As of this writing we have had 3 Presidential impeachments in our history.
The first one was, in my view, completely unjustified.
Although Andrew Johnson had many flaws he did not engage in impeachable offenses (Tenure of Office Act was improper usurping by Congress) and it’s clear that Congress just wanted to get rid of him.
The second impeachment was entirely proper.
Richard Nixon clearly abused his power and deserved to be impeached. Not so much for the political abuses during the campaign which, as was pointed out at the time, were pretty standard on both sides.
But using his office to cover up the incident and to obstruct the investigation did clearly merit impeachment.
As to impeachment #3, in my view it falls somewhere in between the first two.
Although I personally opposed impeachment (I felt censure was the more proper course) I certainly understand why other people felt differently
Nobody could condone the conduct he engaged in and he did lie under oath and (on a lesser level than Nixon) use his office to at least manipulate the investigatory process.
I didn’t feel it rose to impeachment but I understood why others felt it did and it certainly was not just about sex, it was about what would have been for most people criminal conduct.
And tonight we reach number four.
This one has been hard for me to decide because I have such a distaste for Mr. Trump and pretty much everything he says and does.
But I can’t let that decide how I feel on the issue
I do think this is an in between situation, where people could justifiably reach different conclusions.
Certainly it is much closer to the Nixon situation than Clinton was.
But I’m just not fully convinced at this point that it amounts to impeachment
Or if it does, how many prior Presidents have used pressure tactics like threats to withhold aid in order to obtain something from a foreign power ?
Or how many have used their office to try and advance their own prospects while hindering those of their potential opponents.
So at this point I am not fully on board for impeachment and conviction.
But I do think I would vote in favor of advancing the case to the Senate with the understanding that I was leaving it to the jury to decide
In more legal terms, I do see sufficient evidence for indictment but I’m not convinced yet for conviction