Impeachment is Over, Start the Impeachment

For John, BLUF:  Nothing is settled.  This contest against President Trump will continue on several fronts, including more Impeachment and also the Presidential Race.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Senate votes to acquit President Trump on impeachment charges

From The Boston Globe, by Reporters Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick, of The Associated Press, 5 February 2020.

Here is the lede plus three:

President Trump won impeachment acquittal Wednesday in the US Senate, bringing to a close only the third presidential trial in American history with votes that split the country, tested civic norms, and fed the tumultuous 2020 race for the White House.

With Chief Justice John Roberts presiding, senators sworn to do “impartial justice” stood at their desks to state their votes for the roll call — “guilty” or “not guilty” — in a swift tally almost exclusively along party lines.  Visitors, including the president’s allies, watched from the crowded gallery.  Roberts read the declaration that Trump “be, and is hereby, acquitted of the charges.”

The outcome Wednesday followed months of remarkable impeachment proceedings, from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House to Mitch McConnell’s Senate, reflecting the nation’s unrelenting partisan divide three years into the Trump presidency.

What started as Trump’s request for Ukraine to “do us a favor” spun into a far-reaching, 28,000-page report compiled by House investigators accusing an American president of engaging in shadow diplomacy that threatened U.S. foreign relations for personal, political gain as he pressured the ally to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden ahead of the next election.

Here is the vote:

On the first article of impeachment, abuse of power, the vote was 52-48 favoring acquittal.  The second, obstruction of Congress, also produced a not guilty verdict, 53-47.

I expect that this is NOT the end of the story.  Rather, the House will go about doing a more workman like effort, actually calling witnesses and going through the arduous effort of fighting for them in Court.

The only question is how long it will take to resurface.

Well, and if they can dig up something that could result in conviction in the Senate.

Does anyone think that Speaker Nancy Pelosi will allow this defeat to pass without pushback?

I expect action on Impeachment within in a couple of days or weeks.  I expect a result like unto the Steele Dossier or the Mueller Report.

The House Democrats suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome.  They also suffer from Corbynization of the Party and from Innumeracy.

Regards  —  Cliff