Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

orangecrush

(19,599 posts)
Tue Apr 23, 2019, 04:05 PM Apr 2019

The Atlantic - Trump Transition Staffer Calls for IMPEACHMENT

"The Mueller Report Was My Tipping Point
I was a Trump transition staffer, and I’ve seen enough. It’s time for impeachment."



"Let’s start at the end of this story. This weekend, I read Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report twice, and realized that enough was enough—I needed to do something. I’ve worked on every Republican presidential transition team for the past 10 years and recently served as counsel to the Republican-led House Financial Services Committee. My permanent job is as a law professor at the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, which is not political, but where my colleagues have held many prime spots in Republican administrations.


If you think calling for the impeachment of a sitting Republican president would constitute career suicide for someone like me, you may end up being right. But I did exactly that this weekend, tweeting that it’s time to begin impeachment proceedings.

Let’s go back to the beginning. In August 2016, I interviewed to join the pre-transition team of Donald Trump. Since 2012, every presidential election stands up a pre-transition team for both candidates, so that the real transition will have had a six-month head start when the election is decided. I participated in a similar effort for Mitt Romney, and despite our defeat, it was a thrilling and rewarding experience. I walked into a conference room at Jones Day that Don McGahn had graciously arranged to lend to the folks interviewing for the transition team."
....

"I wanted to share my experience transitioning from Trump team member to pragmatist about Trump to advocate for his impeachment, because I think many other Republicans are starting a similar transition. Politics is a team sport, and if you actively work within a political party, there is some expectation that you will follow orders and rally behind the leader, even when you disagree. There is a point, though, at which that expectation turns from a mix of loyalty and pragmatism into something more sinister, a blind devotion that serves to enable criminal conduct.

The Mueller report was that tipping point for me, and it should be for Republican and independent voters, and for Republicans in Congress. In the face of a Department of Justice policy that prohibited him from indicting a sitting president, Mueller drafted what any reasonable reader would see as a referral to Congress to commence impeachment hearings."


https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/587785/

6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The Atlantic - Trump Transition Staffer Calls for IMPEACHMENT (Original Post) orangecrush Apr 2019 OP
I stopped reading at "Antonin Scalia Law School, which is not political" PSPS Apr 2019 #1
Off-topic fun fact: the original name was Antonin Scalia School of Law. TwilightZone Apr 2019 #2
LMAO! NacLeeFF Apr 2019 #3
Then you missed the point. orangecrush Apr 2019 #6
Interesting read if only a glimpse of a tide that may be turning yonder Apr 2019 #4
Thank you, my point orangecrush Apr 2019 #5

TwilightZone

(25,473 posts)
2. Off-topic fun fact: the original name was Antonin Scalia School of Law.
Tue Apr 23, 2019, 04:27 PM
Apr 2019

Then, someone noted the acronym that would result and thought it might be a good idea to change it.

yonder

(9,669 posts)
4. Interesting read if only a glimpse of a tide that may be turning
Tue Apr 23, 2019, 05:11 PM
Apr 2019

but this line threw me off:

"The man whom I most admire in that regard is McGahn, Trump’s first White House counsel, who guided the president toward some amazing nominees for regulatory agencies and the judiciary."

Amazing is not the word I would use.
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»The Atlantic - Trump Tran...