The Time Has Come

Benjamin Franklin was quite a character. He was a statesman, a writer, a ladies' man, an inventor, and a word thief. You may remember old Ben's famous quote, "..in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." That was part of a letter in 1789 in which Franklin was summing up his thoughts about our nation's then-new Constitution, but in doing so he borrowed that now-famous quote from the author of "Robinson Crusoe". Daniel Defoe penned the phrase, "Things as certain as death and taxes, can be more firmly believ'd," in 1726, but even he was not afraid of stealing a good line when he saw one. A few years before Defoe included that thought in "The Political History of the Devil," it was Christopher Bullock who wrote, "'Tis impossible to be sure of any thing but Death and Taxes,"

We can argue about original thoughts – and 18th Century plagiarism – but this much is clear: Bullock, Defoe and Franklin were each very sure that some things are inevitable.

And now, so is the other "I" word.

Im-Peachy Keen

I'm not alone in thinking the Democrats in Congress would never get to this stage. When it comes to using the powers granted to them in the Constitution, the current majority party has been dragging its feet like it was a child unwilling to leave the house on the first day of school. Obviously, their hands were somewhat tied for two years as the Republicans controlled the House as well as the Senate. But in the wake of the 2018 midterms, the Democrats found themselves back in the driver's seat and once more had the ability to convene hearings and issue subpoenas. (More on that later.)

And so here we are. Most Democrats in Congress have now decided that impeachment of President Trump is the logical, necessary next step. While impeachment is indeed a political act, it is also the formal process established by our nation's founders to investigate possible wrongdoing of the president and, if the evidence is convincing, to remove him from office. While I don't see it going that far (not with Republicans firmly in control in the Senate), I also had doubts that Democrats would summon the courage to do more than hold the occasional hearing and generate soundbites for the evening news.

Reading is fundamental

There are many people who are telling us that the entire idea of impeaching Donald Trump is a waste of time and money. They point to the Mueller report and make ludicrous claims of "total exoneration" and "no collusion," but these feeble arguments have no foundation. Anyone who has actually read the report knows that Robert Mueller and his team drew no conclusions about collusion since that is not a legal term and by itself carries no true significance. What Mueller did find was conclusive evidence that the president and others within the administration were involved in a multi-layered scheme of obstructing justice. Don't just take my word for it. It's all right there in black and white if you're willing to read it.

Yet the Democrats should have known that the investigation would never lead to an early end of the Trump presidency. Mueller's hands were tied by a Department of Justice policy that prevents the indictment of a sitting president no matter how serious is the crime. Yes, the president really could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not be arrested. (At least, not while in office.) Besides, how could anyone expect much from an investigation in which the Attorney General, who was hand-picked by the president, has final say?

But while Mueller's findings may not provide the meat and potatoes that many Americans hoped for, the new whistleblower revelations just might. It's too early to determine what might unfold, but I'll say this: if the accusations that have already been revealed are not true (which is the argument by the president and his supporters), then why is Mr. Trump sending the Attorney General and others around the globe seeking the influence of other countries in our own system of government and our elections? That kind of panicked response is not what you would expect from an innocent man.

Don't look for a Battle Royale

So the Democrats will convene impeachment hearings and issue subpoenas. At the time this column was coming together, President Trump's personal attorney, Rudi Giuliani, was named in three subpoenas from House committees. But don't expect much to come from that. Although he is always happy to appear on camera and spout utter nonsense, Giuliani is likely to simply ignore those Congressional edicts. He won't provide documents and probably won't show up to testify. It's up to the Democrats to decide if they're willing to use their Constitutional enforcement powers or if the administration will be allowed to continue to thumb its nose at the process.

Here's what we know: we are living in disturbing times. Too many people have decided that they'd rather ignore the obvious than give any credence to any facts that run counter to their own deeply-held convictions. In the end, there will always be those who refuse to be convinced. Admitting that they were wrong, that they were so easily deceived by a career con man, is more than they can accept.

Editor's Note: Archived columns and resources can be found at Scott's blog, http://www.thenonfictionsection.com.