The Case for Impeachment audiobook

Is it shouting into the wind to make the case to a Republican Congress for impeaching a president of their own party? The answer is no. Once Trump becomes more of a liability than an asset to the GOP, the party may be willing to turn on him through impeachment. Republicans in Congress have no loyalty to Donald Trump… The subject of presidential impeachment is a lively topic these days. And for good reason. It was the goto position for Republicans should Hillary Clinton have won the election. They were checking their torches and spit-shining their pitchforks, eager to impeach a second Clinton before she ever reached the White House. As umpteen Republican-led investigations have shown, there was never any there there, but that never stopped a good politically-fueled 24/7 attack machine. How ironic that the person who was elected to the highest office in the land, one who favored a chant of “Lock Her Up!” may ultimately be hoisted on the GOP’s own petard, for actual crimes instead of trumped up charges. It would be particularly sweet if he were to be charged for scrubbing e-mails from his server as part of an Indian Casino lawsuit, although I wouldn’t bet on that happening. Allan J. Lichtman - from the NY Times In The Case for Impeachment, Allan J. Lichtman offers some history on how the founders arrived at a need for including impeachment in the Constitution. He also looks at the small sample of prior impeachments for insights into the present situation, finding particular commonality between Richard Nixon and our current crook. He also details the mechanisms of the process. Impeachments are infrequent enough that how they proceed will be unfamiliar to most of us. It is certainly useful to get a brief, and very readable summary of the steps involved. This is about as complex as putting together an IKEA bookcase. Insert widget (A) into slot (B), and so on. Not rocket science. However, there are some surprises, one of which is that the actions listed in Articles of Impeachment need not have taken place while the person being charged was in office. Also, they need not have anything to do with policy matters. The President launches another misguided missal - image from Cnbc.comLichtman, a professor of American history at American University, is the author of nine previous books and over 100 articles. He created a “Keys System” for predicting presidential elections. It uses 13 historical factors to arrive at a prognostication. He predicted a Trump win, although he was wrong in projecting that Trump would take the popular vote. Trump even contacted him after the election to congratulate him on his gutsy prediction. The author’s methodology here diverges from that used in his political race handicappingSinking into the swamp or emerging? - image from zerohedge.comThe largest portion of the book takes in the various categories of malfeasance that might apply in the case of Trump. (Amazing that he kept the book a manageable size). They range from the obvious, such as the treasonous polonium poisoning of American democracy by working with a foreign power to tilt the election in his favor in exchange for policy considerations, and maybe keeping certain videotapes off youtube, and his feckless use of the White House as a branch office for Trump businesses, to less likely violations like a separation of powers line-crossing, dragooning House staff to work on his executive order preparation without the ok of the representatives the staff worked for. There are plenty more, some from his dodgy business dealings, stiffing contractors, sustaining persistent racial discrimination in Trump housing. Some are of a more personal nature, sexual assault, tax evasion, perjury. Or maybe something larger, like crimes against humanity for his anti-environmental actions. But I seriously doubt any of those would result in articles being drawn up. Too many legislators favor the sorts of crimes against humanity that might be charged to Trump. Lichtman also offers a list of actions the president might take in order to avoid such a fate. Of course this is just a tad disingenuous, as the actions in question would require a personality transplant.He points out some traps that are already being set to induce the President into a criminal action, which would then be available as a handy pretext. Think Bill Clinton prevaricating in his testimony for the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit. Given that Trump is pretty clearly a pathological liar, a deposition on just about anything would serve to generate a nice list of perjuries. He has been involved in thousands of lawsuits, and has an impressive number still underway, so the prospect of him having to be deposed for one of them is not pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking.A swampy vision of DJT - from crooksandliars.comLichtman pretty much predicts that it is only a matter of time, and timing, before Swamp Thing is dragged from the White House, whining and denying. But he does weasel a bit near the end, suggesting that a Republican Congress would consider impeachment based “on the gravity of the offenses.” What nonsense. Having made it eminently clear that impeachment is a political process more than a legal one, Lichtman has already made his case that the members of Congress can be counted on to do whatever it is that serves their personal interest. They showed how much they care about the gravity of the charges when they impeached Bill Clinton for lying about an affair. Lichtman would have been better off owning it and not tossing ifs, ands, and buts onto his prognostication. He is more persuasive