Section: Reason.com (USA)
If Investigating Joe Biden Was Perfectly Legitimate, Why Deny a Quid Pro Quo?
In his upcoming memoir, The New York Times reports, former National Security Adviser John Bolton says Donald Trump explicitly drew a connection between his delay of congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine and “investigations into Democrats,” including former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. That account, which is...
Trump’s Failed Impeachment Is Still Worth It
Everyone knows President Donald Trump will not be convicted in his impeachment trial. His party controls 53 seats of the Senate, so there is simply no way the requisite two-thirds will vote against him. So is there any point to this whole exercise? Yes, there is. Impeachment is not just about this president; it is about future presidents. If...
Corruption Allegations Against Biden Are ‘Completely Groundless,’ Says Democratic Impeachment Manager
Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D–Texas) on Thursday sought to discredit corruption allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden as many Senate Republicans push to have his son, Hunter, testify in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. As vice president, Biden in 2015 pushed for the deposition of Viktor Shokin, a Ukrainian prosecutor, who...
The Senate Can (but Probably Won’t) Fill the Gaps in the Case for a Ukraine Quid Pro Quo
Donald Trump’s lawyers argue that the Senate should insist on proof beyond a reasonable doubt in deciding whether to convict him of the charges described in the articles of impeachment. If so, his acquittal is not only inevitable for strictly political reasons but justified by an honest assessment of the existing evidence. It is not at all...
The Calvinball Impeachment Trial Begins
The first day of President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial on Tuesday saw Republicans and Democrats quarreling over the rules for the proceedings, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R–Ky.) rejecting a series of amendments proposed by Democrats that would have allowed them to call additional witnesses and collect documents...
The Case Against the Slippery Slope Case Against Impeachment for “Abuse of Power”
The first of the two articles of impeachment on which Donald Trump is about to be tried by the Senate focuses on “abuse of power.” In my view, Trump’s scheme to withhold aid from Ukraine in order to pressure that country’s government into investigating a political adversary is also a violation of the Constitution and...
‘It Was Never About Corruption’: Giuliani Associate Says Trump Was Involved in Ukraine Scandal
An associate of Rudy Giuliani said this week that “President Trump knew exactly what was going on” in reference to a secret campaign to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to announce investigations into Trump’s political rivals. In a Wednesday evening interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Lev Parnas, who was...
By Withholding Funds to Ukraine, Trump Broke the Law
One argument that President Donald Trump’s supporters have employed in the impeachment debate is that it was merely a “policy dispute.” Yes, Trump held up aid to Ukraine last summer, this line goes, but he did so in pursuit of his agenda in the region. There are several problems with this argument. One is that it has become...
House Votes To Send Impeachment Articles to Senate as New Evidence Comes to Light
The House of Representatives voted 228-193 on Wednesday to formally send articles of impeachment to the Senate, signaling the start of President Donald Trump’s trial. While the tally fell mostly along party lines, Rep. Collin Peterson (D–Minn.) voted against the articles’ advancement and Rep. Justin Amash (I–Mich.) voted in favor....
John Bolton Says He Would Comply with Senate Subpoena to Testify in Impeachment Trial
Former National Security Advisor John Bolton said today that he will comply with a subpoena if he’s ordered to testify at the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. The possibility of Bolton’s testimony had been up in the air. The White House has been trying to keep witnesses who worked for Trump from testifying...
