# Impeachment proceedings...will they happen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 19, 2019, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795 "2019-04-19T23:08:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/421 "2019-05-03T00:25:49Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Now, now…let’s not get all chicken little about all this. Okay, I laughed. Good one! > [@asahi](#): > > It’s not what the US Marshals Service is going to do; it’s what Trump is going to do to the US Marshal Service. I have no information on this, but what do would-be authoritarians always do? Make sure the guys with the guns are personally loyal to them. So I’m guessing some combination of ceremonial oaths given _To Our Glorious Trump,_ secret handshakes, and high-dollar under-the-table payments, perhaps funded by Sheldon Adelson. Having Erik Prince handle recruiting might be part of the new plan, too. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/422 "2019-05-03T00:33:16Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Since some of us have made some scary predictions, I’ll make one of my own: watch the US marshal service over the coming months - watch it closely. Oh boy. When even asahi is making doomsday predictions, you KNOW it’s Thursday. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/423 "2019-05-03T04:17:27Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > So, you’re not actually making a prediction. Shocking. Why do you think I would mention the US Marshal Service? Why is it relevant to Trump? Think, my son. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/424 "2019-05-03T04:19:30Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Okay, I laughed. Good one! > > I have no information on this, but what do would-be authoritarians always do? Make sure the guys with the guns are personally loyal to them. > > So I’m guessing some combination of ceremonial oaths given _To Our Glorious Trump,_ secret handshakes, and high-dollar under-the-table payments, perhaps funded by Sheldon Adelson. > > Having Erik Prince handle recruiting might be part of the new plan, too. Why would the US Marshal Service matter to Trump in particular? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/425 "2019-05-03T04:26:57Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > What do y’all think the odds are of the Dem nominee (whoever) being under criminal investigation by September 2020, this investigation being initiated by the White House and approved by AG Barr and FBI Director Wray? > > I’ll go with 75%. If the nominee ends up being Joe Biden I would say you can raise that to 100%. In fact, it appears [the President and his team are already pushing Barr to start an investigation into Biden.](https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2019/05/team-trump-pressures-ukraine-and-william-barr-to-investigate-joe-bidens-son/) ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/426 "2019-05-03T11:56:55Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Why do you think I would mention the US Marshal Service? Why is it relevant to Trump? > > Think, my son. Ooh, darn… nobody told me there’d be mandatory thinking! Um… OH! He watched _The Fugitive_ on Crackle and really liked the Tommy Lee Jones character, so what he wants out of each and every one of them is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse until they find Hillary’s missing emails? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/427 "2019-05-03T16:29:28Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Why would the US Marshal Service matter to Trump in particular? Not really a fan of this approach, but if Trump wanted a federal agency to serve as a goon squad, it would probably the the Marshals. They could arrest or harass political opponents, or protect his political allies (for example, any congressional witness subject to arrest for refusing a subpoena). They could confiscate or destroy anything that might be evidence in a criminal proceeding. They could intimidate voters at polling places. Yes, I know none of this is legal, but when the Attorney General states that the president can end investigations into his own conduct, then the President is no longer bound by rule of law. I mean… think about that. Republicans must be capable of imagining how awful they’d find it if a future Democratic president uses their current behavior as precedent. It would be a nightmare for them, some of them voiced these qualms during the fake Presidential Emergency debacle. They must be aware of Trump’s historic low polling numbers, and that relying on the Electoral College is a risky gamble for anyone. For them to now rubberstamp Trump’s law-defying actions seems like a confession that they’ve decided there can’t be any Democratic presidents elected in the future. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/428 "2019-05-03T16:47:56Z")
Which is why “We ShOuLd JuSt WaIt FoR tHe ElEcTiOn” is such a losing strategy. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/429 "2019-05-03T16:54:21Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Not really a fan of this approach, but if Trump wanted a federal agency to serve as a goon squad, it would probably the the Marshals. They could arrest or harass political opponents, or protect his political allies (for example, any congressional witness subject to arrest for refusing a subpoena). They could confiscate or destroy anything that might be evidence in a criminal proceeding. They could intimidate voters at polling places. > > Yes, I know none of this is legal, but when the Attorney General states that the president can end investigations into his own conduct, then the President is no longer bound by rule of law. … If we were to accept that “the President is no longer bound by rule of law”, then why do you think his preferred “goon squad” “would probably the the Marshals”? They don’t, on the surface, seem to make any more sense to me than any of the other federal agencies or institutions with burly men and guns. Why not some CIA black ops guys, or the ATF, or the 10th Mountain Division? What would make the Marshals especially good at arresting / harassing political opponents or confiscating or destroying evidence? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/430 "2019-05-03T17:00:36Z")
