• TechyDad@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’m not a lawyer, but even I know that in court (or hearings like this one) you never ask a person a question if you don’t know what they are going to say.

    So either the Republicans missed Legal Questioning 101 (and have never watched a Legal Eagle video) or their “evidence” is so flimsy that “there isn’t enough to impeach” was their best opening.

    • Chozo@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I’m gonna go with the unmentioned third option, which is that this was all just a petty charade from the start. They knew there was nothing impeachable here, but they’re doing the bare minimum just to keep up appearances and rile up their base with the rallying cry of impeachment. They have no real intention of impeaching Biden, they just want their supporters to think they do.

      • This, so much this. Everything right niw, the Biden impeachment, the Trum court processes, the whole Speaker thing…

        They want to turn the country into a circus and mock and damage the institutions of democracy and law as much as possible while rallying up their base. They hope to be able to destroy the institutions eventually and replace them with an autocracy.

      • TechyDad@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Well, that too. They have a few tiny shreds of things which, if taken out of context and squinted at just right while ignoring all logic, might make conspiracy theorists declare a link, but even Republicans are admitting that this is far from what is needed to impeach.

      • DogMuffins@discuss.tchncs.de
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        1 year ago

        No one really understands (or cares) what impeachment means, myself included.

        There was a big noise about it for Trump, and he was somehow tarnished by it but ultimately nothing happened.

        They can manufacture the same stink on biden without actually impeaching him.

        • saruwatarikooji@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Impeachment is saying and “proving” someone is guilty of a thing.

          The problem is, it’s entirely separate from the consequences… You can be impeached and also suffer nothing except for the knowledge that you are publicly guilty of what you did.

          • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            Impeachment is saying and “proving” someone is guilty of a thing.

            It’s more like an indictment of sorts. An investigation was done and it seems that a crime has been committed. It begins a trial in the Senate that determines whether it warrants punishment.

    • Davel23@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      “There isn’t enough to impeach” implies that there actually is some evidence, instead of just GOP delusions.

      Edit: I should have been clearer. By saying this the way they did, they are sending the message to their audience that there is evidence, just not enough to convict. While there is no evidence at all.

      • fubo@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        There’s not enough evidence to convict you of raping and murdering a dozen puppies yesterday.

      • hoshikarakitaridia@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Well, first off, a lawyer can find evidence for everything, even if it’s flimsy af.

        Chemtrails? Everyone sees the white dust from air planes.

        Flat earth? Well if earth is underneath me, and the ground is flat…

        So there might be some teeny tiny evidence for that, but obviously not enough for any solid case.

        Also consider the fact that “not enough evidence” can also mean none at all. That’s not mutually exclusive.

      • SatanicNotMessianic
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        1 year ago

        No. It’s delusions.

        “High crimes and misdemeanors” doesn’t mean “serious crimes.” It doesn’t mean felonies. It’s the political equivalent of what we call “Conduct Unbecoming an Officer.” That may be a literal crime, of course, like the multiple Hatch Act violations during the Trump administration. It could be the appearance of accepting bribes from foreign officials when they rent your real estate at exorbitant prices. It could be trying to overthrow an election. It could be strong-arming a foreign leader to manufacture dirt on your political opponent. There’s a lot of latitude there.

        High crimes means that a public official, in their capacity as a public official, betrayed the public trust.

        “High,” in the legal and common vocabulary of the 17th and 18th centuries of “high crimes,” is the activity by or against those who have special duties acquired by taking an oath of office that is not shared with ordinary persons. A high crime can be done only by someone in a unique position of authority, which is political, who does things to circumvent justice. The phrase “high crimes and misdemeanors,” used together, was a common phrase when the U.S. Constitution was written and did not require any stringent or demanding criteria for determining guilt but meant the opposite. The phrase was historically used to cover an extensive range of crimes.

        What they’re saying is that they have bupkis. Zilch. Nada.

      • TechyDad@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Oh, there’s definitely no evidence, but when the Republicans are saying they “don’t have enough evidence” you know that they are reaching. They’re willing to accept wild leaps of logic based on the flimsiest of foundations, but even they are admitting that it isn’t enough for impeachment.