By Susan Crabtree for RealClearPolitics
Congressional Democrats’ rush toward impeachment has put Joe Biden in a difficult position before he’s even taken the oath of office.
Does he follow the desires of his fellow Democratic Party leaders to punish Donald Trump for stirring up an angry mob that ran amok at the U.S. Capitol?
Or does Biden heed his own oft-repeated campaign promise to weigh the desires of those Americans who voted against him as well as the historic numbers who voted for him?
The nation is struggling to pick up the pieces and come to terms with last week’s insurrection at the Capitol building by Trump-supporting extremists.
RELATED: Biden Vows To “Defeat” The NRA On Anniversary Of Gabby Giffords Shooting
At least five people, including one police officer, died. Hundreds more were threatened and terrorized. Another Capitol Police officer on duty that day died by suicide over the weekend, his family announced Monday.
Democrats are putting the blame squarely on President Trump’s shoulders – but not only Democrats. White House and administration staffers have resigned in droves, including three members of Trump’s Cabinet.
Many prominent Republicans — including several onetime supporters — have denounced Trump for instigating the Capitol attack.
But the rank-and-file are not yet convinced. A new Frank Luntz poll released Monday found that only 25% of Trump voters agree he is mostly responsible for the assault on the Capitol, while 62% said he was only “somewhat” or “only a little” to blame.
So, the question for the incoming president is pretty basic: In such a hyper-partisan political environment, is compromise even possible?
After the cataclysmic events of Jan. 6, lawmakers and pundits have frequently invoked the words of Ben Franklin — that the Founding Fathers rejected a monarchy in favor of “a republic, if you can keep it” — along with President Lincoln’s prophetic declaration that “a house divided against itself cannot stand.”
Two months after winning the presidency, Biden’s post-election words intended to lower the temperature in Washington and across the country already seem dated as he declines to clearly state whether he backs his party’s pursuit of the 25th Amendment or a second impeachment.
“Let this grim era of demonization in America begin to end here and now,” Biden said Nov. 7 in his first speech after he was declared the victor. “This is the time to heal.”
RELATED: Report: Biden Worried A Second Trump Impeachment Will Slow His First 100 Days Agenda
But Biden didn’t count on a horrific attack on the Capitol, nor on Trump’s steadfast refusal to acknowledge his defeat, which are testing that commitment to unity as he is being pressed by other party leaders bent on revenge.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and new Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are rejecting calls from a bipartisan group of House members to stop the drive to impeach Trump on his way out the door.
They want to put all Republicans on record as to whether they will protect Trump from being removed from office even though he will be out anyway in eight days.
With roughly a week left before Biden is inaugurated, House Democrats are set to impeach Trump for a second time this week.
The only question is whether they will send the impeachment articles over to the Senate right away or wait for Biden to complete his first 100 days and have most, if not all, of his Cabinet confirmed.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn has suggested Democrats wait for that period to allow Biden to assemble his administration and begin work on his agenda, while House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has said he wants to send the articles to the Senate immediately.
“Doing nothing is not an option,” a veteran Democratic operative told RealClearPolitics.
Pelosi has admitted that her interest in impeachment is to prevent Trump from running again in 2024 — so the impeachment push has become a way for Democrats to permanently cancel Trump and any chance for a political resurgence.
Plenty of voices, so far going unheeded, are pressing for a less polarizing beginning to Biden’s presidency.
Members of the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, along with a several centrist senators, are pushing for a congressional censure of Trump instead, arguing that a last-ditch impeachment effort will backfire on Biden and Democrats by inciting more violence while turning Trump into a martyr.
RELATED: WaPo Reporter Says Trump Voters ‘Need To Be Deprogrammed’
Rep. Tom Reed, a New York Republican, has circulated a letter imploring Biden to reject what he’s calling “snap” impeachment, which would go to a vote without the deliberations of a traditional hearing.
Constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley has argued that such a step would only “inflame political divisions in our country,” and he urged that Trump’s future should be left to “history and the voters to decide — not canceled by congressional fiat.”
Turley, who also argued against the first impeachment, denounced Trump’s Jan. 6 speech to his supporters as “reckless and wrong” even before they stormed the capitol.
He also praised Vice President Mike Pence for defying Trump in rejecting his claim that electoral votes could be “sent back” to the states.
“Yet, none of this is license for Congress to rampage through the Constitution with the same abandon as last week’s rioters did in the Capitol,” Turley wrote Monday.
Nonetheless, Pelosi is moving forward with a demand that Pence invoke the 25th Amendment to declare Trump unfit and remove him from office.
Such a move would require Pence to convene the Cabinet, a majority of whose members would then need to declare Trump unable to perform as president.
