NPR has this story, dated June 15, about Congressman Justin Amash.
Comments
National Public Radio Article About Justin Amash — 17 Comments
What percent of LP folks will be voting for a RED Donkey statist Prez in 2020 to get TYRANT Trump statist Prez OUT of POWER at noon 21 Jan 2021 — rashly ASSuming Civil W-A-R II is not going on ???
Stay tuned — for those moron polls in Oct-Nov 2020.
If he is serious about a presidential run as a Libertarian, he should change parties NOW. It would certainly boost his standing with the Libertarian Party as a sitting Member of Congress and give the party its first U.S. Representative even if not elected on the Libertarian line. This waiting until the sword of Damocles falls on his head is stupid. Once he is a lame duck his value to the LP is greatly diminished. The party does not need another failed Republican to head its ticket for the fourth cycle in a row. The time for him to act is now.
CO – You are correct, to a point. Yes, the LP does not need another failed Republican to run for Pres in 2020. However, the LP is like a junkie – when presented with the possibility of nominating someone for Pres with name recognition above 1%, they’ve shown time and time again that they will gladly partake of the dope. It is delusional for anyone to participate in the LP with the belief that something / anything can be changed by political involvement of a third party in the USA’s FPTP, single winner district system of elections. As for Amash, he’s book smart and politically stupid – which is actually a good fit for the LP at the self-inflicted end of his political career.
typo
noon 20 Jan 2021
Will the Nov-Jan LONG lame duck time be FATAL ???
How about 1 week max after Election Day ???
Moving Vans in — OUT.
Don Wills- what do you suggest Rep. Amash do? I have followed your career over the years in Wyoming with the LP and the Country Party and I agree with MUCH of what you say. I am very interested in your take on what would be best in this scenario.
Amash is politically stupid? He was elected to the Michigan state House and then 5 times to the US House. In that time he defeated 11 primary opponents and 16 general election opponents. He picked up more than twice as many votes running for state house as you did running for US House and Governor combined.
What qualification do you have to call Amash politically stupid?
Amash is ipso facto politically stupid to call for Trump’s impeachment in the current environment before the Dems have started an impeachment inquiry, even if he believes Trump should be removed from office. No qualifications are required to observe and report such a simple political fact.
CO – A smart politician picks his fights based on various factors, engaging in some issues and ignoring others. A smart politician avoids fights that will likely end his political career because then he loses ALL of his political power. It reminds me of Japanese Kamikazes and Muslim suicide bombers. Game Over is not a useful strategy to effect policy as a representative of the people. Short answer CO – Amash should have said nothing. If there is ever a vote in the House for impeachment, he should of course vote his conscience, but there is a very good chance there will never be such a vote. One thought: maybe Amash has become so disgusted and disillusioned with the Swamp that he decided to go out in flames – that’s really the only possibility that makes any sense.
And a PS: Note that nobody, Amash included, who calls for Trump’s impeachment ever provides even rudimentary details about exactly what “high crime or misdemeanor” Trump actually committed. “He colluded” or “he obstructed” are not rudimentary details – they are nothing more than MSNBC talking points.
Amash’s tweets on May 23rd:
Mueller’s report describes a consistent effort by the president to use his office to obstruct or otherwise corruptly impede the Russian election interference investigation because it put his interests at risk.
The president has an obligation not to violate the public trust, including using official powers for corrupt purposes. For instance, presidents have the authority to nominate judges, but a president couldn’t select someone to nominate because they’d promised the president money.
This principle extends to all the president’s powers, including the authority over federal investigations, federal officials, and pardons.
President Trump had an incentive to undermine the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which included investigating contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign.
The investigation threatened to uncover information, including criminal activity, that could put Trump’s interests at risk. Ultimately, the investigation did uncover very unflattering information about the president, his family, his associates, his campaign, and his business.
It also revealed criminal activities, some of which were committed by people in Trump’s orbit and, in the case of Michael Cohen’s campaign finance violation, on Trump’s behalf.
The investigation began before the president was elected and inaugurated. After Trump assumed the powers of the presidency, Mueller’s report shows that he used those powers to try to obstruct and impede the investigation.
Some excuse Trump’s conduct based on allegations of issues with the investigation, but no one disputes the appropriateness of investigating election interference, which included investigating contacts between the Trump campaign and people connected to the Russian government.
