'Republicans hold all the cards': CNN legal analyst says Pelosi is 'grasping' by withholding impeach

[Elderberry]

Washington Examiner  by Carlin Becker December 23, 2019

'Republicans hold all the cards': CNN legal analyst says Pelosi is 'grasping' by withholding impeachment articles

A CNN legal analyst tore into Nancy Pelosi's strategy to force a fair impeachment trial in the Senate by withholding the House-passed articles from the upper chamber.

"I think she’s grasping here," Paul Callan told CNN Newsroom on Monday when asked about the House speaker's move. "The Republicans hold all the cards in the Senate. The trial of an impeachment is solely within the discretion of the Senate. All the prior impeachments have involved the majority of the Senate at the time of determining what the rules would be, and of course, the Republicans are in the majority now."

"Frankly, I think they could be tried even if they weren’t formally submitted. They're a matter of public record. We know exactly what was voted," he said. "But we’ll see how this plays out. And in the end, Mitch McConnell gets to call the shots, just as Pelosi called the shots on the House side. That's because in the end, this is a political process. It's not a court of law. It's a political process, and it's controlled entirely now by the Republicans."

More: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/republicans-hold-all-the-cards-cnn-legal-analyst-says-pelosi-is-grasping-by-withholding-impeachment-articles

[Snarknado]

When Congress returns, McConnell should contact Roberts with a proposed mid-Jan. date to start the trial. Roberts should then tell Pelosi that unless she can come up with a valid reason for further delay, the trial will start with or without the participation of House dems.

Of course that could be exactly what she's angling for to give dems some BS grounds to challenge the legitimacy of the trial...

[Wingnut]

Sources close to Zucker report that Paul Callan will no longer appear on CNN

[bilo]

When Congress returns, McConnell should contact Roberts with a proposed mid-Jan. date to start the trial. Roberts should then tell Pelosi that unless she can come up with a valid reason for further delay, the trial will start with or without the participation of House dems.

Of course that could be exactly what she's angling for to give dems some BS grounds to challenge the legitimacy of the trial...

Why jump through hoops for the Rats? The never delivered impeachment articles will expire at the end of the Congressional term. In 2020 after the election the House will have to start all over again.

[Snarknado]

Why jump through hoops for the Rats? The never delivered impeachment articles will expire at the end of the Congressional term. In 2020 after the election the House will have to start all over again.

I don't think it would be a good idea to let them time it for maximum impact, maybe on the eve of the election...

[bilo]

I don't think it would be a good idea to let them time it for maximum impact, maybe on the eve of the election...

The Pubs are better off treating this like garbage. If the Rats ever present their "articles" call a vote and dismiss them without any discussion. If they present them just before the election it's easy to run ads about how the Rats have politicized everything and done nothing. If they don't present their "articles" don't waste any time on a maybe. The longer the Rats wait the more political and unimportant this crisis that led to articles of impeachment being drawn appears to the public.

The rallying cry for the Rats was this is a national emergency. If true, why are they sitting on the "articles"?

The Senate Pubs should sit back and wait. If this drags on for a month start the investigation into Ukrainian corruption and the Bidens.

[PeteS in CA]

What forces McConnell to do other than wait out Pelosi? And, IMO, Pelosi's choice is lose-lose: if articles sent to the Senate, Trump not removed, and information the Dems don't want known might be revealed; if Pelosi doesn't send the articles, every day of delay communicates to the American public that the whole shampeachment was neither urgent nor serious.

[Cyber Liberty]

What forces McConnell to do other than wait out Pelosi? And, IMO, Pelosi's choice is lose-lose: if articles sent to the Senate, Trump not removed, and information the Dems don't want known might be revealed; if Pelosi doesn't send the articles, every day of delay communicates to the American public that the whole shampeachment was neither urgent nor serious.

I expect McConnell to just leave it alone and ignore it forever.  When it comes to making a non-decision, Turtle has no peer.

[PeteS in CA]

I expect McConnell to just leave it alone and ignore it forever.  When it comes to making a non-decision, Turtle has no peer.

In this case, doing nothing makes the Dems look more and more foolish and petty with each passing day.

[bilo]

In this case, doing nothing makes the Dems look more and more foolish and petty with each passing day.

I agree.

The American public is tuning this out.

[Cyber Liberty]

In this case, doing nothing makes the Dems look more and more foolish and petty with each passing day.

You betcha.  Pelosi's argument for haste was blown away that first night, when she failed to seat Impeachment Managers, as the Republicans did in 1999, immediately after passing the Articles of Impeachment.  And indeed, Pelosi's position is getting more untenable by the day.

Doing nothing at all works for me.  To a point....months from now.

[PeteS in CA]

Trump has responded with his usual subtlety:

Trump Goes Nuclear on Dem 'Liars!' for Deeming Him Security Threat ... Then Delaying Impeachment

On Thursday, President Donald Trump went nuclear on Democrats, slamming them as "liars!" for rushing to impeach him and then holding up the articles of impeachment. He went on to call for a primary challenge to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"The Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats said they wanted to RUSH everything through to the Senate because 'President Trump is a threat to National Security' (they are vicious, will say anything!), but now they don’t want to go fast anymore, they want to go very slowly. Liars!" he tweeted.