in making the case that public pressure will be the real driving force in moving Congress to throw the rascal out. Just as public pressure over the attacks on the Affordable Care Act had a very real impact, so will public sentiment and concerted pressure affect how long Swamp Thing continues to reign supreme in the DC morass. The likelihood of impeachment seems quite high. The question is whether DJT can be booted before he gets us all nuked, or does more economic, civil liberty, and ecological damage than a 2021 Democratic president can ever hope to clean up. Review Posted – 4/28/17Publication date - 4/18/2017=============================EXTRA STUFFLinks to the author’s Twitter and FB pagesA bio of Lichtman at American UniversityA video from Harper includes Lichtman reading a passage from the book and taking questionJoy Reid interviewed the author on Morning JoyA nice print interview from GQ - The Professor Who Predicted Donald Trump's Presidency Is Convinced He Will Be Impeached - by Jay WillisAnother approach to minimizing the damage. Ross Douthat, a conservative columnist at the NY Times, suggests The 25th Amendment Solution for Removing Trump - May 16, 2017Yet another conservative columnist at the NY Times holds a less than laudatory view of El Presidente - When the World Is Led by a Child - David Brooks - May 15, 2017But Alison Gopnik, a psychology professor at UC Berkeley contends that comparing Trump to a child insults the child - 4-Year-Olds Don’t Act Like Trump - NY Times - May 20, 2017The June 2017 National Geographic cover story has particular relevance to the treatment of actual truth in today's political environment. It is illuminating, if not exactly uplifting. - Why We Lie: The Science Behind Our Deceptive Ways - By Yudhijit BhattacharjeeOctober 2017 - Robert Reich's video explaining the ten steps involved in impeaching a presidentOctober 2017 - Smithsonian Magazine - Inside the Founding Fathers’ Debate Over What Constituted an Impeachable Offense – by Erick TrickeyNovember 30, 2017 - Vox - The Case for Normalizing Impeachment - by Ezra Klein - Klein offers strong historical analysis for why we should get over our view that impeachment should only be used in the rarest of circumstances, but should be, as it was intended, a means or correcting mistakes. But even if we muddle through Trump’s presidency, it should be a reminder that the presidential elections are as fallible a method of selecting an executive as any other. American government is built so that a president can be removed and a duly elected co-partisan is always present to step in and take his place. Impeachment is not a power we should take lightly; nor is it one we should treat as too explosive to use. There will be presidents who are neither criminals nor mental incompetents but who are wrong for the role, who pose a danger to the country and the world.It is a principle that sounds radical until you say it, at which point it sounds obvious: Being extremely bad at the job of president of the United States should be enough to get you fired. This is MUST READ stuff.Jan' 2018 - My review of Michael Wolff's blockbuster best-seller, Fire and Fury. More grist for the impeachment grill.Feb' 2018 - My review of David Frum's Trumpocracy - A die-hard Republican sees real peril in the current administrationFebruary 2018 - Special Counsel Mueller delivers Grand Jury indictments of thirteen Russians and others for meddling in the US 2016 presidential election, among other things - Here is the full text of the indictmentApr' 2018 - Tom Steyer's Impeachment Guide specifies the range of impeachable offenses that Trump has committed, and includes a guide for candidates. With the GOP planning to make impeachment-prevention a centerpiece of their mid-term campaigns, it would certainly behoove not only candidates, but voters to have a handle on what constitutes impeachable offenses and why the need to impeach is so great. 4/25/18 - the authors of this opinion piece have worked out ways in which the Mueller team can make sure that their masses of evidence do not mysteriously vanish after Trump fires them, which he certainly will. Fascinating stuff. - Robert Mueller’s Last Resort - by John N. Tye and Mark S. ZaidJun' 2018 - Madeline Albright’s book, Fascism, is definitely worth a look7/4/18 - David Cay Johnson knows a thing or two about Swamp Thing - Here he offers some very useful advice - How to Make Trump’s Tax Returns Public2/22/19 - Atlantic Magazine - The Alarming Scope of the President's Emergency Powers - by Elizabeth Goitein - When push comes to prosecute or impeach, do you really expect Trump to accede to the rule of law? This alarming article points out the many tools available to Swamp Thing that might be misused to keep his crooked ass out of jail. Be afraid. Be very afraid.3/7/19 - NY Times - Nicholas Kristof offers an optimistic perspective on the unlikelihood of a Trump Reich - We Will Survive. Probably.3/14/19 - NY Times - Donald Trump’s Bikers Want to Kick Protester Ass - building a brownshirt militia - this is really bad-----But Lawrence O'Brien Lawrence O'Brien thinks it's just gas. Sure hope he's right.4/22/19 - NY Times - The Lure of Impeachment by Jamelle Bouie - To impeach or not to impeach. That is the question.10/28/19 - NY Times - Impeachment Does Not ‘Overturn’ an Election - by Stephen I. Vladeck11/8/19 - Lit Hub - The Case Against an American King, Then and Now - By Liesl Schillinger7/3/20 - Independent - Trump has a plan to stay in the White House if he loses election, former senator says by Graig Graziosi - details of one way he might try to do this1/6/21 - The Lincoln Project - Bloodlines