Some examples in Mueller’s report of the president’s obstructing and impeding the investigation include:
1. Trump asked the FBI director to stop investigating Michael Flynn, who had been his campaign adviser and national security adviser, and who had already committed a crime by lying to the FBI.
2. After AG Sessions recused himself from the Russian investigation on the advice of DoJ ethics lawyers, Trump directly asked Sessions to reverse his recusal so that he could retain control over the investigation and help the president.
3. Trump directed the White House counsel, Don McGahn, to have Special Counsel Mueller removed on the basis of pretextual conflicts of interest that Trump’s advisers had already told him were “ridiculous” and could not justify removing the special counsel.
4. When that event was publicly reported, Trump asked that McGahn make a public statement and create a false internal record stating that Trump had not asked him to fire the special counsel, and suggested that McGahn would be fired if he did not comply.
5. Trump asked Corey Lewandowski, his former campaign manager, to tell AG Sessions to limit the special counsel’s investigation only to future election interference. Trump said Lewandowski should tell Sessions he was fired if he would not meet with him.
6. Trump used his pardon power to influence his associates, including Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen, not to fully cooperate with the investigation.
Trump, through his own statements—such as complaining about people who “flip” and talk to investigators—and through communications between his personal counsel and Manafort/Cohen, gave the impression that they would be pardoned if they did not fully cooperate with investigators.
Manafort ultimately breached an agreement to cooperate with investigators, and Cohen offered false testimony to Congress, including denying that the Trump Tower Moscow project had extended to June 2016 and that he and Trump had discussed traveling to Russia during the campaign.
Both men have been convicted for offering false information, and Manafort’s lack of cooperation left open some significant questions, such as why exactly he provided an associate in Ukraine with campaign polling data, which he expected to be shared with a Russian oligarch.
Some of the president’s actions were inherently corrupt. Other actions were corrupt—and therefore impeachable—because the president took them to serve his own interests.
The president has authority to fire federal officials, direct his subordinates, and grant pardons, but he cannot do so for corrupt purposes; otherwise, he would always be allowed to shut down any investigation into himself or his associates, which would put him above the law.
Jim – nice try, but none of the six points you make is even close to the level of crime for impeachment. Clinton’s perjury under oath got him impeached but not removed from office, and disbarred from the practice of law. That’s an obvious crime. There is nothing about Trump’s random tweets or private conversations that is even close to a crime. Yep, he’s a dumbass. But the Swamp critters will not start impeaching elected dumbasses because they depend on them to maintain their power. I seriously doubt that the Dems will even start an impeachment inquiry, but if they do they’ll have a hard time getting 218 Aye votes in the House, even with Amash.
Here’s a summary of your six points:
1. Trump “asked” is not obstruction.
2. Trump “asked” is not obstruction.
3. Trump directed a third party to do something and the third party refused. Not obstruction.
4. Trump “asked” a third party to lie. Brennan says the US lies all the time. Not obstruction.
5. Trump “asked” a third party to communicate with the AG. Not obstruction.
6. Trump DID NOT use his pardon power. There are NO ALLEGATIONS that he communicated with anyone about his POSSIBLE use of pardon.
You’ve got to do better than that, Jim.
2016 Trump Tower meeting – on Trump orders by his stooge hacks.
2017 Purge of Comey — who was investigating such meeting — related to the 2017 purge of AG Sessions
Trump Team Met With Lawyer Linked to Kremlin During Campaign
By Jo Becker, Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman
July 8, 2017 [>>> AFTER the COMEY PURGE}
Was the mere ATTEMPT to subvert the 2016 election a *high crime or misdemeanor* ???
The phrase comes from the Brits — to remove top hacks/morons [aka ministers under the Brit monarchs – when they screw up — lose wars, cause domestic chaos, etc.). See purge of King James II in 1688-1689.
—-
How much *dirt* does Putin/his stooge secret police have on D+M Trump ???
—
When TYRANTS *ask*/*say* something — their stooges take action –
Jan 1942 – Hitler makes comments about a Final Solution about Jews under nazi control at a dinner.
The nazi top stooges have a meeting about 2 weeks later >>> Holocaust 1942-1945.
Apparently NO *direct* paper trail between Hitler and Holocaust ??? —
ie something like– I, the Leader, ORDER/COMMAND that all Jews under NAZI control be killed in death/slave camps ASAP.
