The "I" word
by digby
This seems like something worth recalling as we debate whether or not it's useful to mention impeachment before an election:
GOP congressmen, asked about impeachment, warn of 'constitutional crisis' if Clinton wins
By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN
Wed November 2, 2016
"You really could have a constitutional crisis here," said Peter King.
"You put your finger on it: we would really have a constitutional crisis," said Louie Gohmert.
(CNN)The outcome of the 2016 election won't be decided for another six days, but the topic of impeaching Hillary Clinton if she wins is already a topic of discussion on conservative talk radio.
Several Republican congressmen have been asked this week about a potential Clinton impeachment if she were indicted as a result of an FBI investigation into her emails; all of them warned of a "constitutional crisis" if Clinton were to be elected.
Their answers mirror what Donald Trump has being saying on the campaign trail. At a rally Monday, Trump warned of the "very possibility of constitutional crisis" and said if Clinton were elected, she would face criminal investigations and possibly a trial.
Texas Rep. Michael McCaul on Fox News Wednesday explicitly mentioned the possibility of impeachment.
"Assuming she wins, and the investigation goes forward, and it looks like an indictment is pending, at that point in time, under the Constitution, the House of Representatives would engage in an impeachment trial," McCaul said. "They would go to the Senate and impeachment proceedings and removal would take place."
"I would hate to see this country being thrown into a constitutional crisis because of Hillary Clinton's behavior," he added.
Wisconsin Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner told conservative radio host Charlie Sykes Tuesday that there would be a "constitutional crisis" if Clinton was indicted, and when asked about impeachment, answered, "I think that is something that is speculative in nature. I'm speculating, what I can say is that I think Richard Nixon would have been indicted and he would have been impeached. He stopped the impeachment by resigning as a result of Watergate and he stopped the indictment by President Ford pardoning him."
New York Rep. Peter King offered a similar response when speaking on Long Island local radio Tuesday morning.
"There's been nothing like this where you can have potential criminal charges," King said on "L.I. in the AM." Asked about impeachment, King responded investigations could drag on into Clinton's term as president.
"You really could have a constitutional crisis here," King said.
Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas appeared on Sean Hannity's radio show Monday, where he agreed that a potential Clinton administration is heading towards impeachment and investigations.
"You put your finger on it: we would really have a constitutional crisis," Gohmert said after Hannity said a Clinton presidency would likely be headed towards impeachment. "We've never had anyone under this type of investigation at the top of the election. There's nobody to blame but Hillary."
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson from Wisconsin also said Clinton could be impeached in an interview Tuesday with a local newspaper, and Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson said in a radio interview over the weekend that she may be headed for impeachment.
They pretended it was an act of nature, something that couldn't be avoided because of her heinous crimes and corruption. They acted as if they had no agency, would it be necessary to preserve the rule o' law and protect the constitution. Because they were patriots.
This is one reason why they are so willing to believe that the Russian investigation and everything that goes with it is a hoax --- because ginning up a scandal to impeach Clinton is what they had planned to do.
It may have contributed to Trump's microscopic electoral college win too. There were undoubtedly people who knew they meant it.
And they did.
Update: I saw some reporters on twitter scoffing at this, but of course he's right:
Former President Bill Clinton said that impeachment hearings would have begun if a Democratic president, instead of Donald Trump, were in power and the Russia investigation was as far along as it is now.
"I think if the roles were reversed -- now, this is me just talking, but it's based on my experience -- if it were a Democratic president, and these facts were present, most people I know in Washington believe impeachment hearings would have begun already," Clinton told "CBS Sunday Morning."
The former Democratic president added, "And most people I know believe that the press would have been that hard, or harder. But these are serious issues."
As of last month, the special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation has led to 75 criminal charges, five guilty pleas, and one sentencing.
Asked if the media has been unfair to Trump in its reporting on the Russia probe, Clinton said, "I think they have tried by and large to cover this investigation based on the facts."
Obviously they would have done it. They were already preparing to before the election.
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