In Trumpland, impeachment is a dirty, filthy disgusting word

AROUND THE BLOCK

I learned…

I learned today, courtesy of Donald Trump, the definition of impeachment: "a dirty word; a dirty, filthy disgusting word." No, really. I looked it up.

im·peach·ment

/imˈpēCHmənt/

noun

1.       the action of calling into question the integrity or validity of something.

"the prosecutor's detailed impeachment of the character witness"

British

a charge of treason or another crime against the state.

"the king cynically abandoned him, encouraging his impeachment"

 US  

a charge of misconduct made against the holder of a public office.

"the president is facing impeachment over the scandal"

Trump

a dirty word; a dirty, filthy disgusting word.

“Impeachment? I can’t see how they can impeach me – I did nothing wrong, no crimes, no misdemeanors; the courts would stop it.”

“The courts would stop it?” OK, if there was any doubt before, let’s be clear: Trump ain’t no Constitutional scholar.

If there’s anything Trump said today that I agree with, it’s this: Robert Mueller is “conflicted.” But not how Trump defines it – as someone who “doesn’t like him”; someone who is a “Never Trumper;” someone who “surrounded himself with Hillary lovers.”

No, Mueller is conflicted because he believes in process and the rule of law. His conflict, despite the evidence, is that in his role as a special counsel, he could not go against DOJ guidelines and indict a sitting president, despite his admonition, “if we had confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said that.” 

As Republicans remain mute and Democrats argue whether impeachment will help or hurt them in 2020 (recognizing that a Senate conviction is virtually impossible), it’s time for Bob Mueller to get real. Give up the Marine, Boy Scout stuff. Say what you really think – clearly, without nuance, in words that the majority of Americans will understand.

This is not business as usual and can’t go on. We’re beyond the political calculations. Trump is a disgrace. His toadies are a disgrace. Republican legislators (with the one exception, Justin Amash) are a disgrace. Bill Clinton was impeached because he lied about an illicit affair. Trump lies about everything. He is a danger to the country, no, the world. Something must be done. Take the ball, Mr. Mueller, and run with it.