Incoming Judiciary Committee chair Nadler correctly says of the latest allegations: "Certainly, they're impeachable offenses."
Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) hammers Republicans
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This first article of impeachment against President Richard Nixon stemmed from illegal activity during the 1972 presidential campaign and specifically indicted the sitting president for:
8. Making or causing to be made false or misleading public statements for the purpose of deceiving the people of the United States into believing that a thorough and complete investigation had been conducted with respect to allegations of misconduct on the part of personnel of the executive branch of the United States and personnel of the Committee for the Re-election of the President, and that there was no involvement of such personnel in such misconduct: or
9. endeavoring to cause prospective defendants, and individuals duly tried and convicted, to expect favored treatment and consideration in return for their silence or false testimony, or rewarding individuals for their silence or false testimony.
Now, President Donald Trump stands accused of engaging in illegal activity during the 2016 presidential campaign and of making false and misleading statements about those activities. And there is open speculation about the prospect that Trump might pardon a key player in his scandal-plagued 2016 campaign, campaign manager Paul Manafort.
This combination of the historical record and the contemporary circumstance points to the essential takeaway from a weekend of fevered rumination regarding the detailed allegation that candidate Trump directed his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to make illegal payments in order to prevent revelations of Trump's personal wrongdoing before the 2016 election.
It is impossible to avoid the impeachment discussion, as the incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, New York Congressman Jerry Nadler, acknowledged following Friday's release of a sentencing memo in which Manhattan US attorney's office prosecutors explained that "In particular, and as Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1."
"Individual-1" is the sitting president of the United States.