Why discuss the forest when we can argue the leaves? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/431 "2019-05-03T17:01:00Z")
> [@](#): > > …What would make the Marshals especially good at arresting / harassing political opponents or confiscating or destroying evidence? A central…nay, crucial!..question that must be resolved before we can consider any trivial concerns like the Constitution or the rule of law! Good catch, that! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/432 "2019-05-03T17:03:16Z")
No question needs answering more than “Who will be the new Praetorian Guard for Glorious Leader Trump?”!!! ---
**Author:** ![UnwittingAmericans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d9b06d/32.png) [@UnwittingAmericans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwittingAmericans)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/433 "2019-05-03T18:40:28Z")
I think it would fall to the US Marshalls to clear out The White House should the present occupant be constitutionally required to leave and refuse to do so. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/434 "2019-05-03T20:07:32Z")
> [@UnwittingAmericans](#): > > I think it would fall to the US Marshalls to clear out The White House should the present occupant be constitutionally required to leave and refuse to do so. That’s as good of a theory about what asahi was hinting at as anything I’ve heard up to this point, but I don’t really think the concern is … well … concerning. Is the thought that things might go like this: 1. President Trump appoints some loyal yes-man as head of the US Marshals Service 2. President Trump is impeached and convicted and ordered to vacate the office 3. ex-President Trump says “I’m not coming out and you can’t make me” and locks himself in the Lincoln Bedroom. 4. Because the US Marshals are lead by a loyal yes-man, our hands are tied and we can do nothing about it. I guess ex-President Trump gets to keep the White House now. Sorry President Pence, you’ll have to find new office space. Is that what the concern is? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/435 "2019-05-03T20:13:56Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Why do you think I would mention the US Marshal Service? Why is it relevant to Trump? > > Think, my son. Dude, if you’ve got a point to make please just fucking make it, in simple declarative sentences. You’re sounding like you’re auditioning to play a witch in a fantasy series. And not a good fantasy series either. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/436 "2019-05-03T20:22:30Z")
**The Warlock Asahi.** Yeah… not the most promising title, is it? 😉 j/k! I think _The Council of Asahi_ might make an interesting book. But TWA? No way, not with a title like that. ---
**Author:** ![UnwittingAmericans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d9b06d/32.png) [@UnwittingAmericans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwittingAmericans)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/437 "2019-05-03T20:23:44Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > That’s as good of a theory about what asahi was hinting at as anything I’ve heard up to this point, but I don’t really think the concern is … well … concerning. Is the thought that things might go like this: > > 1. President Trump appoints some loyal yes-man as head of the US Marshals Service > 2. President Trump is impeached and convicted and ordered to vacate the office > 3. ex-President Trump says “I’m not coming out and you can’t make me” and locks himself in the Lincoln Bedroom. > 4. Because the US Marshals are lead by a loyal yes-man, our hands are tied and we can do nothing about it. I guess ex-President Trump gets to keep the White House now. Sorry President Pence, you’ll have to find new office space. > > Is that what the concern is? 1. Loses in 2020 2. End of 2nd term ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/438 "2019-05-03T20:44:03Z")
There’s the matter of Trump’s legal problems in the state of New York. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2019, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/439 "2019-05-04T13:13:37Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > If we were to accept that “the President is no longer bound by rule of law”, then why do you think his preferred “goon squad” “would probably the the Marshals”? Why not some CIA black ops guys, or the ATF, or the 10th Mountain Division Just because the president is lawless doesn’t mean every single department under him is automatically compromised. The “no longer bound by rule of law” is Barr’s theory, and the DOJ reports to Barr, so that seems troubling. Under him are US Marshals, ATF, DEA, and a few other orgs. > [@](#): > > What would make the Marshals especially good at arresting / harassing political opponents or confiscating or destroying evidence? As mentioned above I was speaking mainly to the point that Barr’s DOJ would be most at risk, not necessarily best suited. But if we think about that, the US Marshals historical mission and experience has been in fugitive apprehension, asset seizure, executing writs/orders &tc, handling prisoners. Witness Protection could be abused to harass or protect the wrong people. The marshals have a number of useful specialties. Throw in the FBI and a few corrupt judges… the mind boggles at the damage that Trump/Barr’s DOJ could do without the overt appearance of a coup. Speculating on the future of the other agencies, I expect Republicans would be happy to see the ATF dissolved and folded into the DEA, which would continue on in its mission of harassing brown people. So that seems like a pretty ideal vehicle for surreptitious abuse of power, much more easily sold than infantrymen on every corner or LAV’s rolling down the street. Though again that’s not my primary point, my primary point is that Trump is most able to corrupt agencies that report to Barr. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2019, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795/440 "2019-05-04T13:18:30Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > T1) President Trump appoints some loyal yes-man as head of the US Marshals Service Does the name William Barr ring any bells for you? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-proceedings-will-they-happen/832795.md?page=23)