Is Impeaching President Trump a Dead End?
The Democrats are slowly moving toward the ultimate - removing President Trump from office. But, what is the reality that it will actually happen? What are the odds?
Impeaching Trump or any president is the last gasp measure. It is not easy. Trump knows this. The next step in actually voting to impeaching is to begin an Impeachment Inquiry. This process will give the Democrats even more power to obtain evidence that Trump has either colluded with the Russians and/or obstructed justice. Mueller did lay out 10 valid points that he found, but, are there others that are even better from a legal POV? This will be the next step Pelosi will agree to as it empowers Congress more authority to investigate and go wherever it leads.
The end result of this may or may not be detrimental to Trump. But, let's assume it is to some degree. With three equal branches of government, Congress cannot vote alone to impeach. At some point prior to impeaching, the matter will have to be acted upon by the Senate, by the Executive Branch (with the Attorney General), and lastly, the Judicial Branch (the Courts). The Senate is not going to impeach unless there is something very detrimental they cannot ignore. Many Republicans would have to agree with the Democrats. Then, there is Attorney General Barr, whom we know was appointed by Trump and is an obvious Trump man. There is no doubt he would have to agree or not that Congress does have a valid case to impeach. It is unlikely that Barr would agree to impeach because he is investigating the Mueller investigation at Trump's request. He has unlimited authority. Finally, the case for impeachment might end up in front of pro-Trump court.
Dead Ends
The impeachment process could and likely be stymied at any of these choke points with the current political atmosphere. At best, the impeachment inquiry, assuming it yields more fire to the obstruction case, might be overwhelming for many, enough to push it through. A more likely outcome is nothing much else happens. This would make 2020 look bad for the Democrats. Like many have said, this could all backfire on the Democrats if the outcome is indeed a dead end and Trump is victorious.
Trump is betting this will be the case as months go by. Meanwhile, Trump has improved the economy, jobs, and trade (minus China). As the more radical Democrats push the more moderates for impeachment, it may prove, in the end, to cost them the 2020 election LONG before it arrives over a year from now. That said, it could equally be the end of Trump depending on what happens in the coming year.
Game on!
