Nothing More Than OPINION

Yooper

Up. Identified. Lase. Fire. On the way.
Here's an interesting take from the Dems' (least) favorite fellow Dem:

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BOP

Well-Known Member
Ummm....just to point out the stunningly obvious comrade....

Nevertheless, if a mere GAO finding is sufficient to justify impeachment, then President Barack Obama ought to have been impeached at least seven times over for each of the following cases in which the GAO found that the Obama administration had violated federal law.
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GURPS

INGSOC
PREMO Member
While the report’s release triggered the familiar bombshell headlines, there was considerable exaggeration of its findings. This is less relevant to impeachment than might initially appear. This was a finding of the violation of a federal law due to the delay. It would still be a violation even if the President was solely acting in the public interest to combat corruption or guarantee support from our allies. In other words, that violation is not on its face an impeachable act. Indeed, other presidents have been found to have committed such violations.

At issue is the Impoundment Control Act. Enacted in 1974, the law was passed after Richard Nixon withheld funds for programs that he opposed or wanted to block for political reasons.

As I previously testified at the impeachment hearing, it would be highly improper to withhold funds for political purposes and a violation of this Act. You just have to prove it, which is why I strongly encourage the House to simply wait a couple months to complete this record. If it had, it could have pursued this and other developments before surrendering control of the case to the opposing party.

Notably, the OMB suggests that, even if withheld for a policy reason, this was not a policy that is allowed under the Act as a bar on dedicating such funds: “OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act.”

The GAO has no real authority other than declaring such violations. Other presidents, including Bill Clinton, have been found to be in such violations by the GAO. These other presidents were also found to have caused “nonprogrammatic delays.” The GAO also found President Barack Obama violated federal law on such funds.

The aid was released before the deadline at the end of September but there is no question that a series of holds were placed on the aid. The White House claims that it wanted to confirm facts about corruption in Ukraine as well as to put pressure on allies to give more funding. If one accepts that the White House did act for such non-political purposes, it is still possible to be in violation of the Act but it would not be a violation that constitutes an impeachable offense — any more than it was for prior presidents like Clinton. The fact that this was not a “programmatic” issues is why it was found to violate the Act — not because of a finding of a quid pro quo.


so as usual its a big NOTHING BURGER
 
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