How many Himmler SS reports about the Holocaust DEAD given to Hitler ???
—
Earlier – Hirohito meeting with Empire top stooges in Sept 1941 in Japan.
Second meeting early in Nov 1941.
>>> 7 Dec 1941 Pearl Harbor surprise attack — USA openly in WW II
— after all sorts of NON-neutral Roosevelt machinations regarding the UK and China.
—
The TOP STATIST MONSTERS ACT in deceptive ways — as MONSTERS do.
ALL sorts of useful IDIOTS help them along —
such as ALL of the top IDIOTS/MORONS in the UK and France in 1933-Mar 1939 [invasion/occupation of Czechland]
— BARELY *just enough* time in the UK to get Radar and Spitfire / Hurricane fighters to survive in Jul-Sep 1940 Battle of Britain.
—
2019 top Dems too MORON know-it-all CUTE paralyzed to ACT ???
Note changes in regimes —
in 1976 after Nixon NON-impeachment / resignation in 1974 >> Carter in 1977
in 2000 after Clinton I impeachment / NON-conviction >> Bush II in 2001
—
Hmmm. Just like Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito, Mao, Castro, Saddam, Putin RAN/RUN their regimes ???
—
PR and AppV and TOTAL SOP
Amash is a lawyer. And here’s a list of 1,022 former federal prosecutors who signed a statement saying that “the Mueller report describes several acts that satisfy all of the elements for an obstruction charge: conduct that obstructed or attempted to obstruct the truth-finding process”
Anyone who has read even the executive summary of part 2 of the Mueller report (it’s like 3 pages) knows that it is very obvious Mueller considered Trump’s conduct obstruction and the only reason he didn’t explicitly say so was because he didn’t think it was fair to level that kind of accusation when Trump didn’t have the opportunity to defend himself in court – which wasn’t happening because DOJ policy prohibited taking the President to court.
And on the side of “no obstruction” you’ve got… Trump, Sara Sanders, Rudy Giuliani, and Sean Hannity.
Jim, understand that Don has a serious hard-on for defending the twin-party system.
Can a USA Prez commit TREASON, MASS MURDER, ESPIONAGE [ESP. WAR PLANS AND CODES] and a zillion other USA Crimes and NOT be immediately arrested and prosecuted ???
The USA DOJ is full of HACK MORONS — as in SCOTUS.
Were the 1787 folks aware of the LAWLESS Brit monarchs and their stooges/hacks ??? —
Charles I – convicted of Treason – beheaded in 1649
James II – fled 1688 >>> 1689 Brit English Bill of Rights Act
George III – 1775-1784 Am Rev WAR.
Did USA Civil W-A-R II start before, on or after Election Day/Night 2016 ???
Too many New Age really evil stupid hacks and morons in Devil City to count – private and public ???
Geez… Demo Rep sure is interesting! If only he posted in Latin!
Jim –
1) If person A privately asks person B a question, is that obstruction of justice? I think not.
2) If the alleged criminal wronging doing of Trump is so obvious, then why hasn’t Pelosi started impeachment proceedings?
CQ – Your comment is absolutely false. I detest the two party system. And FWIW, like the founders, I’m actually not a big fan of political parties in general.
If person A is person B’s superior, asking Person B to do something is considered the same as ordering them to do something.
Pelosi hasn’t started impeachment proceedings because she is waiting for more popular support. That is inevitable. In the upcoming debates, every Democratic presidential candidate is going to have to stand in front of the Democratic base and answer affirmatively that they support impeachment. They don’t have a choice, anymore. They cannot oppose it during a campaign while Amash, a Republican, supports it. They will appear as if they are defending Trump and that is not a position they can be in while running against him. They are going to have to publicly call on Pelosi and Democratic House leadership to begin proceedings. Pressure will build because the Democratic base, even the moderate ones who do not currently favor impeachment, cannot oppose their Presidential candidates. At that point, Pelosi will cave to the pressure. Impeachment proceedings will begin later this year. Trump will go into the 2020 election with this hanging over his head. Whether that hurts him because people assume guilt or helps him because people think the Democrats are doing it for partisan political reasons remains to be seen.
