There are no due process procedures for impeachment mandated by the Constitution. The House decides how it will impeach, and the Senate decides the rules for the trial.

The Fifth Amendment requires due process before a person can be deprived of life, liberty or property.

1/
An impeachment trial is not a criminal trial.

The Constitution specifically says a president can be indicted (criminal) after being removed from office.

Impeachment isn't about losing life, liberty or property.

2/
Trump is complaining that he was denied due process because the article was hurriedly drafted before a lengthy inquiry. He also claims that a president cannot be put on trial after he leaves office.

These two claims together create a last-minute coup exception.

3/
By Trump's logic, if there isn't time for a lengthy "inquiry" in the House before before his term in office ends, he can freely violate his oath of office without worrying about being held to account in a Senate trial.

Or he can just resign before the trial and avoid ⤵️

4/

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More from @Teri_Kanefield

8 Feb
(Thread) Trump's Trial Brief

Over the Cliff Notes

This brief, which distorts both the facts and the law, is vintage Trump: a mishmash of bogus defenses and misrepresentations.

The brief is here: context-cdn.washingtonpost.com/notes/prod/def…

The brief opens by presenting Trump as a victim ⤵️
The brief cherrypicks the facts and claims that Trump quickly denounced and urged only a peaceful protest.

The brief concludes that none of it was Trump's fault.

This "conclusion" is reached by selecting a few facts and ignoring everything else.

1/
We saw this strategy in the first impeachment: Focus on the single telephone call (in this case, a single speech), ignore all the surrounding facts and circumstances, and conclude that the call (or speech) fails to prove the allegation.

This isn't how facts are analyzed.

2/
Read 28 tweets
8 Feb
(Thread) Dominion's lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani

Subtitle: Fun With Defamation Law

The complaint against Giuliani is here:
assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2046…

Dominion's claim that Giuliani enriched himself by falsely claiming that dominion fixed the 2020 election.
To win, the plaintiff must prove:

🔹A false statement purporting to be fact
🔹publication or communication of that statement to a third person
🔹fault amounting to at least negligence
🔹damages, or some harm caused to the person or entity who is the subject of the statement

1/
Dominion recounts facts to show thought up an "ideal" lie for showing the election was stolen:

So show that Giuliani knew these were lies, Dominion notes that he never raised these lies in court because he knew they were lies.

2/
Read 16 tweets
7 Feb
Thread: The Smartmatic Lawsuit: Over the Cliff Notes

The complaint is here: smartmatic.com/uploads/Smartm…

Attached is a list of the plaintiffs and the damages sought. The number usually given is $2.7 billion, but if this case goes to trial and the defendants lose, it's possibly more.
To win, the plaintiffs must prove:

🔹A false statement purporting to be fact
🔹publication or communication of that statement to a third person
🔹fault amounting to at least negligence
🔹damages, or some harm caused to the person or entity who is the subject of the statement

2/
I: THE LIE

The lie goes like this: Smartmatic was a Venezuelan company under the control of corrupt dictators from socialist countries. Smartmatic’s election technology and software were used in many of the states with close outcomes. . .

3/
Read 22 tweets
3 Feb
It looks like my blog and website will be down for 2-3 days 😢

@bluehost deleted my blog and website and it will take a while to get it restored.

Whaaaat?
My website and blog are back up.

Tagging them on Twitter may have helped 😉

Took 21 hours to restore.
I spoke too soon.

Images are not up yet, but it's getting there.
Read 4 tweets
2 Feb
(Thread) Over the Cliff Notes

The House Manager’s Impeachment Pre-Trial Brief

It’s here: judiciary.house.gov/uploadedfiles/… (77 pages)

I. Introduction

Right away, the House Managers steer clear of a pitfall they face: Having this trial play out as if it’s a criminal trial.
This isn't a criminal trial. Trump betrayed his oath of office.

The Constitution makes clear criminal prosecution can happen later. This trial can result only in removal from office and/or inability to hold future office.

So, for example, the standard of proof is lower.

1/
The introduction gives an overview of the facts, and the facts are damning.

“Trump used his bully pulpit to insist that the Joint Session of Congress was the final act of a vast plot to destroy America.”

"Fight like hell [or] you're not going to have a country anymore."

2/
Read 25 tweets
31 Jan
This is what he wants to do.

No matter how this trial plays out, the US will remain divided between those who choose truth, Democracy, and rule of law and the millions who reject these things.

1/
The question is how to move forward.

My mantra is that there are no magic bullets and these people will always be with us.

Except for state legislatures, they have less power now than they have for a while.

2/
The only real and lasting solutions are political ones. Get Democrats into local offices. Get people who want democracy to survive to the polls at every election, at every level.

It’s a constant battle.

3/
Read 12 tweets

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