In 1867, just before Andrew Johnson's impeachment, a writer named C.M. Ellis had this to say about the Constitution's impeachment clause:

The terms “high crimes and misdemeanors,” in their natural sense, embrace a very large field of actions. They are broad enough to cover all criminal misconduct of the President, — all acts of commission or omission forbidden by the Constitution and the laws. To the word “misdemeanor,” indeed, is naturally attached a yet broader signification, which would embrace personal character and behavior as well as the proprieties of official conduct. Nor was, nor is, there any just reason why it should be restricted in this direction; for, in establishing a permanent national government, to insure purity and dignity, to secure the confidence of its own people and command the respect of foreign powers, it is not unfit that civil officers, and most especially the highest of all, the head of the people, should be answerable for personal demeanor.

He had much else to say in the Atlantic article. It has been the clear understanding since at least Ellis's time that a crime need not be the cause of the president's removal.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/ar ... ed/548144/
But we seem not to have to worry about such a dispute in Trump's case, anyway. How does Dershowitz manage to overlook federal statute? From my non-expert perspective, the statute clearly applies, so what would be the reasoning?

52 USC §30121. Contributions and donations by foreign nationals
(a) Prohibition
It shall be unlawful for-

(1) a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make-
(A) a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election;
(B) a contribution or donation to a committee of a political party; or
(C) an expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication (within the meaning of section 30104(f)(3) of this title); or
(2) a person to solicit, accept, or receive a contribution or donation described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) from a foreign national.

It's pretty clear now why the Democrats are pushing ahead with their empty impeachment; they want to taint the 2020 election.

Schiff Confirms Impeachment of Trump is All About 2020
“The President’s misconduct goes to the heart of whether we can conduct a free and fair election in 2020.”
legalinsurrection.com/2019/12/schiff-co ... %B7tion%29

Schiff said they can't let Trump cheat "one more time." It wasn't Trump who cheated in 2016, it was Clinton. The Ukrainians helped her cheat. That's what Trump's lawyer, Giulianni, has been gathering evidence about on his recent trips to the Ukraine.

Rudy Giuliani Can Barely Contain Himself Over His Ukraine Findings
Upon his return to New York on Saturday, Giuliani says he took a call from President Trump while his plane was still taxiing down the runway, according to the Wall Street Journal. ... "What did you get?" Trump asked. "More than you can imagine," answered the former New York mayor who gained notoriety in the 1980s for taking down the mob as a then-federal prosecutor. ... According to the 77-year-old Giuliani, Trump instructed him to brief Attorney General William Barr and GOP lawmakers on his findings. Soon after, the president then told reporters at the White House, "I hear he has found plenty."
zerohedge.com/political/rudy-giuliani-c ... e-findings

And then the Inspector General's report into FISA abuses came out last week. The FISA court issued illegal warrants against candidate Trump. Obama knew about it in real time, which makes his crime the greatest ever committed by a US president. The IG report was narrow in the scope of its investigation and the media said it didn't amount to much, but our Attorney General said it amounted to plenty.

Attorney General Barr Promptly Issues A Scathing Response To The IG Report: “[Horowitz’s] Report Makes Clear The FBI Launched An Intrusive Investigation Of [Trump’s] Campaign On The Thinnest Of Suspicions”
gellerreport.com/2019/12/attorney-gener ... port.html/

Obama's former atty gen Eric Holder is freaking out over the FISA business. I guess his ass is on the line somehow. The next report on Obama's Russiagate scheme will come from John Durham, and Holder is asking Durham to rebel against his boss William Barr. The Washington establishment is VERY nervous about what Durham will reveal.

Eric Holder Sends Warning to John Durham, Says William Barr ‘Unfit’ to be Attorney General, in WaPo Op-Ed
unitedpatriotnews.com/politics/eric-hol ... apo-op-ed/

At any rate, the vote for or against impeachment will be this week. They would have done it Friday but said they didn't have a good TV time slot. They might vote to impeach, or they might just censure. I hope they impeach so we get to see Hunter Biden on the stand in the Senate trial. One of Biden's stripper girlfriends is suing him for child support.

Deadbeat Dad Hunter Biden Blows Off Court Hearing Over Child Support As His Lawyer Abruptly Quits!
statedepartmentwatch.org/2019/12/03/dea ... tly-quits/

What else? Oh, Obama's in the news:

Obama Caught At Soros Home Meddling In Trump’s Re-Election, Gets Reality Check
Barack Obama is attending a meeting held at the home of Alex Soros, the son of leftwing billionaire George Soros. Reports say the former president is meddling in the 2020 election, and this meeting is targeting President Donald Trump’s re-election. Also attending are other Democrat heavy-weights like Eric Holder....
madworldnews.com/obama-soros-home-trump ... -election/

It looks as if the Soros people plan to use Obama and their other tools to work up some kind of protest against Trump if he gets re-elected. Probably race riots and so on, the kind of crap that we had for 8 years under Bathhouse Barry.