What percent of LP folks will be voting for a RED Donkey statist Prez in 2020 to get TYRANT Trump statist Prez OUT of POWER at noon 21 Jan 2021 — rashly ASSuming Civil W-A-R II is not going on ???
Stay tuned — for those moron polls in Oct-Nov 2020.
If he is serious about a presidential run as a Libertarian, he should change parties NOW. It would certainly boost his standing with the Libertarian Party as a sitting Member of Congress and give the party its first U.S. Representative even if not elected on the Libertarian line. This waiting until the sword of Damocles falls on his head is stupid. Once he is a lame duck his value to the LP is greatly diminished. The party does not need another failed Republican to head its ticket for the fourth cycle in a row. The time for him to act is now.
CO – You are correct, to a point. Yes, the LP does not need another failed Republican to run for Pres in 2020. However, the LP is like a junkie – when presented with the possibility of nominating someone for Pres with name recognition above 1%, they’ve shown time and time again that they will gladly partake of the dope. It is delusional for anyone to participate in the LP with the belief that something / anything can be changed by political involvement of a third party in the USA’s FPTP, single winner district system of elections. As for Amash, he’s book smart and politically stupid – which is actually a good fit for the LP at the self-inflicted end of his political career.
typo
noon 20 Jan 2021
Will the Nov-Jan LONG lame duck time be FATAL ???
How about 1 week max after Election Day ???
Moving Vans in — OUT.
Don Wills- what do you suggest Rep. Amash do? I have followed your career over the years in Wyoming with the LP and the Country Party and I agree with MUCH of what you say. I am very interested in your take on what would be best in this scenario.
Amash is politically stupid? He was elected to the Michigan state House and then 5 times to the US House. In that time he defeated 11 primary opponents and 16 general election opponents. He picked up more than twice as many votes running for state house as you did running for US House and Governor combined.
What qualification do you have to call Amash politically stupid?
Amash is ipso facto politically stupid to call for Trump’s impeachment in the current environment before the Dems have started an impeachment inquiry, even if he believes Trump should be removed from office. No qualifications are required to observe and report such a simple political fact.
CO – A smart politician picks his fights based on various factors, engaging in some issues and ignoring others. A smart politician avoids fights that will likely end his political career because then he loses ALL of his political power. It reminds me of Japanese Kamikazes and Muslim suicide bombers. Game Over is not a useful strategy to effect policy as a representative of the people. Short answer CO – Amash should have said nothing. If there is ever a vote in the House for impeachment, he should of course vote his conscience, but there is a very good chance there will never be such a vote. One thought: maybe Amash has become so disgusted and disillusioned with the Swamp that he decided to go out in flames – that’s really the only possibility that makes any sense.
And a PS: Note that nobody, Amash included, who calls for Trump’s impeachment ever provides even rudimentary details about exactly what “high crime or misdemeanor” Trump actually committed. “He colluded” or “he obstructed” are not rudimentary details – they are nothing more than MSNBC talking points.
Amash’s tweets on May 23rd:
Mueller’s report describes a consistent effort by the president to use his office to obstruct or otherwise corruptly impede the Russian election interference investigation because it put his interests at risk.
The president has an obligation not to violate the public trust, including using official powers for corrupt purposes. For instance, presidents have the authority to nominate judges, but a president couldn’t select someone to nominate because they’d promised the president money.
This principle extends to all the president’s powers, including the authority over federal investigations, federal officials, and pardons.
President Trump had an incentive to undermine the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which included investigating contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign.
The investigation threatened to uncover information, including criminal activity, that could put Trump’s interests at risk. Ultimately, the investigation did uncover very unflattering information about the president, his family, his associates, his campaign, and his business.
It also revealed criminal activities, some of which were committed by people in Trump’s orbit and, in the case of Michael Cohen’s campaign finance violation, on Trump’s behalf.
The investigation began before the president was elected and inaugurated. After Trump assumed the powers of the presidency, Mueller’s report shows that he used those powers to try to obstruct and impede the investigation.
Some excuse Trump’s conduct based on allegations of issues with the investigation, but no one disputes the appropriateness of investigating election interference, which included investigating contacts between the Trump campaign and people connected to the Russian government.
Some examples in Mueller’s report of the president’s obstructing and impeding the investigation include:
1. Trump asked the FBI director to stop investigating Michael Flynn, who had been his campaign adviser and national security adviser, and who had already committed a crime by lying to the FBI.
