We always knew the impeachment case against Trump had the weightiness of belly button lint, but now Americans are cottoning on to how the thing looks to be wholly unserious. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's vote-and-run strategy has made the foundation for impeachment look like it was cobbled out of crazy glue and straw.
And the White House noticed.
As we've previously reported, the Democrat constitutional law expert, Noah Feldman, says that by not sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate, President Trump's not really impeached:
"If the House does not communicate its impeachment to the Senate, it hasn’t actually impeached the president. If the articles are not transmitted, Trump could legitimately say that he wasn’t truly impeached at all."
That's not a typo.
While Nancy and company are off to the vineyard, wine cave,
or perhaps some far-flung locale for a very-Pelosi Christmas, Trump and
company have been huddling at the White House and Mar-a-Lago and taking
seriously Feldman's legal opinion.
John RobertsVerified account @johnrobertsFox
According to @Harvard law professor Noah Feldman (a Dem witness in the Judiciary hearing), President Trump is not “impeached” until the articles are sent to the Senate. If Pelosi holds onto them indefinitely, @realDonaldTrump would not be “impeached”.
The Palm Beach Post is among the first to tattoo Trump with the "impeached" title
CBS News reports that its White House sources indicate it indeed may be premature:
"The White House is considering making the case that Mr. Trump has not been impeached based on an opinion piece by Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman on Bloomberg's opinion page Thursday. ...The sources told CBS News that the White House views Pelosi's delay as "a Christmas gift." They plan to use the delay to argue that the Democrats have so little faith in their own case for impeachment, they are too scared to trigger a trial they know they will lose. ...A senior White House official said the White House might pursue that line of messaging, but the White House is also in a "wait and see" attitude over the Christmas holiday."
Trump's not the only one questioning the process. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is holding a match to the Democrats' foundation of straw and claiming the impeachment is "weak" and bad for the country:
These articles of impeachment are so weak that before they even passed, the Senate Democratic Leader began demanding that the Senate re-do the House’s homework. Now the Speaker is hemming and hawing about whether they'll even proceed to trial.
I am glad that leading Democrats seem to have buyer’s remorse about the least fair, least thorough, and most rushed impeachment in American history. They should. But for the sake of the country, I wish this understanding had dawned on them yesterday.
House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy said Pelosi is running and hiding from impeachment because she "knows the outcome is not good."
Of course, Pelosi trotted off for Christmas without finishing her job
and now no one knows what will come of impeachment. Pelosi isn't
tipping her hand on when or if she'll send the articles to the Senate
and name her House impeachment managers. It's worth listening to the
Democrats' handpicked impeachment expert, who says the president can
"legitimately say he wasn't truly impeached at all."