With the three Cabinet members already gone, it seems a futile ultimatum, especially after Pence and Trump met Monday and agreed to work together for the final week of the presidency.
RELATED: Hillary Clinton Calls Capitol Riots ‘Result Of White-Supremacist Grievances,’ Wants Trump Impeached
Pence’s rejection of this Democratic demand means House Democrats will move forward with a vote on a single article of impeachment as soon as Wednesday.
As his presidency is set to begin, Biden seems torn by these developments. He could try to change the tone in Washington by leaning on his party’s leaders to forgo another divisive impeachment fight against Trump.
But so far he hasn’t. On Monday, he signaled a willingness to entertain a “bifurcated” first 100 days, sharing progress on his initiatives with a Senate impeachment trial.
“Can we go half day on dealing with impeachment and half day getting my people nominated and confirmed?” he pondered Monday when pressed on the matter after receiving his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
“I haven’t gotten an answer from the parliamentarian yet,” he said.
Others quickly filled in the leadership vacuum to remind Biden that the Senate operated in the same dual-track way during the early 2020 unsuccessful impeachment trial.
Laurence Tribe, a fiery anti-Trump Harvard law professor, said the Senate, “if halfway responsible,” will hold a short impeachment trial as soon as possible.
Tribe authored a book on the case for impeaching Trump along with Joshua Matz, who served as the counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during Trump’s impeachment proceedings in late 2019.
“An impeachment trial needn’t get in the way of a forward-looking agenda for the Senate,” Tribe tweeted Monday night. “It’s increasingly looking like that’s the way forward: bifurcated days, half impeachment trial, half other business.”
So much for unity and turning the page on Donald J. Trump.
Syndicated with permission from RealClearWire.
The post Biden’s Dilemma: Unify The Country Or Impeach President Trump? appeared first on The Political Insider.
A CNN national security analyst went so far on Tuesday as to claim that President Donald Trump is the “leader of a terrorist organization,” calling for the “complete isolation” of him despite the fact that 74 million Americans voted for in this past election.
Juliette Kayyem, a lecturer at Harvard University and former member of Barack Obama’s Homeland Security Advisory Council, argued on CNN that Trump is the “spiritual” and “operational” leader of a “domestic terrorism effort.”
“Trump is the spiritual, but I will also say operational leader of this domestic terrorism effort. He tells them where to go. He tells them what to do. He tells them why they’re angry,” she outrageously alleged.
"Trump is the spiritual leader for domestic terrorists and he is their operational leader. He tells them what to do. Now, total isolation. 25th A. Yes. Impeachment. Yes. Deplatforming. Yes. We are still in the tactical phase of a counterterrorism effort. Enough with unity." @cnn pic.twitter.com/8UkZBzS4ai
— Juliette Kayyem (@juliettekayyem) January 12, 2021
Not stopping there, Kayvem claimed that the U.S. government must launch a counterterrorism effort against against the Trump supporters who protested at the Capitol building last week.
“And so we need to start at the top, like any counterterrorism effort, which is total isolation of the president of the United States. Impeachment, yes. 25th Amendment, yes. Deplatforming, yes. All of the above. No money. No access to campaign funds,” she said, going on to argue for the president’s “complete isolation” because Trump, “as the leader of a terrorist organization,” will have a more difficult time recruiting followers if he is “viewed as a loser.”
Related: Hillary Clinton Calls Capitol Riots ‘Result Of White-Supremacist Grievances,’ Wants Trump Impeached
“He’s going to have his radical elements. We will arrest them, we will isolate them,” Kayvem added. “But what we have to make sure is that Donald Trump does not have a second act.”
I know I sound incredibly harsh right now calling the president this, but we are in the tactical response right now. Enough with the ‘let’s unity’ and stuff, this is a tactical effort right now to make sure that we protect American citizens and, of course, the next president of the United States.”
Kayvem doubled down on this in an article published on Tuesday by The Atlantic. In this article, she accused Trump of “rallying point for a coalition of theocrats, internet fantasists, white supremacists, and various other authoritarians who are in no way committed to peaceful transitions of power.”
“The way to unite this country is to isolate acts of violence—and a leader who incites it—from legitimate expression,” Kayyem wrote. “Trump was a north star for a certain kind of radical. Americans will be safer the more that star loses its shine.”
Read Next: Nancy Pelosi Accuses Capitol Rioters Of Choosing ‘Their Whiteness’ Over Democracy
This piece was written by James Samson on January 12, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.
Read more at LifeZette:
Giuliani Calls For Trump To Declassify Everything – Says He Owes It To MAGA Movement
Jon Voight Defies Hollywood To Praise Trump After Capitol Riots – ‘It’s Not Over’
Where are the “Normal” Democrats? Do They Really Want for America What They Are Seeing from Their Party Leaders?