2. After AG Sessions recused himself from the Russian investigation on the advice of DoJ ethics lawyers, Trump directly asked Sessions to reverse his recusal so that he could retain control over the investigation and help the president.
3. Trump directed the White House counsel, Don McGahn, to have Special Counsel Mueller removed on the basis of pretextual conflicts of interest that Trump’s advisers had already told him were “ridiculous” and could not justify removing the special counsel.
4. When that event was publicly reported, Trump asked that McGahn make a public statement and create a false internal record stating that Trump had not asked him to fire the special counsel, and suggested that McGahn would be fired if he did not comply.
5. Trump asked Corey Lewandowski, his former campaign manager, to tell AG Sessions to limit the special counsel’s investigation only to future election interference. Trump said Lewandowski should tell Sessions he was fired if he would not meet with him.
6. Trump used his pardon power to influence his associates, including Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen, not to fully cooperate with the investigation.
Trump, through his own statements—such as complaining about people who “flip” and talk to investigators—and through communications between his personal counsel and Manafort/Cohen, gave the impression that they would be pardoned if they did not fully cooperate with investigators.
Manafort ultimately breached an agreement to cooperate with investigators, and Cohen offered false testimony to Congress, including denying that the Trump Tower Moscow project had extended to June 2016 and that he and Trump had discussed traveling to Russia during the campaign.
Both men have been convicted for offering false information, and Manafort’s lack of cooperation left open some significant questions, such as why exactly he provided an associate in Ukraine with campaign polling data, which he expected to be shared with a Russian oligarch.
Some of the president’s actions were inherently corrupt. Other actions were corrupt—and therefore impeachable—because the president took them to serve his own interests.
The president has authority to fire federal officials, direct his subordinates, and grant pardons, but he cannot do so for corrupt purposes; otherwise, he would always be allowed to shut down any investigation into himself or his associates, which would put him above the law.
Jim – nice try, but none of the six points you make is even close to the level of crime for impeachment. Clinton’s perjury under oath got him impeached but not removed from office, and disbarred from the practice of law. That’s an obvious crime. There is nothing about Trump’s random tweets or private conversations that is even close to a crime. Yep, he’s a dumbass. But the Swamp critters will not start impeaching elected dumbasses because they depend on them to maintain their power. I seriously doubt that the Dems will even start an impeachment inquiry, but if they do they’ll have a hard time getting 218 Aye votes in the House, even with Amash.
Here’s a summary of your six points:
1. Trump “asked” is not obstruction.
2. Trump “asked” is not obstruction.
3. Trump directed a third party to do something and the third party refused. Not obstruction.
4. Trump “asked” a third party to lie. Brennan says the US lies all the time. Not obstruction.
5. Trump “asked” a third party to communicate with the AG. Not obstruction.
6. Trump DID NOT use his pardon power. There are NO ALLEGATIONS that he communicated with anyone about his POSSIBLE use of pardon.
You’ve got to do better than that, Jim.
2016 Trump Tower meeting – on Trump orders by his stooge hacks.
2017 Purge of Comey — who was investigating such meeting — related to the 2017 purge of AG Sessions
See —
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/08/us/politics/trump-russia-kushner-manafort.html
Trump Team Met With Lawyer Linked to Kremlin During Campaign
By Jo Becker, Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman
July 8, 2017 [>>> AFTER the COMEY PURGE}
Was the mere ATTEMPT to subvert the 2016 election a *high crime or misdemeanor* ???
The phrase comes from the Brits — to remove top hacks/morons [aka ministers under the Brit monarchs – when they screw up — lose wars, cause domestic chaos, etc.). See purge of King James II in 1688-1689.
—-
How much *dirt* does Putin/his stooge secret police have on D+M Trump ???
—
When TYRANTS *ask*/*say* something — their stooges take action –
Jan 1942 – Hitler makes comments about a Final Solution about Jews under nazi control at a dinner.
The nazi top stooges have a meeting about 2 weeks later >>> Holocaust 1942-1945.
Apparently NO *direct* paper trail between Hitler and Holocaust ??? —
ie something like– I, the Leader, ORDER/COMMAND that all Jews under NAZI control be killed in death/slave camps ASAP.
