sonate @ 24

Couldn’t somebody remind Abu that a pardon is null and void in cases of impeachment? Impeach first, then arrest, try and convict. An aside, he can be impeached even after he leaves office. (Not that the Dems would have the nerve to do this.)

The impeachment limitation on the plenary pardon power is that once an officer is impeached, tried, convicted, and removed from office with disabilities the conviction in the senate and the consequences cannot be undone with a pardon. In a subsequent criminal prosecution, pardons are available. Scholars are not in agreement on the question of whether or not impeachment of an officer who has left office is possible.

Big Mitch…it has happened.

William W. Belknap, Secretary of War was impeached AFTER his resignation. He was impeached by a UNANIMOUS vote of the House of Representatives shortly AFTER he had resigned for allegedly having received money in return for post tradership appointments. Speaker of the House Michael C. Kerr wrote to the Senate that Belknap resigned “with intent to evade the proceedings of impeachment against him.” Belknap was then tried by the Senate, which ruled by a vote of 37-29 that it HAD JURISDICTION despite Belknap’s prior resignation. The vote on conviction fell short of the two-thirds required, with 35 to 37 votes for each article and 25 votes against each. Two of those voting for conviction, 22 of those voting for acquital, and one who declined to vote said they felt that the Senate did not have jurisdiction due to Belknap’s resignation.

So a majority of both Houses of Congress have held that they have jurisdiction over the impeachment of an already resigned individual. This authority is clear because impeachment not only removes an individual from their office, but also is intended to disqualify a convicted individual from FUTURE OFFICE or emoluments that provide “honor, trust, and profit” of the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_W._Belknap

Good suggestions:
I saw that the paper trail legislation may pass the House but stalled in the Senate. Need to start urging Senators to get it passed

Hardball with Bruce Fein on Gonzales

http://www.crooksandliars.com/…..ate-redux/

Fein said the I word!

molly @ 141

John Conyers thinks it is more important for dems. to get in ‘08 than stopping the criminals running this country. He needs to be shown the pasture. People are dying for politics.

I heard Steney Hoyer make the same argument on Ed Schultz’s show the other day. [Must be a DC Dems/”leadership” talking point.]

What Steney & Conyers seem to forget is that all actions [or inactions] by Democrats between now & Nov. 08 also create a picture in voters’ minds of Democrats. For a party [Dems] struggling with a lingering image as “do-nothing” and “weak,” Dems need to get it together & “do something,” rather than hanging back and attempting to read the polls.

The problem, as was pointed out in a recent diary on DailyKos, I think, is that if the Dems do not contest BushCo.’s executive over-reaches, then those practices, even if not entirely legal, become part of “accepted practice,” and become harder to get rid of. We must NOT allow the shredding of the Constitution to go unchallenged.

Bob in HI

John Conyers thinks it is more important for dems. to get in ‘08 than stopping the criminals running this country. He needs to be shown the pasture. People are dying for politics.

I heard Steney Hoyer make the same argument on Ed Schultz’s show the other day. [Must be a DC Dems/”leadership” talking point.]

What Steney & Conyers seem to forget is that all actions [or inactions] by Democrats between now & Nov. 08 also create a picture in voters’ minds of Democrats. For a party [Dems] struggling with a lingering image as “do-nothing” and “weak,” Dems need to get it together & “do something,” rather than hanging back and attempting to read the polls.

Someone leaked the TSP program to the NYT originally. Could it be that Leahey got some extra information from that source?

And didn’t this leaking happen BEFORE the 2004 election, and the NYT sat on it until after?

David Iglesias will be on “Now” tonight on PBS and will be talking about voter caging. It comes on @ 8:30 in the NYC market and then will be repeated. Unfortunately not all PBS markets carry this show (not a surprise) but it sounds like a good one. The PBS website has the schedule via zip code input.

Bill Moyers follows tonight with “why are we really fighting in Iraq”.