Taking the fifth back

In our ordinary lives, we often draw unfavorable inferences from information someone chooses to withhold from us.  The impeachment fiasco, however, reminds us why the Constitution forbids using the accused's silence as a presumption of guilt.


Adam Schiff is reduced from impeachment by hearsay all the way down to impeachment by inference: The fallback position is that President Trump did something "incompatible" with his office: impeachment by irreconcilable differences.

6 comments:

Cassandra said...

But....but.... NORMS!

Texan99 said...

Indeed, and BALLOT BOXES!

I may not like the results of popular politics most of the time, but it seems to me that in a representative constitutional democracy, legal elections combined with enforcement of Constitutional prohibitions and/or amendments is where we're supposed to get our norms from.

I mean, I can be appalled as the next citizen at what voters do, but I don't go around saying we have to impeach someone because otherwise he's too likely to be re-elected.

Grim said...

Now, in fairness, only one Democratic Congressman has said that out loud.

Texan99 said...

As to the rest, I heard someone say they said it, I inferred it from their refusal to testify to the contrary, and I consider their thoughts incompatible with their offices as congressmen.

William Wallace's Bratty Little Sister said...

DEMOCRACYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!

E Hines said...

Schiff and Pelosi and , are just the latest in a long line of the Left's guilt by accusation ideology. Which is entirely consistent with their open disdain for our Constitution.

On the other hand, my own...inference: the House Progressive-Democrats' impeachment process rules that let first, Intel Committee Chairman Schiff, and then Judiciary Committee Chairman Nadler be the sole arbiters of what witnesses Republicans may call, what questions they may ask, and what documents they may enter into the record is a clear indication that they know the Republicans have fatal-to-the-move exculpatory evidence. Lots of it.

Bonus inference: I've said for some time, this affair of Schiff/Nadler/Pelosi has nothing to do with impeachment; its sole purpose is to smear a sitting President and prejudice, if not preempt, the 2020 election all up and down the ballot.

Eric Hines