This is for the Legal experts Does this impeachment have any grounds

a reply to: Sabrechucker

I ask.. Is what's taking place in line with the "LAW" of the land or a very cordial Coup attempt?

It's both.

The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach (formally accuse) a President. The phrase "high crimes and misdemeanors" has never been officially defined... I do not believe anything in the Articles of Impeachment are a "high crime and misdemeanor," but I am not a Federal judge (and it would likely require a Supreme Court decision to define it anyway).

In that respect, the impeachment (assuming it is ever formalized) would be valid. The decision as to it being a coup is left to the voters... and judging by the trend of the polls, the people do see it as an attempted coup.

Luckily, our Founding Fathers foresaw the possibility of a House of Representatives running amok. The President is unaffected by any impeachment, except to defend himself before the Senate. Only the Senate can remove a sitting President. In this case, many Senators have indicated that they seen no evidence of crime in the public reports of the House hearings, so it is completely possible to request a summary dismissal vote. Even if they do go forward with a trial, the Chief Justice will be asked to rule on admissibility of evidence gathered, and that would throw out 90% of what the House has used for its impeachment. The House has apparently rested its case by holding the impeachment vote, so Trump now has the opportunity to refute any evidence that is deemed admissible. It will require 67 Senators to vote to convict/remove Trump if a full trial even takes place.

In other words, it is a failed coup attempt, but so far is also constitutional and therefore legal.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

I see it as a very cordial Coup. No fires in the street, but make no mistake.. they are pushing the subliminal lies.

a reply to: ElectricUniverse

An impeached official cannot run again for office in government, EVER, if the Senate decides it.

You are confusing your terms. The Senate does not have the power to impeach. The Senate has the power to convict and remove. Only the House can impeach.

An impeachment is a specific type of indictment. An indictment is only a formal accusation of wrongdoing, typically used in a criminal accusation. When (and if) Pelosi delivers the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate, Donald Trump will be officially impeached. That does not mean he is removed from office or denied the right to serve in office. That only happens if the Senate convicts him.

Again the Senate does not impeach.

TheRedneck

a reply to: Sabrechucker

Yes, certainly bloodless thus far. I attribute that to the fact that the Senate has not removed him and likely will not remove him. There has never been a sitting President removed from office. Andrew Johnson came closest; conviction failed by a single vote. He was accused of some pretty horrific constitutional violations. Clinton didn't even come close to being removed, and he was accused of perjury and witness tampering, with admissible evidence to support those accusations.

I feel Nixon would have been removed had he been impeached; he resigned before that could happen.

Trump is accused of two things: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The former accusation hinges on being able to prove that he intended to interfere with the 2020 election by demanding an improper investigation of a political opponent. There is no direct evidence of this. His call specified actions related to the 2016 election, not the 2020 election; Joe Biden is not his political opponent in the 2020 election process until and unless he wins the nomination; both parties to the call in question have stated multiple times that no such request was made. The latter has no legal standing in court, as the Constitution itself is written to require the Judicial Branch to mediate differences between Congress and the Executive Branch, and that remedy was openly rejected by the House leadership.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

Even if he is not convicted and removed from office, his impeachment stands, once the House presents the Articles to the Senate.

I think this is the type of vindictive mean-spirited person Nancy Pelosi is...actually the entire Democrat political body in Congress. Their hatred of this president and his supporters drove them to bring these ridiculous Articles of impeachment. Maybe it's a tit-for-tat Clinton-driven revenge thing.