On Friday, 11/18, trump did something completely out of character (for him), he settled the trump university law suits for $25 million. The question then becomes, why? Anything I write in answer to that question is speculation. I can think of two reasons though; one is that he wants to clear up distractions prior to taking the oath of office, I think this excuse is slight of hand. This has already been said and I think that it will continue to be said. I think that this excuse is to distract from the real reason. What I believe is going on, is that trump and his advisers think that by settling this case out of court, it will remove this as a reason for impeachment.
I also believe that trump has been attempting to use an old magician's trick; getting the audience to focus on one hand, while the other hand is doing something else off to the side. Over the weekend trump and pence set up a little theater of their own (and their theater is certainly not a "safe" place). I believe that trump's tweet tirade about the cast members of Hamilton exercising their First Amendment rights was a ploy to have the American people not notice the trump university settlements. This, to me, seems to be an attempt to remove an issue that could easily result in impeachment and to do so as quietly as possible. I do not believe any of this accomplishes that goal.
I am not a lawyer, but I believe I understand the law in some basic ways and I have read the constitution many times and believe I have a basic understanding of it as well. There is nothing in the Constitution that limits impeachment to crimes committed only while in office. There is nothing in the constitution that requires impeachment only after criminal activity has been determined by a court of law. Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton were all impeached, but never convicted of a crime in a court of law. I will be urging Congressional leaders to launch an impeachment investigation and procedure as soon as possible after trump takes office.
A roadblock that I would anticipate is the claim of executive privilege, with reference to having documents subpoenaed involving trump university. This alleged crime (he has not admitted guilt and has avoided admitting guilt), occurred prior to trump taking office, so he has no executive privilege with reference to any documents involved with trump university.
Now, if, if mind you, trump is found guilty on criminal charges (what was settled out of court were civil suits) in any of the now 74 legal actions he is involved in or with reference to the trump university issues, then the Senate would have no option, but to impeach him. To that end I need to address Eric Schneiderman (New York State Attorney General) and Kamala Harris (California Attorney General).
Mr.Schneiderman was instrumental in settling these suits out of court. One was a civil suit that was in New York State, while the other two were Federal class action (civil) law suits. I will be urging Mr. Schneiderman to pursue criminal charges in New York State. As I see it, it is necessary that he launch such an investigation to determine if this case warrants criminal charges and if evidence supports criminal charges, they be filed.
Because the suits in California were Federal law suits, be assured that the incoming Attorney General of the U.S. will not be pursuing criminal charges on a Federal level. In light of this, I will be urging Ms Harris to determine if criminal charges are warranted by the sate of California.
An analogy is, if someone allegedly steals a car and then gives it back, that does not preclude the possibility for and probability of criminal charges and appropriate punishment if found guilty. trump has the same situation. he allegedly stole money and gave it back. Therefore the same scenario needs to go forward for him, as it would for the alleged car thief. No one is above the law and guilt or innocence on criminal charges is to be determined in a court by a judge or a jury, not by buying oneself out of the criminal charges!
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