Impeached Forever? Don't Be So Sure About That, Nancy, Republicans Have Other Ideas

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., makes a statement at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019. Pelosi announced that the House is moving forward to draft articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., makes a statement at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019. Pelosi announced that the House is moving forward to draft articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is not taking the acquittal of President Donald Trump in the Senate trial very well, nor are many of the Democrats and their friends in the media.

Their one sole source of comfort is Pelosi’s mantra: that Trump will be “impeached forever.”

Republican response has been that Trump will be “acquitted forever” or “acquitted for life” as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) tweeted on Wednesday night.

But that wasn’t all.

McCarthy told the New York Post “This is the fastest, weakest, most political impeachment in history,” McCarthy told The Post on Wednesday. “I don’t think it should stay on the books,” suggesting that they might try to expunge it.

He said that that if they took back the majority, not only would they work on things like infrastructure and prescription drugs, but they’d also look into “what the Democrats have done” behind this all. “But I think when you look at what the Democrats have done, I also think we have to get to the bottom of it,” McCarthy declared.

“There’s still an 18th transcript that was never released about the inspector general. It’s interesting to know, in there there was 179 pages, did Adam Schiff know the whistleblower? Did he meet with the whistleblower? I think a lot of questions are raised about whether that individual, Adam Schiff, was a fact witness.”

Republicans need to flip 18 seats to retake the House and have the majority needed to pass such a measure along party lines. With Trump on the ballot in November, they are expecting an enthusiasm boost among voters.

“We feel very, very confident that come November [voters] are going to make the right decision and Speaker Pelosi’s term as speaker of the House will not go beyond this year,” said House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Wednesday.

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There is some precedent for an expungement as there was an expungement in 1837 of a censure of President Andrew Jackson, although some questioned whether it would only be symbolic.

Some Republicans have already indicated support for such a measure, such as Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas).

“The president is there and I think ultimately with the things that are going to be coming out in the months ahead, it will be all the more appropriate. More and more people will see that,” Gohmert said. “So then I think by next year it will be an appropriate thing to file and do.”

Other Trump loyalists endorsed the notion in principle.

“I think there would be a groundswell of support” for expungement legislation, said Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), though he said it was premature to decide post-acquittal strategy.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said “the president should have never been impeached in the first place” and that expungement is “a good idea.”

Jonathan Turley said he believed it would likely be more “cathartic,” that it would still be a “historical fact.”

But it would then put an asterisk on the asterisk and point out how completely partisan the impeachment was.

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It could also highlight all the machinations that went on behind the scenes and exposing all that would be a truly beneficial thing for the health of our republic.

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