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Teri Kanefield Profile picture
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18 Jan, 6 tweets, 2 min read
Actually, they did, and they included a remedy: Impeachment and removal.

The problem we've had the past 4 years isn't just a corrupt president.

The problem is that so many people (including the entire GOP elected leadership) shielded him.
If the elected officials of one party abuse the constitution and get reelected, the problem is with the electorate.

For example, if a majority of Americans decided to reelect Trump--knowing everything we know about him--you can't blame the Constitution.
No laws can protect a democracy if a clear majority of the citizens decide they no longer want a democracy because they will keep electing officials who will destroy rule of law.
The only real safeguard that failed was the Senate's failure to act as a check on presidential power.

That was enough to allow Trump to do much damage for 4 years, but it wasn't enough to allow Trump to make himself a dictator.

I Agree. Expecting perfection in a set of laws is not realistic.

I also tend to resist any form of "let's blame X."

How about: "This is a democracy, so let's take responsibility."
They included a remedy for this as well:
Vote the president (and corrupt Senators) out at the next election.

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More from @Teri_Kanefield

Teri Kanefield Profile picture
19 Jan
This doesn't look good for Trump's chances in the Senate Impeachment Trial.

It's hard to imagine acquitting after making a statement like his one.
He also said this: "We certified the people’s clear choice for their 46th president."

Everyone should read the full statement. It's quite interesting.

It's almost like McConnell doesn't need Trump anymore and isn't afraid of him.
I'm sure McConnell and others want to get rid of Trump as a force in politics.

Trump, on the other hand, has vowed his revenge.

🍿
Read 5 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
18 Jan
The best answer I know:

🔹No, the pardons can't be overturned
🔹Corrupt pardons can be prosecuted as a separate crime
🔹Trump can't pardon himself, so if he pardons all the insurrectionists, he'll be left to take all the blame
🔹He'll hurt his chances of acquittal in the Senate
I doubt he will do it because it will hurt him.

On the other hand, not pardoning them creates a problem for him because the insurrectionists might start to realize they were duped, and he needs his base.
You'd think some of his supporters will realize that he set them up: He encouraged them to commit a crime (assuring them they're saving the country) and then left them to face prison.

The idea is to take down a criminal organization by getting the Kingpin.
Read 13 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
16 Jan
I see two possibilities ahead for the Republican Party.

#1: The party hardens as a right-wing white nationalist party and shrinks in size.

#2: Moderates conservatives retake the party. This, however, creates what political scientists call the "conservative dilemma."

1/
The conservative dilemma, in a nutshell is this: Conservatives tend to represent the wealth and powerful corporations, therefore the policies they advocate are not appealing to the majority of people.

In other words, they will have trouble winning elections.

2/
In the years since 1954, the Republican Party, while calling itself conservative, solved the conservative dilemma by bringing white nationalists and KKK types into the party, coddling them for their votes while trying to keep them on the sidelines.

3/
Read 21 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
14 Jan
No, sorry. This is a common misunderstanding.

The clause says the president has power to "grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the U.S. except in Cases of Impeachment."

All constitutional scholars I'm familiar with say this means a pardon can't undo an impeachment.
There's really no debate among scholars I'm familiar with about this.

It makes sense, particularly given the rationale for including the pardon power in the first place.

Impeachment is not a criminal matter. Involved is only the right to hold public office and trust.
So no pardon can undo Trump's impeachment. If the Senate convicts, no pardon can undo that.
Read 7 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
14 Jan
The problem facing the House Managers (prosecutors):

How to win a conviction when some of the jurors (and judges) are at least partly responsible for the crime?

The answer: they must win first in the Court of Public Opinion, which is where Senate Trials are mostly conducted.
Senate trials are a political-legal hybrid.

They're partly a legal proceeding. It's called a trial, and the authority comes from the Constitution.

But the judges and jurors are elected officials and therefore answer to their constituents.

The framers did this on purpose. . .
. . . they considered giving the trial to the Supreme Court, but instead gave it to Congress. Because the president was elected, they wanted to make sure any conviction had popular support.

Nah 👇Roberts will just be a potted plant again.
Read 4 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
14 Jan
Here's my thoughts about McConnell stalling.

If McConnell did hold a trial immediately, I doubt it would result in Trump being removed much sooner. Trials take time. Clinton's lasted a month, and Trump's term ends on Wednesday at noon (Seems like years away, right?)

1/
The underlying crime in this case is complicated and will take time to present. (Of course, Clinton's trial was filled with annoying Republican grandstanding about how shocked they were--shocked, I tell you--at Clinton's immoral behavior.

2/
These are different kinds of proceedings.

Even if you could conclude the trial in a week, you wouldn't actually be removing Trump any earlier than the end of his term.

Moreover, rushing a trial seems silly. We need all the evidence presented.

3/
Read 11 tweets

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