McConnell Is Said to Be Pleased About Impeachment

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, has told associates that he believes President Trump committed impeachable offenses and that he is pleased that Democrats are moving to impeach him, believing that it will make it easier to purge him from the party, according to people familiar with his thinking.

Posted by Gal_Tuesday at 10:32 PM | 29 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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Hmmm, really?:

At the same time, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the minority leader and one of Mr. Trump's most steadfast allies in Congress, has asked other Republicans whether he should call on Mr. Trump to resign in the aftermath of the riot at the Capitol last week, according to three Republican officials briefed on the conversations.

While Mr. McCarthy has said he is personally opposed to impeachment, he and other party leaders have decided not to formally lobby Republicans to vote "no," and an aide to Mr. McCarthy said he was open to a measure censuring Mr. Trump for his conduct. In private, Mr. McCarthy reached out to a leading House Democrat to see if the chamber would be willing to pursue a censure vote, though Speaker Nancy Pelosi has ruled it out.

#1 | Posted by Gal_Tuesday at 2021-01-12 04:43 PM | Reply

They're all afraid of reprisal. That's what happens when you promise the mentally vulnerable and then not pay off. Evangelical preachers can get away with it, not politicians.

#2 | Posted by lee_the_agent at 2021-01-12 04:52 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

This is good,

On Monday, Mr. Biden telephoned Mr. McConnell to ask whether it was possible to set up a dual track that would allow the Senate to confirm Mr. Biden's cabinet nominees and hold a Senate trial at the same time, according to officials briefed on the conversation who disclosed it on condition of anonymity. Far from avoiding the topic of impeaching Mr. Trump, Mr. McConnell said it was a question for the Senate parliamentarian, and promised Mr. Biden a quick answer.

McConnell is already working with his old friend Joe. Maybe Moscow Mitch is ready for Glasnost.

#3 | Posted by lee_the_agent at 2021-01-12 04:56 PM | Reply

McConnell is said to be pleased about impeachment [...] believing that it will make it easier to purge him from the party

He also gets the opportunity to run out the clock on Dem control of the legislature. A few weeks spent on the trial means less time for the Dem Senate to pass Dem legislation.

Not to mention Repubs will use the Senate trial to pander to their base and get them riled up for mid-terms.

#4 | Posted by censored at 2021-01-12 04:57 PM | Reply

@DanRather

The plot is getting thicker than my grandmother's gravy.

#5 | Posted by lee_the_agent at 2021-01-12 05:01 PM | Reply

If Pres Trump is impeached and convicted, he cannot run for a federal office again, that includes President in 2024.

That may help some Republicans look more favorably towards voting for impeachment and conviction.

#6 | Posted by LampLighter at 2021-01-12 05:09 PM | Reply

McConnell is already working with his old friend Joe. Maybe Moscow Mitch is ready for Glasnost.
#3 | POSTED BY LEE_THE_AGENT

I would rather have The Good Old Boys Network running the show, than Trump and his goons.

#7 | Posted by snoofy at 2021-01-12 05:14 PM | Reply

Liz Cheney just announced that she'll vote to impeach Trump tomorrow.

The dam might be breaking once and for all.

#8 | Posted by tonyroma at 2021-01-12 05:44 PM | Reply

If Pres Trump is impeached and convicted, he cannot run for a federal office again, that includes President in 2024.

I'm sure you know this, but for the benefit of anyone who doesn't:

A 2nd vote is required to ban anyone convicted in the senate from running for public office.

#9 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2021-01-12 05:45 PM | Reply

Sept. 20, 2020, when asked if he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power, ------- responded that "We'll have to see what happens..."

#10 | Posted by truthhurts at 2021-01-12 05:48 PM | Reply

correction Sept. 24, 2020

#11 | Posted by truthhurts at 2021-01-12 05:48 PM | Reply

@#9 ... I'm sure you know this, but for the benefit of anyone who doesn't: ...

I didn't.

Thanks for that.

#12 | Posted by LampLighter at 2021-01-12 05:51 PM | Reply

9/24/20 The second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin of Illinois, called Trump "a real danger to the Constitution."

"This is frightening rhetoric from the President of the United States. What he said to the American people was, go ahead and vote if you wish. But I'm not sure I'll accept your vote as the real sentiment of America. That questions the very foundation of our democracy, if a president does not accept the results of an election. It's not the first time he's said it, so we know that he's convinced of how important that statement is. But the American people should be convinced that this president is a real danger to our Constitution," he told reporters Thursday morning.

#13 | Posted by truthhurts at 2021-01-12 05:53 PM | Reply

A few weeks spent on the trial means less time for the Dem Senate to pass Dem legislation.

