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The impeachment procedure is nonsensical.

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Donald Ian Rankin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-05-11 10:28 AM
Original message
The impeachment procedure is nonsensical.

One of the clear principles of criminal justice is trial by an unbiased jury of peers.

The procedure for impeaching a US president is a purely political procedure, masquerading as a legal one.

It should be split into two mechanisms: one a method by which a sufficient majority of the Senate and Congress can remove a president from power, recognised as a political act, and the other a method by which a president who is found to have violated the law of the land can be prosecuted legally, the same as any other citizen.

The concept of "high crimes" is a dangerous one, I think - it conflates "bad things" with "illegal things". Punishing the former should be a purely political act with no pretence that it is anything other than "we disagree with you and want to stop you"; punishing the latter a purely legal act enforced by the letter of law (which needs to be written specifically enough as to avoid ambiguity, rather than couched in high-minded generalities like the constitution) enforced without reference to the values of the people enforcing it.

Allowing politicians to conduct a "criminal prosecution" is farcical.
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fasttense Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-05-11 10:41 AM
Response to Original message
1. No American president has ever been removed from office through impeachment.
And NO Supreme Court Justice has ever been impeached and removed from the bench.

So, it just goes to show you that Americans don't take down corrupt people who are politically powerful.

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baldguy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-05-11 10:42 AM
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2. Impeachment is not a procedure in criminal justice.
A person isn't subject to any other punishment via impeachment other than being removed from office.
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slackmaster Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-05-11 11:04 AM
Response to Original message
3. FYI, both US Presidents who were impeached were acquitted
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