The Democrats in the House of Reps said it was urgent to impeach Trump, that he was a danger to the nation and so on. And now they're stalling the next step in the process. If he's such a danger, why the delay?

It's possible that the Trump impeachment was just step one. Now they'll go after vice-president Pence, while Trump waits in limbo.

Rep. Adam Schiff Is Coming After Mike Pence Next
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/12/19 ... -next.html



If both Trump and Pence stand impeached, then perhaps the next in line for the presidency (arch-traitor Nancy Pelosi) will declare a crisis and elevate herself.

Keep your powder dry: Fanatical Democrats have a plan to remove Trump and install PELOSI as President within WEEKS
https://governmentslaves.news/2019/12/2 ... hin-weeks/



I hope they have a trial soon, and I hope the Republicans in the Senate don't do anything to speed it along. Let all the facts about Biden come out. Let Russiagate be explored. Obama knew about the illegal spying on Trump from the beginning--the biggest crime ever committed by a sitting president. And Obama and Biden can still be impeached. That's what I want to see. Obama's crime is so great that it rises to the level of treason, and I want to hear his lawyers say that he CAN'T be charged with treason against the US, because he's not a citizen. Maybe this is why Trump has been impeached, so that the US govt will be thrown into disarray as it tries to roll back 8 years of non-binding actions carried out by Barry Soetoro (Obama's legal name).

KindaSkolarly wrote: Rudy Giuliani Can Barely Contain Himself Over His Ukraine Findings
Upon his return to New York on Saturday, Giuliani says he took a call from President Trump while his plane was still taxiing down the runway, according to the Wall Street Journal. ... "What did you get?" Trump asked. "More than you can imagine," answered the former New York mayor who gained notoriety in the 1980s for taking down the mob as a then-federal prosecutor. ... According to the 77-year-old Giuliani, Trump instructed him to brief Attorney General William Barr and GOP lawmakers on his findings. Soon after, the president then told reporters at the White House, "I hear he has found plenty."
zerohedge.com/political/rudy-giuliani-c ... e-findings

A couple of weeks now since Giuliani returned from his fact-finding mission. When will we be seeing the astounding results of the trip? We're waiting.

Trump might regret letting Rudy work for him for free. That seems to put Trump in debt to the former NY mayor, making it more difficult for Trump to consider firing him. Reportedly, Trump may also have a problem in not having declared the value of the free legal work in his yearly financial statement.

How each member of the House voted on impeachment
The votes to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress fell almost exactly along party lines. Two Democrats voted with Republicans. One of them, New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, is poised to leave the Democratic Party.... No Republicans supported impeachment...
cnn.com/interactive/2019/12/politics/ho ... ment-vote/

Even CNN (Clinton News Network or Commie News Network, take your pick) can't put a positive spin on the impeachment vote. It was the most nakedly partisan vote imaginable. It was so reprehensible to one Democrat that he left the party in disgust. An utter, unmitigated PR failure. It is as if the Democrats are DETERMINED to destroy their party. Support for Trump the Abused is rising, and the Dems have no challenger to take him on in the upcoming election.

The impeachment trial will most likely be over and done with two weeks after it starts, but the Dems' problems won't end there.

HUGE: Lindsey Graham Promises to Call in EVERY PERSON Who Signed Bogus Carter Page FISA Warrants …Comey, McCabe, Yates, Rosenstein… (VIDEO)
stationgossip.com/2019/12/huge-lindsey- ... in_23.html

So, after the impeachment, the Senate will take up the FISA business. They can proceed now that they have the Inspector General's report. And given enough time, the wheels of justice will grind the bones of the Democrats' power structure into dust. It is inevitable. The Dems committed crimes on an unprecedentedly massive scale, thinking they would never be held accountable by President Hillary, but the hour of reckoning is approaching.

Or not. It could be that it's all a show, a shadow play put on by the Good Ol Boys for us peons. It makes me think of professional rasslin', the way the two sides pose and blow at each other. And Trump is the king of showmanship.

Kayfabe. That's a term that comes to mind sometimes when I'm watching Trump. It's a wrestling term:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayfabe

Interesting article. It talks about wrestling super-promoter Vince McMahon, who is a known associate of Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, as we're fed the the sturm und drang of the impeachment, the government goes on quietly about its business of passing a 1.3 trillion dollar budget, and reauthorizing the heinous USA PATRIOT Act, and the Federal Reserve pumps a 3 trillion life-support dollars into Wall Street.