With Giuliani as lead counsel, the trial won't take long.

If he still has a NY law license at that time ...

#14 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2021-01-12 05:53 PM | Reply

Everyone feels something about Trump. This must be what it felt like to work at a failed Trump casino as he ran it into the ground.

Certainly there had been much angst among the majority of the employees, and no doubt, there was some minority of them who remained clinging to Trumps sack until the bitter end.

#15 | Posted by LiquidCake at 2021-01-12 06:29 PM | Reply

Wow.... it's close....

#16 | Posted by Corky at 2021-01-12 08:19 PM | Reply

@#9 ... A 2nd vote is required to ban anyone convicted in the senate from running for public office. ...

Is this of which you speak?

www.digitaljournal.com

...However, there is a section of the amendment that has rarely ever been used, yet it is still relevant.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment gives Congress the authority to bar public officials, who specifically took an oath of allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, from holding office if they "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the Constitution and therefore broke their oath....

#17 | Posted by LampLighter at 2021-01-12 08:42 PM | Reply

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment gives Congress the authority to bar public officials ...

From what I understand they'll still have to specifically exert that authority.

#18 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2021-01-12 10:42 PM | Reply

@#18

That's my understanding (now) as well.

Thanks again for the heads-up.

#19 | Posted by LampLighter at 2021-01-12 10:55 PM | Reply

#17 | POSTED BY LAMPLIGHTER

The necessity for two votes comes from Art. 1 Sec. 3 Cls. 7, "... removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office ...". Removal and disqualification are separate remedies.

The last example is Alcee Hastings. He was impeached, convicted and removed as a federal judge. He was not disqualified from another federal office and was later elected to the House.

#20 | Posted by et_al at 2021-01-12 11:00 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

McConnell leans toward convicting Trump
www.axios.com

...There's a better than 50-50 chance that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would vote to convict President Trump in an impeachment trial, sources tell Axios....

#21 | Posted by LampLighter at 2021-01-12 11:02 PM | Reply

@#20

I'm learning a lot tonight.

thx.

#22 | Posted by LampLighter at 2021-01-12 11:04 PM | Reply

"If Pres Trump is impeached and convicted, he cannot run for a federal office again, that includes President in 2024. That may help some Republicans look more favorably towards voting for impeachment and conviction."

If Trump chose to run in 2024, there is the possibility that he could hold the Republican party hostage by threatening to run as a third party candidate if he weren't offered the Republican nomination. That would almost certainly hand an easy win to the Dems.

Strategically, the Dems may not want to conclude a successful impeachment, as it would preclude Trump from running, thus making the Dem 2024 ticket more of a race.

But I don't know that any member of any party wants to relive the -------- that has been the Trump presidency. He's just a disgusting human being.

#23 | Posted by madbomber at 2021-01-12 11:12 PM | Reply

If that's what motivates Republicans I won't get in the way of their delusion.

#24 | Posted by Tor at 2021-01-12 11:18 PM | Reply

Asha Rangappa
@AshaRangappa_
McConnell is a member of the Gang of 8 which means he is getting way more info than any of us and his conclusion (already) is apparently to run as fast and far as possible from this pile of poo show. So.

twitter.com

#25 | Posted by Gal_Tuesday at 2021-01-13 12:48 AM | Reply

Trump might just be left holding the bag, maybe for the first time in his life.

#26 | Posted by horstngraben at 2021-01-13 03:42 AM | Reply

We will see.

It's pretty certain that He Who Shall Not Concede will be impeached today.

And we will go on from there...

#27 | Posted by donnerboy at 2021-01-13 12:05 PM | Reply

"McConnell is a member of the Gang of 8"

The original "Gang of 8"

en.wikipedia.org

"The State Committee on the State of Emergency, was a group of eight high-level Soviet officials within the Soviet government, the Communist Party, and the KGB, who attempted a coup d'tat against Mikhail Gorbachev on 19 August 1991. American publicist Georges Obolensky also called it the Gang of Eight. The coup ultimately failed, with the provisional government collapsing by 22 August 1991 and several of the conspirators being prosecuted by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation."

#28 | Posted by madbomber at 2021-01-13 11:08 PM | Reply

"Strategically, the Dems may not want to conclude a successful impeachment, as it would preclude Trump from running, thus making the Dem 2024 ticket more of a race. "

Impeachment and conviction right now will split the Republican Party and possibly end it. It will go the way of the Whig party.

I guarantee it.

#29 | Posted by donnerboy at 2021-01-14 09:35 AM | Reply