A few days before a new year 2019 before the Democrats takes over control of the House of Representatives again opens the case on the subject of Impeachment.

Reading through Alan Hirsch book validates the process of impeachment.  A process that has been improved yet raise on every President since 1994's Bill Clinton's case of impeachment. From George Bush to even Barack Obama's issue of being not born in the US and using an Executive Order for DACA, it seems to be now a trend that "Impeachment" has been always a discussion in Congress. Whether it does happen, discuss or even a bill created towards impeaching the current Commander In Chief is the real question. What's the main difference as the author noted in previous Presidents is that most of the impeachable cases came about on the previous Presidents second term in office. The main relevance on this case today is on April 2017, 3 months right on the start of the 45th President Donald J. Trump first term presidency solidified his impeachment case followed by the creation of the Special Counsel to investigate on the Russian intervention of the 2016 Presidential elections.

As of this writing, it is the 3rd government shutdown on this administration when no deal came about with Congress and the White House. The main issue tackled is a "Border Wall" between Mexico and the United States, the main requirement of President Trump. The democrats as known will never agree to this border wall. The President now trying to get more and more open to negotiations, says it may now be a "Steel Barrier Fence" instead of a "Concrete Wall". Whether this new nomenclature will be agreeable still raises the question. If you really want to end the shut down Mr. President, a simple grammar correction might be "Border Security". Your business acumen knows better by using corrected grammar then identifying the right necessary steps and tools you might need taking into consideration what are the allowable actions in such terms.

Hirsch did a good representation of the historical narratives, engravings, illustrations and documentations on the impeachment episodes dating from Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon to the last one of Bill Clinton. Clinton's case made the trend to start an impeachment discussion on every President that followed from Bush, Obama and now Trump. 

America as the greatest country is the epitome of democratic principles. Authoritarian rulers are commonly seen in history from third developing countries for example as their President, Prime Minister, General are above the law coupled with corruption and human rights violations. Hence is why Saddam Hussein is now history. Such authoritarians act and lead on their own choice and command, controls their Congress and titled as military ruler. This is why some of them were deposed by their own military by way of a Coup D Etta. 

As I see it, firing the AG, FBI Directors neither is obstruction on the case of President Trump is a long shot towards removal from office. Him holding the highest office of enforcing the law given to him sort of immunizes him being removed or sued right now. The campaign spending issues may or may not be legal cases but that will come after his presidency.

Congress is mainly focus on protecting the Special Counsel Mueller's from being removed or dictated. This is because this is the prime case that may lead to a case of impeachment if this President or his enforcers derails Mueller's investigation unless Mueller acted improperly. When a President prevents a Prosecutor to do his or her job because he feels threaten as signs shows in the past then this obstruction of justice for an impeachment case of the 45th President.

Richard Nixon as verified by the author in book made the strategy to change the Special Prosecutor and was not later impeached. It is agreeable that if Trump does replace Mueller it might or not reduced an impeachment case. However, today is very much a different case as this President has since already concluded on him being threaten by this Prosecutor's actions. Likewise, Nixon eventually resigned from office as a last resort. What happens to this President amidst a new Congress is there to see in 2019. It might turn things around for the better good by being non-partisan between Congress and the White House as seen in previous Presidents or whether a case of impeachment is doom, we will have to see.

May we enjoy the blessings of this Holiday Season and Hoping for the best of the New Year.

is 6 days away as of the writing of this blog. Written by two distinguish authors, Laurence Tribe and Joshua Matz.  Laurence Tribe is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor and a professor of constitutional law at Harvard. One of America's foremost constitutional scholars, he is the coauthor of Uncertain Justice (with Joshua Matz) and numerous other books and articles. He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Joshua Matz, a graduate of Harvard Law School and a constitutional lawyer, is the publisher of Take Care, which provides legal analysis of the Trump presidency. He lives in Washington, DC.

I had a personal interest in this book as the topic of impeachment itself is very complicated. 'Impeachment is not like a magic Harry Potter spell or wand nor a doomsday as they say in fairy tales. It such in depth that notoriety in wiring books on this topic requires such expertise and familiarization not only of the process but also constitutional law. Added to that are the democratic ideologies and how it impacts the current administration and president hence is what this topic has been discussed since day 1 when this presidency took effect.

Hopefully, an overview of the process and facts on lay men's understanding can shed some light on the real significance of this topic today. The reality is that is such a hard process to impeach a president. Hence, two past presidents impeachment tries didn't really resonate. America's founding fathers did include this provision from the very start as weakest last resort as if in case of fire break the safety glass cabinet to get the fire extinguisher. While there are really no glass case to break nowadays in this age, that barrier in reference to impeachment is still the same meaning their still is a glass case with a lock.

I remember Psychology plays a big de facto on impeachment. In the past year we have seen the psychology books written about the President's mental health. The truth of the matter, a being disturbed, acting strange even like an idiot, saying different things and versions does not surpassed the test of getting impeached. The said person truly and definitely has to be mentally ill to pass the test. 

This is why of all the books written, I believe the closest case if ever if there would be one case for impeachment would be on Bribery and Collusion with a foreign in meddling the outcome of the presidential elections. And even then if the facts of the case gains a positive outcome, the hardest part would be the constitutional process. Both the United States Senate and House of Representatives has to be both having a majority vote to enact the impeachment. Regardless, of the lengthy process in developing the case, without both majority vote will either enact or if ever this case finally dies. One example is in the case of President Clinton in 1998, the vote pass the House of Representatives but failed in the US Senate.

