindsey Graham’s desk.<\/p>\n
“Even in cases of presidential impeachment, a House resolution has never, in fact, been required to begin an impeachment inquiry”<\/p>\n
\u2014 Chief Judge of the District Court for the District of Columbia Beryl Howell<\/p>\n
Judge Howell\u2019s Friday ruling that the current impeachment inquiry is entirely legitimate, and that congressional subpoenas issued under that inquiry carry the full authority of any impeachment proceeding, wasn\u2019t just expected, it was an absolute given. It will, of course, be appealed. But the appeal will lose, even in the vaunted high court of judge beer. Because overturning what Howell clearly pointed out\u2014the authority of the House to define the rules behind impeachment, without interference from anyone else, including the Senate\u2014would require not just a matter of \u201cinterpretation\u201d but taking a bottle of Wite-Out to the Constitution.<\/p>\n
While the most direct effect of Howell\u2019s ruling may be to finally put the actual report from the office of special counsel, along with supporting materials, into the hands of Congressional committees which should have seen those things seven months ago, that\u2019s far from all the ruling accomplishes. Because Howell didn\u2019t stop with just the \u201cwhat\u201d she was delivering, she includes a big stack of \u201cwhy.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that \u201cwhy\u201d didn\u2019t just stop with the obvious fact that the House is operating within the confines of the Constitution, by the traditions of previous impeachment practices, and solidly within the rules that Republicans themselves laid out as recently as 2015. Howell\u2019s ruling that the House deserves to see the complete, unredacted report and the underlying testimony \u2014 and that they are entitled to other materials on request \u2014 is strongly supported by two additional points: <\/p>\n
Donald Trump lied to the special counsel\u2019s office.
\n Then, and now, the White House has attempted to obstruct investigation.<\/p>\nHowell doesn\u2019t just give the Congress what they requested because they have every legal right to the information sought, she makes it abundantly clear that she is doing so because:<\/p>\n
\u2026 the President\u2019s written responses to questions posed by the Special Counsel\u2019s Office were \u201cgenerally\u201d not only\u201cinadequate and incomplete,\u201d but also \u201cshowed that he wasn\u2019t always being truthful.\u201d<\/p>\n
And because:<\/p>\n
\u2026 the President refused \u201cto provide written answers to questions on obstruction topics or questions on events during the transition.\u201d<\/p>\n
… (large section omitted, go to source to read it all. Worth it.) …<\/p>\n
Judge Howell blasted that entire cloud of fog directly out of the sky, making it clear that:<\/p>\n
This OLC legal conclusion has never been adopted, sanctioned, or in any way approved by a court. <\/p>\n
The entire legal theory that Trump cannot be indicted is no more than that, a legal theory. It\u2019s never been so much as carried through an actual courtroom. In fact, the closest thing to testing this theory is likely the hearing that was just held before Judge Howell, and her brief statement on this issue suggests that this particular bit of Trump armor is about as thick as the paper it\u2019s written on.<\/p>\n