If true, this will be a great motivator for Trump-skeptical voters in November. And a great blow to the independence of federal law enforcement.
I’m horrified that we’ve sunk to this point, but at the same time, the more I think about it, the move could also backfire spectacularly for the GOP.
For one thing, they’ll never get 2/3 of the Senate to remove him, and I’m sure Rosenstein already knows this. The Republicans in the House hope that impeachment will fire up conservatives, and it might in some of the most partisan districts in the country. But it will also fire up progressives as well, knowing that they were cheated out of an election last time and knowing that Republicans are trying to do the same now.
And I can’t help but think that Republican senators are cringing at the spectacle of having to basically be the prosecutors of the nation’s top prosecutor. Some GOP senators come from states where the margin for error is slim. There will be facts, and these facts will put out into the open how a career lawyer who has serve faithfully through different administrations found solid evidence that our election system was gamed, and in the favor of Republicans. This is the kind of move that, if not managed well, could blow up in the Republicans’ face and not only give Democrats the House but the Senate as well.
Emphasis on could, because it’s just hard to predict what kinds of twists and turns the mood of the country will take these days.
My guess is this is an effort to make it easier for Trump to fire him.
Oh, that would be freakin’ wonderful! Yes, please, Republicans, impeach him right after he announced the indictment of 12 Russians that gave us a detailed look into their interference with the 2016 election.
Awesome timing. They might as well just get ‘TRAITOR’ tattooed on their foreheads.
And Jim “I coached the Deep State” Jordan…buahahahaha!!!
I suspect that this is where it could lead.
My sense is that Senate GOP probably hopes to just wait this thing out until the election, and use conservative media to create Russia fatigue among the voters. But I get the feeling that some House GOP are going to be exposed by Mueller - exposed doing what exactly, I don’t know, but it probably won’t look good even if it’s not criminal. There’s clearly a great sense of urgency that borders on panic. The House GOP seems determined to go their own way, regardless of what the senate GOP wants.
So the question for the Senate GOP is, which would they rather deal with: prosecuting a federal prosecutor, turning the senate into a political carnival…or letting the cartoonish White House keep showing its cartoons?
I’d be surprised if the bill even makes it to the floor of the House, let alone actually passes.
But, man, what a spectacle. I’d especially like to see Rosenstein ask for a “speedy trial” (I know, this isn’t a criminal court, but you get the idea), and watch the Senate Republicans have to deal with the shit-show in the run-up to November. Do they support their Republican colleagues in the House and further alienate the less-batshit portions of the electorate, or do they not aggressively go after Rosenstein and further strain the cohesion of the Republican Party?
I can’t remember how this works - is there a “prosecutor” in impeachment proceedings, or is it more like committee hearings where each Senator is both advocate and judge? Either way, I do not see it ending well for the Republicans.
My guess is they won’t follow through with it. They’re not that politically naive.
They can talk about impeaching Rosenstein in an attempt to tarnish his reputation; that’ll feed the base. But an actual impeachment? That would mean hearings before Congress and any hearing on Rosenstein would necessarily be a hearing on the Russian investigation. Does anyone think the Republicans want to have all of that evidence going on record?
If anything an investigation on Rosenstein would be worse than an investigation on Trump himself. If Rosenstein’s accused on running a bad investigation, he will present a history of the investigation. That would undoubtedly include a lot of rumors and leads and witnesses that were investigated but weren’t strong enough to use in court. In other words, stuff that wouldn’t come out at a Trump hearing but will go public at a Rosenstein hearing.
I agree. This is the Freedom Caucus, not the House Leaders pushing this.
As for Trump firing Rosenstein (or, rather, having someone else fire him), I doubt it. I wouldn’t rule it out completely because… Trump, but it would be a really stupid move. Someone else takes his place and Mueller keeps chugging away.
