Violations of the Emoluments Clause? The Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty reports on Speaker Pelosi’s remarks:
“Asked whether all of that is sufficient fodder for articles of impeachment against the president, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) earlier this week told a group of columnists: ‘There’s no question about that, right? We’ve had enough for a very long time. No, I think we have enough. But as long as there’s corroboration, we might as well get some more.’”
The bigger challenge, she suggested, may be deciding what not to include. One thing that is not likely to make the cut, she said, is Trump’s apparent violation of what he calls the “phony emoluments clause” — which is the Constitution’s very clear ban on government officials’ accepting gifts or payments “from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” 1
Public Sentiment? The Washington Post also posted a column on Speaker Pelosi’s thinking by Lincoln biographer Sidney Blumenthal:
“Whatever Pelosi’s speculative tactical scenario, her account of Lincoln’s ideas about public opinion is badly mistaken. ‘With public sentiment, nothing can fail,’ Lincoln said. ‘Without it, nothing can succeed.’ Critically, however, Pelosi sees public opinion as something to follow. Lincoln saw it as something to shape.” 2
What Will Public Sentiment Be? If Dems ignore the elephant of Big Invisible Global (BIG) money in the room, will that be seen as protecting Biden and other past, present and future officials?
Public sentiment will be influenced by what is included and not included in the articles of impeachment.
If we don’t follow the money, we will not be able to make sufficient progress on our existential threats.
As I reported in Legal Reader last year, we the people, face existential threats including the Climate Crisis, Inequality, Instability and Injustice. 3
Each of us must do our part to build a progressive public sentiment, before it is too late.