If you are closely following the political news, you'll find nothing new in Lichtman's book. However, it's good to know that Prof. Lichtman predicts President Trump's impeachment. It's very concise and easy to understand.I'm reviewing this book for Newsweek Japan.

Full disclosure: I didn't go into this book needing to be convinced that Trump ought to be impeached. It seemed like this book made a very compelling, persuasive argument for impeachment, but in all honesty it was preaching to the choir for me.Having said that, I do genuinely think this book was written in a clear, concise format in a very accessible, easy-to-read style. I'm not a lawyer, and I haven't undertaken any formal studies of political science, but I still found this book very easy to follow and understand.So, if you're like me, and you think that Trump should be impeached, but you're too choked up by rage and disbelief to explain your position to others, this is the book for you. If you're on the fence about Trump, this is also the book for you. If you're a major Trump supporter, then even if this was the absolute best book ever written with the most convincing argument ever put on paper, you're probably not going to change your mind at this point.

This was interesting on a whole. I took a star off because of the last bit, in which he "tells" Trump how to save his presidency. The book goes in depth with all the faults of the president, past and present, and then we get these suggestions that he makes to the president that are completely farfetched and unbelievable (given all the faults he detailed.) Hell, I'd say some would be completely farfetched for any sane, normal president. Like having a mental health physician on staff to help Trump with his egotism and mental health. What sane person would do that? And I do believe hell would freeze over before Trump would admit he ever needed one.Another: change your stance on global warming. LOL. Or: add more regulations to various industries. LMAO!But it's a small part of the book so it doesn't take away much.

Just about 2.5 years old, the contents here are still, unfortunately so relevant. I adored his critique of every horrid aspect of Trump’s doings before, during, and after his campaign, as well as his every moral and personal failing. The crux was the final chapter which was written at Trump, if he cared to listen, carefully outlining how he could make drastic changes to save himself from impeachment.

This book kind of reads like a lullaby for anyone who is going through the five stages of grief over a Trump presidency. In addition to providing background to the concept, intention, and implementation of the process of impeachment, Lichtman cites what I counted as no-less-than fourteen separate actions, violations, or scenarios that can ultimately serve as grounds for impeachment and subsequent conviction of the Donald. The most shocking thing is that these are not 'if-then' situations, but rather already-committed impeachable offenses. After reading through this book, I feel even more confounded that this man managed to win the election, befuddled that he has survived in office this long, but also comforted in the knowledge that his tenure will certainly not be a long one.Incidentally, I bought this book at the airport...on my way back from Mexico. Somos hermanos, mi amigos.

