Congress

( Tomdispatch.com) – The impeachment of the president of the United States! Surely such a mega-historic event would reverberate for weeks or months, leaving in its wake no end of consequences, large and small. Wouldn’t it? Shouldn’t it? Truth to tell, the word historic does get tossed around rather loosely these days. Just about anything […]

Congress

Engel: Trump gave out False Justification for Whacking Soleimani, Nearly starting a war with Iran

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Dan Mangan at CNBC reports that Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., is attacking Trump over his justification for assassinating Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani on January 3. The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee pointed to the Trump administration’s report to Congress on the drone strike at Baghdad International Airport, which […]

Climate Crisis

Congress Needs to Step up on Climate Emergency, Support Clean Energy and cut Big Oil Subsidies

Amanda Millstein

The climate crisis is here. It is real and it is hurting our health. As physicians in Northern California, my colleagues and I see how climate change is making our patients sicker every day. We see infants and children with worsening asthma due to wildfire smoke exposure. We see adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease […]

Congress

Rattled by Trump’s Erratic Violence, Senate to vote on Forbidding War on Iran without its Approval

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Senate will take up a measure to forbid Trump to go to war with Iran without Congressional approval, writes Daniel Flatley at Bloomberg. Republican senators Mike Lee, Susan Collins and Rand Paul are joining with Democratic senator Tim Kaine in sponsoring the bill. With the support of those Republicans, […]

Congress

The Senate Refused to do its Duty in Impeachment, but the American People Can Still do Theirs

OtherWords

By Diallo Brooks | – (Otherwords.org) – Hours before the House of Representatives impeached Donald Trump for using the power of his office to sabotage our elections, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) gave a passionate speech on the House floor emphasizing that his colleagues’ duty with their pending votes was far more than political — it […]

Congress

Sen. Mitt Romney’s Historic Speech Explaining Why he Voted to Impeach and Remove Trump

contributors

Sen. Mitt Romney’s remarks on the impeachment vote on Wednesday are below. He voted to convict Trump and remove him from office, and was the only Republican senator to so vote. It was a profile in courage. “Sen. Mitt Romney’s full speech announcing he will vote to convict Trump” The Constitution is at the foundation […]

Congress

The Senate’s Make-Believe Trial of Donald Trump

OtherWords

(Otherwords.org) – In my 40 years as a lawyer, I’ve never seen a trial flout the basic requirements for fairness so brazenly. By Mitchell Zimmerman | January 28, 2020 President Trump is on trial. As in a real trial, charges have been asserted: the House alleges high crimes and misdemeanors. A judge presides: Chief Justice […]

Congress

When the Senate Refused to Call Witnesses, it Contravened the Founders’ intent for Impeachment

The Conversation

By Clark D. Cunningham | – Senators will soon decide whether to dismiss the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump without hearing any witnesses. In making this decision, I believe they should consider words spoken at the Constitutional Convention, when the Founders decided that an impeachment process was needed to provide a “regular examination,” […]

Congress

Does Impeachment Need a Crime? Not According to the Framers of the Constitution

The Conversation

By Stefanie Lindquist | – Donald Trump’s legal and political defenders are all singing the same refrain: The president can’t be impeached; he hasn’t committed a crime. Alan Dershowitz, the constitutional lawyer now representing Trump, said it during an appearance on CNN. Sen. Ted Cruz echoed it on Twitter, noting there was “not even a […]