It would seem politically suicidal for the Republicans to actually go through with this, but I have no doubt that a certain number of members will push for it anyway, because they are exposed, and because they are deep in the pockets of plutocrats who are also exposed. Some Republicans in the House, and I suppose still a fair number in the Senate, are not as dependent on corruption and treason to win reelection.
Some have been predicting a Whig moment ever since the dawn of the Tea Party. Perhaps we could be looking at it.
This is probably mostly a PR stunt, part of the pro-Trump part of the house “investigating” the investigators. It’s a farce, and I think it mostly serves a political purpose to give Republicans covers to not want to impeach Trump (if that type of vote ever comes up) or to not convict him in the Senate.
At this point, Trump’s attacks on the Mueller investigation are mostly a PR thing, and this is part of that. The House conservatives are doing Trump’s bidding.
…is there even such a thing as “obstruction of justice” anymore, or did we just all agree that that is not thing anymore?
Just my feeling but I don’t feel a lot of Congressmen are directly at risk in this investigation. I’m not saying they’re honest. But I think most of them are smart enough to know that taking Russian money is a lot riskier than taking domestic money. They’re going to stick with the safe quasi-legal bribes.
Trump and his people are different. They came in from the outside and didn’t understand the risks of what they were doing. They were corrupt enough to take the money but not experienced enough to know what they could get away with.
Without going to look again, IIRC the Freedom Caucus is about 15% of the GOP in the House. On the other hand, when the usual Tea Party suspects were discussing impeachment of Rosenstein two and a half months ago there was a pretty significant House Republican that opposed them.
Paul Ryan Backing Rosenstein, Despite Conservatives’ Impeachment Threat
Yes, talk about impeaching Rosenstein is just talk–they won’t risk it.
Note that beyond the “protect Trump” purpose, there’s also a “protect Jim Jordan” goal in this talk of impeachment. From Jordan’s point of view, the bigger the uproar over Rosenstein, the less room or time there is to mention Jordan’s vulnerabilities in the ‘ignored abuse’ scandal.
Brian A. Benczkowski
Nominated to head Criminal Justice, supervisor of all Federal prosecutors. Heartily and fervently endorsed by Republican/Trumpivik cadres for leadership, integrity and honesty. Which, we are given to understand, completely erases any concerns about his utter lack of experience, and also any (perfectly legit!) connections to Russian banks.
So, dump Rosie, and how far away is this guy from being able to sign a paper that says “Forget it!”? And then walk it over to the new! improved! Supremes for an official okey-dokey and…?
Trump skates?
I don’t know. A lot has changed since 1973 but Nixon’s problems didn’t disappear after he fired Cox. It just convinced a lot of people that he must have something to hide.
Trump may not care. But firing Rosenstein or Mueller or Sessions isn’t going to make this go away any more than firing Comey did.
Just a little meat for the base. There will be no follow up.
Didn’t say it was a smart plan. Don’t know if there is a term for it, but its like “plausible deniability”. A set of procedures that bear enough of a resemblance to legitimacy, if but barely. Say that the mantle passes to this guy, and he signs off. Heads asplode. Well, there it is, says Il Douche, all signed and legal, so the investigation is over, and you can go to court, you don’t like it!
Might take a while, especially if five people on the Supremes are in no hurry. However long that takes, this nerf shield holds. At least to November so they can harvest their landslide. Now, the comment that this plan is not reasonable is well taken, but we are not dealing with reasonable people.
I suggest “smoke bombing”.
If refers to the common idiom that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Except in this case the only reason the smoke is there is because it was put it there to make people think there was a fire.
My congressman–the dishonorable Mark Meadows–is one of the fuckers leading this charge (he’s also head of the Freedom Carcass, and have I mentioned my feelings for him?)
On the one hand, the chances he’s involved with Russia are small, in the sense that I’ve never seen any sign of it.
On the other hand, though, our last Republican congressperson had extensive, shady banking deals in Russia.
I’m not proposing anything, just making random late-night connections, in hopes that Alex Jones will give me a call.