The post CNN Personality Claims Trump Is ‘Leader Of A Terrorist Organization’ appeared first on The Political Insider.
President-elect Joe Biden is reportedly concerned that implementation of his agenda will be slowed significantly by the insistence of Democrats to impeach President Trump for a second time.
House Democrats are expected to begin debate on impeachment Wednesday morning, setting up Trump to be the first President to ever be impeached twice.
The earliest the Senate could begin an impeachment trial would be January 20th, according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the day of Biden’s inauguration.
Biden, knowing that the Senate process for potential conviction would be time-consuming, is concerned his agenda could get derailed right out of the gate.
“I had a discussion today with some of the folks in the House and Senate,” Biden told reporters.
“The question is whether or not, for example, if the House moves forward – which they obviously are – with the impeachment and sends it over to the Senate, whether or not we can bifurcate this,” he revealed.
Trump impeachment collides with Biden’s agenda https://t.co/qXBFzeuz2W
— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) January 12, 2021
Biden’s correct in asserting that the impeachment process could get in the way of his agenda.
Confirmation of Cabinet picks, for example, might have to take a backseat to what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defines as an “imminent threat” to “our Democracy.”
Fox News reports that Senators in such a scenario would, according to Senate rules, meet six days a week, taking only Sunday off.
Biden wants to split time, it would seem.
“Can we go half-day on dealing with the impeachment and half-day getting my people nominated and confirmed in the Senate?” he asked.
Perhaps he’s unsure of what ‘imminent’ means. Or perhaps the Trump impeachment is not quite the threat Pelosi is making it out to be.
Biden concerned impeachment effort will delay work on virus, agenda, asks Congress to split time | Just The Newshttps://t.co/RtKJwHr8Cc
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) January 12, 2021
RELATED: Hillary Clinton Calls Capitol Riots ‘Result Of White-Supremacist Grievances,’ Wants Trump Impeached
Senate Minority – soon to be Majority – Leader Chuck Schumer indicated that his colleagues might have to do as Biden asks and split time on the matters of the day.
“We’re going to have to do several things at once, but we’ve got to move the agenda as well,” Schumer told the Buffalo News. “Yes, we’ve got to do both.”
House Majority Whip James Clyburn might have a plan to help put impeachment on the backburner altogether while Biden starts to get his agenda rolling.
Earlier this week, Clyburn said House Democrats may wait until Biden’s first 100 days in office to send articles of impeachment to the Senate.
Rep. Jim Clyburn: “Let’s give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running and maybe we will send the articles [of impeachment against Trump] sometime after that.” https://t.co/8nQEnOyzZs pic.twitter.com/jSt9F74kBO
— The Hill (@thehill) January 11, 2021
“It just so happens that if it didn’t go over there for 100 days, it could – let’s give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running, and maybe we’ll send the articles sometime after that,” Clyburn said.
A report last month indicates Biden was poised to unleash “a flurry” of executive orders aimed at “undoing” the Trump administration’s efforts to reform key government agencies.
His agenda though, might be derailed
The post Report: Biden Worried Impeachment Will Slow His Agenda appeared first on The Political Insider.
Democrats are currently rushing to impeach President Donald Trump after the riots in the Capitol last week. However, Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), the chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, has spoken out to say that impeachment is “clearly not going to happen.”
While appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Blunt was asked, “Are Republican leaders going to hold him accountable in any way for it?”
“I think the country is is the right to hold presidents accountable,” Blunt replied. “The president should be very careful over the next 10 days is that his behavior is what you would expect from the leader of the greatest country in the world. My personal view is that the president touched the hot stove on Wednesday and is unlikely to touch it again.”
“I did, the day Senator Hawley announced he would be contesting those electoral votes, announced that I would not be,” he added. “When Senator Cruz said he had a plan to put back in place a commission like the one formed in 1877, I said that wouldn’t happen. I wasn’t interested then or now in spending a lot of time on things that can’t happen just like the impeachment of the president to remove him from office clearly is not going to happen between now and the last day he is in office.”
“As Nancy Pelosi just said and Jim Clyburn said earlier today, this is more about a long-term punishment of the president than trying to remove him from office,” Blunt continued.
Related: Ilhan Omar Says House ‘Will Impeach This Week’ If Pence Doesn’t Act On Trump
This came after House Majority Whip James Clyburn admitted that House Democrats may wait until Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office to send articles of impeachment for Trump to the Senate.
“We’ll take the vote that we should take in the House, and [Pelosi] will make the determination as to when is the best time to get that vote and get the managers appointed and move that legislation over to the Senate,” Clyburn (D-SC) said.
“It just so happens that if it didn’t go over there for 100 days, it could – let’s give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running, and maybe we’ll send the articles sometime after that,” he added.