A fascinating interview with Dr. Steve Pieczenik. Among other things he discusses the coup against Trump:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHpsoGxwn5o

Pieczenik worked for decades as a CIA psychiatrist. I don't trust spooks or shrinks, but to hear him tell it, he spent his career saving Christians where he could. Western society is superior to others because of the Judeo-Christian belief system, he says, and we need to do what we can to preserve it. I agree. The introductory stuff ends at about 7:45 and the commercials have been trimmed. I posted a youtube link, which will no doubt be taken down, so I'll add a link straight to Alex Jones' Banned.video website.

https://banned.video/watch?id=5e014e7a1e2e2900167644b5

Tom Clancy's character Jack Ryan was based on Pieczenik.

The impeachment trial in the Senate isn't getting very good TV ratings. People know it's a sham. And the Democrats admit that one of the main purposes of the trial is to stop Trump from winning re-election. So, Trump's opposition is using impeachment as an electioneering tool. If that's not traitorous, I don't know what is.

I have to wonder what Jesus would do in this situation. How he would view the behavior of Trump's leftist opposition? Jesus was about as right as they come, and he said we're supposed to turn the other cheek. But that's only to the ignorant--people who don't know any better. The commies in congress know better. They're not attacking Trump out of ignorance. And at some point you just can't turn away from their behavior. They're enabling America's enemies.

Oh, yes, I'm sure "What would Jesus do" is something Trump asks himself every day!

I found Adam Schiff's presentation very persuasive. But I agree with my wife that the Dems took too long, partly by repetition.

We won't know til next week whether enough Senators agree that right matters to at least get witnesses called. In a way it seemed to me that he put the defense in a box. The more they argued that the prosecution case had not nailed down the president's guilt, the more the detail about dragging out the "pause" (as the defense likes to put it) and hiding the hold from everyone they could, comes back to imply that we need to hear from Mick "Get Over It" Mulvaney and John "Drug Deal" Bolton. Romney seems convinced, and has the chops to stand up to the Fox News hounds, but will he get 3 more Senators in the same position?

Of course all the defense are really doing is giving a fig leaf to wavering Senators who will now have some talking points to answer independent voters who question them. And maybe to some extent providing cover for Trumpsters who want to support him but have trouble swallowing his unconstitutional behavior, which matters because shoring up the base puts pressure on GOP Senators experiencing the urge to think independently.

Me, I don't care about the horse race. It will be what it will be. Dear Leader will probably interpret acquittal as giving him the slack to try more shenanigans, but there are more bombshells waiting for him as the truth comes out about his finances, and the more stupid Rudy tricks he tries, the more the voters will be sick of him.

The 2 articles of impeachment are without merit. They accuse Trump of doing his job. He would have been derelict in his duty if he hadn't questioned the giveaway of US taxpayer dollars to the Ukrainians. They needed to check on corruption at their end. And he would have been derelict again if he had cooperated with the witch-hunt being carried out by a partisan congress. Trump is charged with doing his job.

That sounds ludicrous, but one of the "witnesses" the other day said that Trump went against the advice of the foreign service when he dealt with the Ukrainians. So, we have unelected bureaucrats saying that Trump should be impeached because he didn't carry out the diktats of the Deep State politburo. The spooks are trying to crucify him because he doesn't do their bidding. Again, Trump is charged with doing his job.

A reporter named Peter Schweizer has a new book out, Profiles in Corruption. In it he talks about some of the money scandals tied to the Ukraine. Obama, H. Clinton and Biden used the country to launder money. Foreign aid money went to the Ukraine, then into the coffers of the Democratic National Committee. And along the way some Dem family members skimmed off a few million. Two weeks after Obama appointed Biden to be point man on the Ukraine, Biden's inexperienced son was given a million-dollar-a-year job with Burisma. Schweizer's book describes that sweetheart deal and others that the Dems received while pillaging the Ukraine.

harpercollins.com/9780062897909/profile ... orruption/

Schweizer's previous books have described the same type of corruption among the Republicans. I expect the Senate wants to wind up the impeachment pretty quickly, before the folks watching at home start talking about following the money.

The Senate is so corrupt. They know about child sex trafficking, for example. Antichrist John McCain's widow said this the other day, when talking about pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, "We all knew about him. We all knew what he was doing, but we had no one that was - no legal aspect that would go after him. They were afraid of him. For whatever reason, they were afraid of him."

I mean, WTF? Even the wife of America's most powerful senator knew that Epstein was peddling child sex slaves, but no one could DO anything about it? THAT'S what will bring the impeachment trial to a close posthaste. Nothing will cause the mob to break out the pitchforks faster than pedophilia.

Washington DC is freaking out about Cindy McCain's statement, by the way. The networks HAVE to report it, but they don't want to. Alex Jones was reporting on the Epstein/Clinton pedophilia business a decade ago, while the networks looked the other way.