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Republican launches impeachment against US defense chief (www.rfi.fr)
submitted 20 hours ago by to c/globalnews@lemmy.zip
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Washington (United States) (AFP) – A Republican lawmaker moved Monday to impeach US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the war in Iran, setting up a potentially explosive vote in Congress days after President Donald Trump's party suffered a crushing midterm defeat.

Kentucky congressman Thomas Massie introduced eight articles of impeachment accusing Hegseth of illegally waging war without congressional authorization and abusing his powers as Pentagon chief.

The Republican-controlled House could vote as early as Wednesday, with some lawmakers from Trump's party signaling they might join Democrats in backing the charges.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio came to Hegseth's defense Monday while visiting Paris.

"I think it's unfair. Look, I think Pete's done a good job, I really do," Rubio told reporters, praising his colleague as hardworking and "incredibly smart."

Rubio credited Hegseth with helping build counter-cartel partnerships in the Americas, severely weakening Iran's military and overseeing the operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Impeachment would be a humiliating blow for the Trump administration, but would not automatically remove Hegseth. Conviction requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate -- a much higher hurdle, even after Democrats take control in January.

The move has gathered momentum since Tuesday's midterms, when Democrats swept both chambers amid voter anger over the Iran war and soaring fuel prices.

Republicans retain control until the new Congress takes office on January 3, but their defeat has fueled recriminations. Defeated Republicans could skip votes, making impeachment easier to pass.

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[–] 2 points 15 hours ago (3 children)

Oh totally. Get the planning started. Look into things that need more looking into. But it's only 2 months away. You can't just bang out the paperwork super fast. Start on that quietly now. Do it, make sure your t's are crossed, your i's dotted. Make the papers theoretical fort knox's. That should allow a fuck ton of information to come fast during investigations. You've already got your ducks in a row. And you don't allow the opposition the time to coordinate.

If you announce investigations about specific things 2 months out, you give them time to anticipate the direction they're going. For instance you can say you're investigating kushner for corruption. He and his connections can start building defenses for it. But if you don't play your cards, they know they'll be investigated for something, and they'll assume corruption. And they'll plan for that. But instead, you could go for bribery while their defense has nothing for it. Throw in RICO and you start PAC-MANing up large bits of info that they didn't expect to need to cover.

That's just a loose example, and I am obviously not a lawyer, but politicking isn't exactly lawyering either. It's a strategy game. Strategy however, is something I am very familiar with. You never, ever let the opposition learn your strategy. Keep the enemy on their toes. Hegseth shows up thinking he's defending himself about "drug boats" and nail him with civil rights questions about firing top generals. When someone's on their back foot they give up a lot more information.

All I'm saying is don't play the cards without a plan.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 hours ago

    Thomas Massie, a Republican whose term expires in 2 months filed the articles of impeachment.

    Articles of Impeachment are not a criminal trial, they are for removal from office.

    Criminal trials likely won’t start until the next Congress because the Republicans still hold the majority through the end of the year and the Dems need the majority to hold the DoJ accountable and to appoint special prosecution.

    This administrations crimes were committed publicly. They are not going to be able to hide from them or obscure them. They will work to delay, deny and obstruct.

    This will not be fast, it will not be some “gotcha” prosecution like you seem to expect. This will drag on and become tedious and boring at times.

    Your expectation of swift and righteous justice is misplaced and you’re setting yourself up for disappointment

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