How many Himmler SS reports about the Holocaust DEAD given to Hitler ???
—
Earlier – Hirohito meeting with Empire top stooges in Sept 1941 in Japan.
Second meeting early in Nov 1941.
>>> 7 Dec 1941 Pearl Harbor surprise attack — USA openly in WW II
— after all sorts of NON-neutral Roosevelt machinations regarding the UK and China.
—
The TOP STATIST MONSTERS ACT in deceptive ways — as MONSTERS do.
ALL sorts of useful IDIOTS help them along —
such as ALL of the top IDIOTS/MORONS in the UK and France in 1933-Mar 1939 [invasion/occupation of Czechland]
— BARELY *just enough* time in the UK to get Radar and Spitfire / Hurricane fighters to survive in Jul-Sep 1940 Battle of Britain.
—
2019 top Dems too MORON know-it-all CUTE paralyzed to ACT ???
Note changes in regimes —
in 1976 after Nixon NON-impeachment / resignation in 1974 >> Carter in 1977
in 2000 after Clinton I impeachment / NON-conviction >> Bush II in 2001
Trump: ‘I run the country’
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/16/donald-trump-abc-news-interview-1365853
—
Hmmm. Just like Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito, Mao, Castro, Saddam, Putin RAN/RUN their regimes ???
—
PR and AppV and TOTAL SOP
Amash is a lawyer. And here’s a list of 1,022 former federal prosecutors who signed a statement saying that “the Mueller report describes several acts that satisfy all of the elements for an obstruction charge: conduct that obstructed or attempted to obstruct the truth-finding process”
https://medium.com/@dojalumni/statement-by-former-federal-prosecutors-8ab7691c2aa1
Anyone who has read even the executive summary of part 2 of the Mueller report (it’s like 3 pages) knows that it is very obvious Mueller considered Trump’s conduct obstruction and the only reason he didn’t explicitly say so was because he didn’t think it was fair to level that kind of accusation when Trump didn’t have the opportunity to defend himself in court – which wasn’t happening because DOJ policy prohibited taking the President to court.
And on the side of “no obstruction” you’ve got… Trump, Sara Sanders, Rudy Giuliani, and Sean Hannity.
Jim, understand that Don has a serious hard-on for defending the twin-party system.
Can a USA Prez commit TREASON, MASS MURDER, ESPIONAGE [ESP. WAR PLANS AND CODES] and a zillion other USA Crimes and NOT be immediately arrested and prosecuted ???
The USA DOJ is full of HACK MORONS — as in SCOTUS.
Were the 1787 folks aware of the LAWLESS Brit monarchs and their stooges/hacks ??? —
Charles I – convicted of Treason – beheaded in 1649
James II – fled 1688 >>> 1689 Brit English Bill of Rights Act
George III – 1775-1784 Am Rev WAR.
Did USA Civil W-A-R II start before, on or after Election Day/Night 2016 ???
Too many New Age really evil stupid hacks and morons in Devil City to count – private and public ???
Geez… Demo Rep sure is interesting! If only he posted in Latin!
Jim –
1) If person A privately asks person B a question, is that obstruction of justice? I think not.
2) If the alleged criminal wronging doing of Trump is so obvious, then why hasn’t Pelosi started impeachment proceedings?
CQ – Your comment is absolutely false. I detest the two party system. And FWIW, like the founders, I’m actually not a big fan of political parties in general.
If person A is person B’s superior, asking Person B to do something is considered the same as ordering them to do something.
Pelosi hasn’t started impeachment proceedings because she is waiting for more popular support. That is inevitable. In the upcoming debates, every Democratic presidential candidate is going to have to stand in front of the Democratic base and answer affirmatively that they support impeachment. They don’t have a choice, anymore. They cannot oppose it during a campaign while Amash, a Republican, supports it. They will appear as if they are defending Trump and that is not a position they can be in while running against him. They are going to have to publicly call on Pelosi and Democratic House leadership to begin proceedings. Pressure will build because the Democratic base, even the moderate ones who do not currently favor impeachment, cannot oppose their Presidential candidates. At that point, Pelosi will cave to the pressure. Impeachment proceedings will begin later this year. Trump will go into the 2020 election with this hanging over his head. Whether that hurts him because people assume guilt or helps him because people think the Democrats are doing it for partisan political reasons remains to be seen.