Related: AOC Calls For Trump To Be Impeached – ‘We Came Close To Half Of The House Nearly Dying’
Rep. Jim Clyburn: "Let's give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running and maybe we will send the articles [of impeachment against Trump] sometime after that." https://t.co/8nQEnOyzZs pic.twitter.com/jSt9F74kBO
— The Hill (@thehill) January 11, 2021
This piece was written by James Samson on January 12, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.
Read more at LifeZette:
Giuliani Calls For Trump To Declassify Everything – Says He Owes It To MAGA Movement
Jon Voight Defies Hollywood To Praise Trump After Capitol Riots – ‘It’s Not Over’
Where are the “Normal” Democrats? Do They Really Want for America What They Are Seeing from Their Party Leaders?
The post Top GOP Senator Claims Trump Impeachment ‘Clearly Is Not Going To Happen’ appeared first on The Political Insider.
CNN reporter Brian Stelter, who produces a newsletter called ‘Reliable Sources,’ claims “responsible TV networks” shouldn’t air President Trump’s visit to the border wall.
The President is scheduled to visit Alamo, Texas today to check on the progress of the wall on the U.S. southern border.
In the latest iteration of his newsletter, Stelter dismissed Trump’s appearance as a “stunt” and tried to shame other networks into not airing the event for fear that the President could make controversial comments.
“There’s a lot of concern about what he’ll say and how he’ll say it,” the CNN reporter said. “Let me just reiterate what I said on CNN Monday morning: Responsible TV networks will not air Trump live and in full. Not after his incitement last week.”
He then claimed his network and other far-left outlets would be more responsible in airing the event than say, Fox News.
“But I think we’ll see a repeat of last Wednesday’s rally coverage, meaning that Fox and other pro-Trump networks will air Trump live, while other outlets will exercise editorial judgment and ingest what he says, then decide if any of it is newsworthy,” surmised Stelter.
Regarding Trump’s trip to Alamo, Texas today: Responsible TV networks will not air Trump live in full https://t.co/EskHcKkWP1 pic.twitter.com/LRMdLeldRX
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 12, 2021
RELATED: WH Official: Trump To Visit Texas To See Border Wall Construction – A ‘Promise Kept’
It’s bad enough that Big Tech companies are actively doing everything in their power to suppress news and statements made by the President, but now CNN, a supposedly mainstream outlet, is rallying their liberal peers to join in.
Think about what he is essentially saying in that message.
We, the arbiters of truth at CNN, will watch President Trump’s visit to the border wall first, and only then will we decide if you, the viewer, have a right to know what happened.
Glenn Greenwald, a co-founder of The Intercept, slammed Stelter for a very similar interpretation.
“Silicon Valley defenders: Censoring Trump from all the monopolistic platforms is no big deal. He still has a press room,” Greenwald mocked.
He added, “The press: we should censor what Trump says and only broadcast and report the parts we want the public to hear, concealing the rest.”
Silicon Valley defenders: Censoring Trump from all the monopolistic platforms is no big deal. He still has a press room.
The press: we should censor what Trump says and only broadcast and report the parts we want the public to hear, concealing the rest:https://t.co/s2HnySsgDv
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 12, 2021
Greenwald also highlighted a New York Times columnist who he says is perfectly content with Big Tech censorship “as long as they use that power to censor her adversaries, not her allies.”
“That is the authoritarian mindset in its purest expression, right there,” he added. “As long as Silicon Valley monopoly power is harnessed to silence those who think differently than I, I support it.”
Greenwald points out that there hasn’t been a single voice of opposition to silencing Trump and his supporters, with many media outlets actually cheering the Big Tech monopolies on.
Look at what this liberal NYT columnist is saying.
She’s saying she’s “disturbed” at how “dangerous” it is “to have a handful of callow young tech titans in charge of who has a megaphone,” but as long as they use that power to censor her adversaries, not her allies, she’s happy: https://t.co/bh7XDUmVL5
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 12, 2021
Back to Stelter, the reality here is that he doesn’t want CNN to cover a story that might put President Trump in a positive light, like a visit to the border wall.
Do you think for one moment CNN wouldn’t cover the event “live and in full” if Trump were to discuss the ongoing impeachment effort or if he were to make a statement of resignation?
Instead, he’s there to celebrate an American achievement, as one White House official put it: “The completion of more than 400 miles of border wall — a promise made, promise kept.”
That’s what they really don’t want you to hear about. And it just might work, now that the President is unable to share videos of his speech or his accomplishments on social media.
What kind of country do we live in where the one man who can’t speak to the American people directly right now is the President of the United States?
The post CNN’s Brian Stelter: ‘Responsible Networks’ Shouldn’t Air Trump’s Visit To Border Wall Live And in Full appeared first on The Political Insider.
