Thread by @RosenzweigP

Some thoughts on impeachment and the prospect ahead of us. None of this is particularly original, but perhaps the perspective I have (having worked on the Clinton investigation) gives me a bit of insight: /1

1) Impeachment is a very rare proceeding. We've done it roughly 2 dozen times in the history of America and this will only be the fourth time for a President (assuming that the House goes forward with an inquiry, and counting Nixon even though he resigned before the vote) /2

That makes this an historic moment of great significance. Nobody should treat it lightly; nor should anyone really celebrate it. This is a moment fraught with real consequences for America and our institutions. /3

2) Impeachment is not a criminal matter. Some crimes are impeachable, but some (like, say, drunk driving) might not be. And some acts that are not crimes (like, say, ordering an investigation of a political opponent, as Nixon did) are impeachable high crimes /4

and misdemeanors because they are abuses of power. Don't confuse the two. Ultimately, the question of impeachment is about fitness for office and whether or not the office holder has acted in violation of critical norms of behavior. /5

3) Impeachment is different from removal. This is a two stage process and the House will have to make its own judgment as to President Trump, after which the Senate will be obliged to act as well. Twice before, when Presidents have been impeached the Senate has stepped back /6

from the brink. This is mostly because, in the end, impeachment is a social, moral, ethical and political judgment, not a criminal trial. And that implicates a lot of values that Representatives and Senators will need to consider /7

4) Johnson's impeachment was clearly a political dispute dressed up as a dispute about fitness. Johnson was a racist who was trying to short-circuit Reconstruction. Impeachment was how the House tried to punish him for that. In the end, the Senate barely decided not to /8

impeach over politics.

5) By contrast, Clinton's impeachment was about the rule of law and obstruction of justice, but it arose in the context of the President's personal behavior, rather than his official acts. And so, again, the Senate decided that removal was not apt for /9

matters outside the bounds of presidential conduct.

6) Nixon's case is a core example of abuse of presidential power. The creation of enemies lists; the use of the CIA to try to stymie an FBI investigation; the effort to protect political ambition all smacked of /10

the misuse of authority. In the end, after the smoking gun tape made clear Nixon was complicit in the coverup almost from the beginning, Republicans withdrew their support and Nixon resigned rather than face conviction and removal. /11

7) From what we know of the Trump/Ukraine allegations they fall closer to the Nixonian abuse of power standard. Imagine, for example, if Mueller had found that Trump had promised Putin some benefit (say, a free hand in Syria) in exchange for dirt on Chelsea Clinton? /12

Everyone would have said that was collusion and even a conspiracy. If the facts play out as they appear to right now, we face the exact same situation with respect to the Ukraine -- a promise of military aid in exchange for dirt on Hunter Biden. It is hard to imagine /13

a clearer example of abuse of power. And Trump, who used to say "no collusion" will now have to argue "collusion, sure, but who cares? As president I'm allowed to do that." If Congress accepts that argument it will be a sea-change in American norms. /14

8) One final note-- Russia must love this. Ukraine is under pressure from Trump and from Congress. Our democracy is also under great stress. Putin must be delighted. /15

As I said, this is a moment of high historical significance. What happens next will, I think, define America for the next 40-50 years. If we have any care for our nation and its standing in the world, we must strive to make the result the right one.