McCarthy's sham impeachment inquiry.

September 13, 2023

          Speaker Kevin McCarthy has surrendered to pressure from the extremist elements in his extremist party by opening an impeachment inquiry. The inquiry will turn out worse for Kevin McCarthy than for Joe Biden—much! But in the meantime, Republicans will divert the attention of Congress from the urgent work of passing a budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year. The losers will be the American people, who should punish the GOP for converting a constitutional safeguard into a partisan party trick designed to pacify the tantrums of the so-called “Freedom” Caucus.

          The inquiry is part of Trump's effort to destroy every institution that has attempted to hold him accountable for his crimes. “Impeach me? I’ll impeach you! Indict me? I’ll indict you!” The inquiry is a charade that will further erode the legitimacy of the Republican Party and—sadly—Congress.

          There is no basis for the impeachment inquiry, a fact made plain by McCarthy’s announcement on Twitter. McCarthy could not bring himself to say that there was a factual basis for the inquiry, only that there were “allegations” of misconduct. McCarthy posted:

I am directing our House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Over the past several months, House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct—a culture of corruption.

          McCarthy did not specify the “serious and credible” allegations because they are whisps of swamp gas swirling over the MAGA cesspool of disinformation. Senate Republicans were openly scornful of the inquiry by their House colleagues. See The Hill,  Senate GOP unhappy with McCarthy on impeachment inquiry: ‘It’s a fool’s errand’. Per The Hill,

“It’s a waste of time. It’s a fool’s errand,” one Senate Republican said on the condition of anonymity to speak freely and critically about the politically charged decision.

Asked if there’s enough evidence to impeach Biden, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate GOP leadership team, replied: “I do not.”  

          Democrats were a bit more expressive about the inquiry. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that it is an “illegitimate impeachment inquiry that is a kangaroo court, fishing expedition, and conspiracy theater, rolled into one.” Indeed, Democrats believe the inquiry will damage GOP prospects for retaining control of the House in 2024. Per Politico,

Abby Curran, the executive director of House Democrats’ super PAC, said the inquiry would "doom" vulnerable Republicans, especially the 18 members in districts won by President Joe Biden.

          As Trump has done repeatedly over the last seven years, he is leading the Republican Party into a lose-lose position in the pursuit of revenge. Indeed, Trump is privately pulling the strings of the GOP’s impeachment show. See Politico, Trump privately discussed Biden impeachment with House GOPers. Trump's ego may be satisfied by a Biden impeachment, but the effort will ensure that Republicans lose control of the House. When will Republicans learn that Trump is the slow poison that is killing their party?

          It is, of course, frustrating to the point of madness to watch Republicans engage in political terrorism. But there is a cost to their self-destructive behavior. The ruling in Dobbs is an example. Within months of the ruling, the warning signs were flashing bright red, signaling that Republicans had incurred the wrath of most Americans by overruling Dobbs.

          But Republicans could not restrain themselves after Dobbs. Rather than regulate abortion, they criminalized it. They threatened to jail doctors and Uber drivers who assisted women seeking medical care. They offered bounties for reporting medical workers who provide healthcare to women who miscarry. And now they are threatening to make it illegal for women to travel out of their home state to receive reproductive healthcare. See Vox, The unconstitutional plan to trap women who need an abortion in Texas.

          Although abortion is effectively illegal in two dozen states, the tide has turned. Republicans are on the defensive and are scrambling to find a way to avoid the proliferation of absolute bans that ensure their ultimate demise. Indeed, they now see a national 15-week ban as a face-saving “middle ground” that will stop their election losses. All of this is explained convincingly by Josh Marshall in Talking Points Memo, The End of the Pro-Life Movement. Per Marshall,

While abortion rights remain more restricted and endangered than at any time in the last half century, the “pro-life” movement itself is essentially over. It’s future is as a rearguard action, using inertia, incumbency and legislative chicanery to hold on to existing gains.

          So, too, with the endless pursuit of Biden-crime-family fantasies and the use of Congress and the Constitution as cudgels to bash those who offend Trump. The impeachment inquiry of Biden will fail and backfire—and Republicans know it. But they can’t help themselves. Such compulsive behavior is a disease that is consuming the Republican Party—and the vector is Donald Trump.

A quick note on the procedural aspects of the impeachment inquiry.

         Kevin McCarthy could have begun an impeachment inquiry by holding a vote in the House. He did not. Instead, he merely “declared” the opening of an inquiry without a vote—because he knew that he did not have enough votes for that motion to pass. See The Hill, Why McCarthy launched an impeachment inquiry without a vote — and why he can.

          Because McCarthy was forced to proceed without a vote authorizing the inquiry, any subpoenas issued by the House have no compulsory effect. See Politico, How Donald Trump’s DOJ gave Biden a major assist in the coming impeachment probe.

          Per Politico,

In January 2020, the Donald Trump-led Justice Department formally declared that impeachment inquiries by the House are invalid unless the chamber takes formal votes to authorize them.

That opinion — issued by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel — came in response to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to launch an impeachment inquiry into Trump without initially holding a vote for it. Not only is it still on the books, it is binding on the current administration as it responds to Tuesday’s announcement by Speaker Kevin McCarthy to authorize an impeachment inquiry into Biden, again without a vote.

          So, for those worried about the impeachment inquiry resulting in enforceable subpoenas for documents and testimony, the opinion by the Office of Legal Counsel in the Trump-era DOJ definitively establishes DOJ policy that such subpoenas are not enforceable. The lack of enforcement authority demonstrates that the inquiry is a sham designed to placate the most extreme elements in the Freedom Caucus.

