When all else fails, it's time to impeach the president

News flash – Nancy Pelosi learned President Trump is using his office for political gain so the House has begun impeachment hearings.

I thought using the power of office was pretty normal in American politics. Members of Congress begin to campaign for the next election before the votes are counted for the last one. It is hard to unseat an incumbent. They have free news exposure, free mailings to constituents, free transportation for photo ops that make them look good, etc. They also have the opportunity to transfer pork barrel projects into votes. What is so unique this time?

Let me see if I have the facts straight. Someone within the administration, who chooses to remain anonymous, overheard a privileged phone call between Trump and the president of the Ukraine.

This secret tipster reported the call to someone in the CIA, who also chooses to remain anonymous. This secret whistleblower told someone in the National Security Agency who leaked it to the press. The press released the damning allegation that Trump threatened to withhold aid unless the Ukraine dug up dirt on Biden. I think that captures the gist of it.

Before we entertained ourselves with computer games and iPhones, we often played party games. One of my favorites was “Pass it on.”

Several people would set around a table and whoever was “it” would whisper a message to the one seated to the right or left depending on the leanings of the host. The message would be whispered to the next person in the circle, who would in turn whisper it to the next etc. It was amazing how garbled the message became after three or four transfers. I wonder what the original phone call really said.

Information from third-hand anonymous callers are no more than rumors, and wouldn’t even come close to justifying a search warrant in a normal court of law. But it is enough for Nancy Pelosi to cave in to her radical Trump-haters and schedule formal hearings.

The first order of business is to subpoena records from the State Department. I guess it is unreasonable for two heads of state to expect confidentiality.

When you cut away all the fog, the real reason Pelosi is now backing impeachment is she thinks it may help in the 2020 election. Until recently, the polls were solidly against impeachment hearings. The tide of opinion appears to be turning, however, so damn the facts and full speed ahead even if there is no chance of actually removing him from office.

First: There is no impeachable offense. The Constitution specifies impeachable offenses as, “Bribery, Treason, and other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Even if the allegations are true, asking a foreign head of state to dig up dirt on a political opponent doesn’t qualify. It is not a smart thing to do, but it isn’t impeachable.

Second: The Supreme Court presides over impeachment trials. The majority of the court is conservative, and I doubt they will bend the Constitution.

Third: If it gets that far, the case would be decided by the Republican controlled Senate. The whole mess is a political show.

The Democrats need to tread lightly with impeachment hearings. What goes around comes around, especially in politics.

I am convinced that the attempt to impeach President Clinton was payback for Nixon. Nixon ordered his “Dirty Tricks” squad to burglarize Democratic headquarters. That’s a felony and is, therefore, an impeachable offense.

Clinton, on the other hand, had oral sex in his office with a young intern then lied about it on national TV. Although his conduct was beyond inappropriate, it is not a “high crime or misdemeanor.” He finished his term and went on to become a respected senior statesman.

Now it is the Democrats turn to retaliate. Sooner or later the Republicans will be back in control of the House. Maybe not in 2020 but eventually it will happen. Then it will be their turn to get even.

They could start with Dianne Feinstein. She hid a witness from the Kavanaugh hearings until the timing was to her political advantage. That could be impeachable. How about Nancy Pelosi? She could be impeached on general terms or for being an obstructionist.

If Elizabeth Warren is elected, heaven forbid, it shouldn’t be too hard to conjure up an appropriate offense. Or how about…

Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and long-time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free-lance columnist for over 19 years.