Very interesting book but I suppose not if you are part of the Trump supporters. I do like how his analysis though went into the history of those few Presidents that were impeached or headed towards impeachment but resigned (Nixon). This history points out why the rules of impeachment were put into place by the creators of our country, mainly to battle a tyrannical leader similar to the King of their time.However, he quickly turns to compare the Trump administration and those of history, with strong comparisons to all three of them (Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton) that have come before.Trump's narcissistic persona seems to be following the Nixon administration than the others, which could prove to be problems if he continues the way he has started his first 100 days in the most powerful position in the world.

This book was incredibly infuriating! But that's because with all of the stuff going on recently I had somewhat forgotten about all of Trump's past transgressions and lies. I feel as if Dr. Lichtman needs to write weekly addendums to add to the case for impeachment that he has already so brilliantly laid out. This should be required reading for every American (especially those who are currently serving in Congress). Hopefully something will be done to remove Trump from office (impeachment or 25th Amendment) before the midterm elections because he's already done enough damage in the first 4 and a half months!

MY FINGERS ARE CROSSED!!!

Lichtman recalls having forecasted the Trump win two months before the election, using "the same proven method that had led me to forecast accurately the outcomes of eight previous elections." With this introduction, I thought perhaps now he might forecast that Trump will be impeached and that it will happen for a specified reason at a specified time. He does not commit to that detail. Instead, he lists dozens of possible grounds for impeachment, from "the gross abuse of presidential power" to the "extreme, nearly automatic propensity to lie" to Trump's having "broken many laws for personal gain" to his "predatory behavior towards women," and he adds that, like Nixon, Trump has "a need for total control, combined with minimal self-awareness" — and then Lichtman exhorts others to make the impeachment happen. He says that "the American people must demand his impeachment. In addition to mass protests, they should engage their representatives through petitions, e-mails, letters to newspaper editors, tweets, town hall gatherings, and face-to-face meetings, directed to the goal of impeachment."He says: "I am not calling here for a witch hunt against an unconventional presidency or for snaring Trump on some minor or technical violation. The point is to assess at what point impeachment becomes necessary to protect America's constitutional liberties and the vital interests of the nation."

Allan J. Lichtman was very articulate and clear throughout The Case For Impeachment. It was well organized and thoroughly dissected Impeachment, as a process, from a historical context, and how it applies to the Trump Administration. The information was clearly well researched and synthesized together in a logical manner. My only complaint is that he was clearly pushing an agenda towards the end of the book, this hurt his credibility in my mind. I would have much preferred he presented the facts and allowed the reader to draw their own conclusions. Overall, it was very informative and an interesting read.

Absolutely fascinating! I enjoyed learning a bit about the history of impeachment, but the real draw was seeing what all our current present has done that could warrant impeachment. Also, he can be impeached for things he did before becoming president? That, I like. I agree with the author's notion that what will probably get Trump in the end is his habit of lying. He lies so often and so easily, I imagine it will be hard for him to remember to tell the truth if he's ever under oath, so perjury will probably end up being his undoing.

An interesting read. Not having paid much attention to Trump before he was foisted into the presidency, I found his background story fascinating and horrifying. Did the RNC do no vetting on their candidate? The guy has been involved with thousands of lawsuits - how can this be an appropriate background for our country's leader? If you've been following the political circus that is the Trump administration, you will be familiar with much of the book, but it is worthwhile hearing it from another source. The author draws comparisons between the current administration and previous impeachments. I wonder if the book would be very different if Lichtman had the chance to see how looney this president has actually turned out to be and how willing the republicans are to ignore the crazy show, in order to support their party line instead of supporting what is best for the majority of Americans.

The high ranking of this book does not reflect a political value. Overall, the book is balanced insofar as the content allows. What impressed me the most was the volume of transgressions that need to be addressed by both the elected officials of our country and by the populace of the United States. This book will definitely make you think about the course of American politics.