The bigger question even to be ask is "Is it possible that a Congress in which the Republicans control both or even one chamber would consider impeaching Trump?".  This is why I'm hoping that this new book written by two notables on the subject will lay out the underling and tedious criteria s on what is really involved even to get a case for impeachment.

The Conviction of RICHARD NIXON by James Reston, Jr. writes the foreword, "If the President does it, that means it's not illegal," as quoted was the brazen words uttered by Richard Nixon in his famous interview with David Frost in 1977.

Nixon continued and argued that the President is immune. As the book describes about eavesdropping, cover up, and bend government agencies like the CIA and the FBI for his own political purpose. National Security and "Executive Privilege" hence when exposed were "mistakes". With such words and predicament came about "Obstruction of Justice", the case for impeachment which led the way for Nixon to resign as it was inevitable.

Reading through this book trying to get a well deserved sleep gave a lot of comparison to the new book, 

The Case For Impeachment by Allan J. Lichtman . Professor Allan J. Lichtman, who has correctly forecasted thirty years of presidential outcomes, makes the case for impeaching the 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

Excerpt of the book annotation, "The Case for Impeachment also offers a fascinating look at presidential impeachments throughout American history, including the often-overlooked story of Andrew Johnson’s impeachment, details about Richard Nixon’s resignation, and Bill Clinton’s hearings. Lichtman shows how Trump exhibits many of the flaws (and more) that have doomed past presidents. As the Nixon Administration dismissed the reporting of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as “character assassination” and “a vicious abuse of the journalistic process,” Trump has attacked the “dishonest media,” claiming, “the press should be ashamed of themselves.”

Historians, legal scholars, and politicians alike agree: we are in politically uncharted waters—the durability of our institutions is being undermined and the public’s confidence in them is eroding, threatening American democracy itself."

With the recent testimony of the Former FBI Director James Comey about being asked repeatedly on the Russian interference investigations in  the 2016 elections, and the case of holding on to his position simply gives a more stronger case of Obstruction than the last impeachment case of Bill Clinton on an affair which never got passed. 

The months and circumstances to follow next will be part of the American history books as it unfolds. From the time this new book by Lichtman was release in April 2017, it hasn't yet gotten that much sales from a bookseller standpoint yet however this book is soon to be such an enormous bestseller that the publisher Dey Street Books will probably continually be making reprints.

For now, this is a new discussion between supporters of then failed candidate Hillary Clinton and the current 45th President Donald Trump.

When our 44th President Barack H. Obama took office in 2008, I believe his legacy that will always be remembered is on how he prevented the second great depression. In the book 

Audacity: How Barack Obama Defied His Critics by Jonathan Chait,  Chapter 2 touches broadly on the narrative case  on how the world's financial system was on the way to a disastrous plunge. As Chait was quoted that "Presidents get credit for responding to disasters such as the case of George W. Bush right after the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center, Obama is the first to prevent that kept them from happening".

One of the fast sweeping actions then of the Obama administration was the economic stimulus program an old idea dating back to the first great depression. An idea developed by British Economist John Maynard Keynes as stated in this book. As in any financial stress or bubble even through the housing crisis etc.., consumers technically respond to the markets to cut cost across the board. Hence, job cuts to the tune of loss income and each person's spending power is affected. Central banks would then reduce interest rates convincing people to borrow than save. Through Keynes theory, the government needs to inject money directly into the economy, either way by giving money to the people or spending money worthwhile in a mere showdown of simply spending. Hence in the first depression, government made massive expenditures during World War II which is known as the "Stimulus" ending the depression that time.

As Jonathan Chait explains further on his book, the fall of Lehman Brothers was so vast that monetary policy was not enough in addressing it. In spite of this, the Republic house was against Keynes theory. I guess for some the question was that if a stimulus was necessary then on Obama's actions. I remember reading reports in the last days of the Bush administration predicting the budget deficit in 2009 to be a trillion dollars which we know eventually cause the economic crisis right when Obama was sworned as President.

Chapter 2 of this book was lengthy on the facts as well as the political personalities on both parties as well as touching on the bank bail outs that President Bush signed earlier and so forth. The fact is that the economic stimulus enacted when Obama took office was a success that prevented the second worst depression in this era. Bill Clinton who was known for also a sluggish economy when he took office in 1993 had a $19 Billion stimulus versus $168 Billion in 2009. Even Franklin Roosevelt today would have been amazed on the gravity of this problem. As the book title mentions, How Obama Defied His Critics as with this massive undertaking Barack Obama had to deal with the political system, it's repercussions, it's various responses as he was the first American President to enact such an enormous too aggressive for some anti-depression program.

With Obama signing the enactment of the "Recovery Act" in February 2009 barely a month after being sworn in as President,  this stimulus practically healed the financial distress, the stock market collapse and fixed the bad unemployment numbers then. A lot of discussions preceded on this action till today including the initial banking turmoils right after yet the program succeeded as the case may be. 

General Motors was on the center of this as it added to the problem then over and above the financial and banking collapse. So in March 2009, government had to inject and infuse the final stimulus of the auto industry with the clause that the industry undertake sweeping reforms itself. Likewise, the small unheard parts of this stimulus which is easier to remember is during tax time. It has a tax credit for workers at the bottom of the income scale. The idea was derived on getting more cash back into the hands of the people who could spend it back to the economy. 

Obama hence continuously worked on recovery throughout his administration while comparing it with past administrations like Reagan and Clinton whose administrations then also swift prosperity back to the imperil economic systems when they took office. History will write so many things about this as well as the political debates so forth as the legacy and history of the 45th President is now being studied, reviewed and written. Gauging whether Obama's measures and enactment was an enormous success will take time as it's always time until a President's legacy is fully understood in fact years after.