Vladimir Putin praises Donald Trump.

          Vladimir Putin is the last person any American politician should want as a political cheerleader. But on Tuesday, Putin went out of his way to amplify Trump's claims that he is being persecuted by his political adversary, Joe Biden. See The Hill, Putin talks Trump, Musk: Five things to know about the address.

          Per The Hill,  

Putin came to the defense of former President Trump and his legal troubles, saying the charges against him are politically motivated and signal the “rottenness” of the U.S. political system.

“Everything that’s happening with Trump is politically motivated persecution of one’s political rival, that’s what it is,” Putin said. “And it’s being done before the eyes of the U.S. public and the whole world. They’ve simply exposed their internal problems.”

          Trump's bizarre romance with Putin dates to 2016, when Putin interfered in the election to help elect Trump. Putin’s comments highlight the need to increase US election security prior to the 2024 elections.

          Despite their mutual admiration, Putin is so radioactive that Trump remained silent in the face of praise from a murderous leader who just assassinated his former mercenary-in-chief.

Child poverty rate nearly doubles because of votes by Manchin, Republicans.

          In response to the pandemic, the Biden administration provided economic assistance to low-income Americans. That help included a childcare tax credit that significantly reduced poverty among children in America. As explained in Mother Jones,

One of the most effective programs to emerge was the expansion of the child tax credit, which provided families monthly checks of up to $300 per child and broadened eligibility rules for qualifying families. In turn, child poverty rates plummeted; the extra income allowed caregivers to quit grueling second and third jobs; parents were able to buy their kids decent clothes and help stop taunting at school.

          But Senator Joe Manchin joined with Republicans to kill the childcare tax credit because Manchin reportedly believed that caregivers were using the money to purchase illegal drugs. A new study by the US Census Bureau released on Tuesday reports that child poverty nearly doubled as a result of the termination of benefits by Manchin and the GOP. See Mother Jones, In One Year, Child Poverty in the United States More Than Doubled.

          The study is here: Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the U.S.: 2022 (census.gov).

          The callousness of Manchin’s efforts to terminate pandemic-related economic assistance to low-income families may seem like ancient history. For millions of American children, it is not. It is daily hunger and absent parents working two jobs and ragged clothes. Meanwhile, Joe Manchin still drives a Maserati sports car. Of course, he does.

          We can significantly reduce the number of children (and adults) in America who live in poverty. The causes and solutions are complex, but the “natural experiment” of the pandemic relief efforts shows that part of the solution is simply the willingness to make it a priority. That is a lesson worth remembering when Democrats regain control of both chambers of Congress.

Concluding Thoughts.

          Today, I offer a special note of thanks to the readers of this newsletter. This week, the number of subscribers in my Substack database exceeded 50,000. At least once a week, the daily views of the newsletter exceed 100,000. That is both humbling and terrifying. I am not a political consultant or pundit, just a husband, father, and grandfather writing to his family. I am honored that you are interested in what I have to say.

          Most of you know that this newsletter began as a nightly email to my daughters after Trump won in 2016. I had assured my daughters that Trump would not win. The nightly email was my effort to lift them up during dark times and to assume responsibility for helping to restore the rule of law. In writing to my daughters, I used the “lens of hope” as my theme. It remains so today.

          In February 2017, I inserted “Today’s Edition” in the subject line of my nightly email—something I have done every weekday over the last seven years. The name stuck when the nightly email became a newsletter—which explains the nondescript name of my blog!

          The nightly email was passed along to family and friends. In mid-2017, the nightly email was being sent to 200 people—a fact that my wife and I could not believe at the time. Shortly thereafter, Google tried to squash me like a bug for using the “BCC” field to send hundreds of emails. I switched to Constant Contact from 2017 to 2021—during which time the readership grew to 18,000.

          I moved to Substack in April 2021 because I was paying Constant Contact thousands of dollars per year for the privilege of sending a free newsletter, but also because Heather Cox Richardson was on Substack. That decision turned out to be a good one—for which I owe HCR a debt of gratitude! The platform has been a good home for my nightly email to my family—which now includes you.

          In the summer of 2020, I planned to stop writing the newsletter when Joe Biden won the presidency. That was a foolish thought—for obvious reasons. I am now committed to continue writing the newsletter for as long as it takes to ensure that democracy is secure in America and the threat of MAGA extremism has vanished.

          It was never my intention to increase the circulation of the newsletter—until recently. Entirely by happenstance, this newsletter has found a home in the hearts and minds of tens of thousands of grassroots activists, organizers, and volunteers. That fact has allowed me to promote hundreds of organizations that are doing the hard work of defending democracy. It is a small contribution to the effort on my part and is entirely derivative of the passion and generosity of the readers of this newsletter.

          Writing the newsletter five (okay, six) days a week is hard work. But the truth is that I receive much more in return from readers than I give. Every day, readers inspire and lift me up. They give me confidence that we will prevail. They teach me about America. They humble me with their dedication, bravery, and kindness. The readers of this newsletter have shaped me as a person—for the better. Most importantly, you have helped to create a community from which each of us can draw strength, comfort, and friendship as we navigate challenging times.

          Thank you for accompanying me on this journey over the last seven years—and for remaining by my side as we continue our struggle to realize the full promise of the Constitution.

          The Comments section is open to everyone so that we can reflect on the journey that has brought us to this point—and that will carry us to victory in the future!

          Talk to you tomorrow!