Hello Everyone:
Big big news day and Blogger Candidate Forum is stepping in to try to make sense of it all. We got Brexit news, we got impeachment news, we got sex, drugs, rock and roll. Okay, maybe not the sex, drugs, rock and roll part. Let us start with today's jaw dropping Brexit news.
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| Lady Hayle President of the United Kingdom Supreme Court theguardian.com |
Dramatic news from the British side of the Atlantic Ocean. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled that Prime Minister Boris Johnson suspension of Parliament (cbsnews.com; Sept. 9, 2019; date accessed Sept. 24, 2019) weeks before the October 31st departure deadline for Great Britain was unlawful. PM Johnson was accused of proroguing the House of Commons to curtail the amount time Members of Parliament have to debate his Brexit policy. The prime minister argued that "prorogation was standard operation procedure for a new prime minister, that it had nothing to do with looming Brexit deadline" (Ibid; Sept. 24, 2019).
Lady Hayle, the President of the Supreme Court, announced Today that she and the 10 justices were unanimous in their decision that the prime minister action to send dismissed MPs before this monumental change in Great Britain's history was unlawful. Lady Hayle said that Parliament,
...has a right to a voice in how that change comes,.... Parliament has not been prorogued. This is the unanimous decision of all 11 justices (Ibid).
Lady Hale added,
Parliament has not been prorogued. This is the unanimous decision of all 11 justices,... ["She noted the"], quite exception circumstances [under which Johnson had attempted to suspend Parliament, and said" the] effect on the fundamentals of our democracy was extreme (Ibid).
Needless to say, this was a devastating blow to the already tenuous Johnson government. What happened in court?
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| Excerpt for the UK Supreme Court ruling headtopics.com |
What happened today? Unlike the United States, the United Kingdom does not a written constitution. Instead, the UK constitution is based on "hundreds of years of law and convention--which can be difficult to interpret" (bbc.com; date accessed Sept. 24, 2019). A group of 70 Scottish MPs, a former prime minister and Remain campaigner Gina Miller argued against the government (Ibid). An attorney for the Scottish MPs told the court that the case was about the mother of parliaments closed down by the father lies (Ibid). The government's attorneys countered that the justices' interference would be forbidden territory. He cautioned them that they were walking through ill-defined minefield (Ibid). In the end, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of returning Parliament.
| Outside the United Kingdom Supreme Court Building uk.reuters.com |
What is next? New elections and the Queen's corgis become prime minister. No? If you are PM Johnson, you are resolutely determined to take the UK out of the European Union, come what may, deal or no deal. Now that prorogation was ruled unlawful, it means that Parliament is technically still in session, like the whole break never happened. PM Johnson accepted the court's decision, even though he disagreed with it. The decision to recall Parliament now rests with Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow and his counterpart in the House of Lords. If they choose to reconvene the legislative body, it would happen as early as tomorrow. However, when it comes to Brexit, time is of the essence.
Although Prime Minister Boris Johnson is doggedly determined to take the UK out of the European Kingdom despite the loudly ticking clock. Before Parliament went on its unintended break, it passed a law requiring the PM to ask for another extension. The remaining question is will EU President Donald Tusk grant him the extension, with less than 37 days left. Meanwhile on the American side of the Atlantic Ocean, the call for impeachment just got turned up full volume.
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| Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) nbcnews.com |
Today was the day that a lot of people have been anxiously waiting: Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced a formal inquiry, saying "the president's growing Ukraine scandal marked a breach of his Constitutional responsibilities (nbcnews.com; date accessed Sept. 24, 2019). Speaker Pelosi, who for months has resisted calls for an impeachment inquiry, told reporters assembled for the announcement,
This week the president has admitted to asking the president of Ukraine to take actions which would benefit him politically,... The action of the Trump presidency revealed the dishonorable fact of the president's betrayal of his oath office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of our elections,... Therefore, today I am announcing the House of Representative is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry (Ibid).
What swayed her decision?
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| Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA) and the House Judiciary Committee abcnews.go.com |
Speaker Pelosi announced that she was formally directing the six House committees with jurisdiction over impeachment (including the House Judiciary Committee), to proceed with investigations under that umbrella (Ibid). She said,
The president must be held accountable,... No one is above the law (Ibid).
Speaker Pelosi's change of heart came after 186 of House Democrats--over two-thirds of the caucas--expressed their support for an impeachment inquiry (Ibid) following reports that the president may have withheld aid to Ukraine in order to force officials to investigate Hunter Biden, the son of VPOTUS and potential Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
Yesterday, the Washington Post and other media outlets reported that the president instructed act Chief of Staff Mick Mulvany to hold back nearly $400 million in military for the Ukraine (washingtonpost.com; Sept. 23, 2019; date accessed Sept. 24, 2019) days before a phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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| POTUS, VPOTUS, and Hunter Biden bbc.com |
Naturally, the president responded with a series of tweets, all screaming "Witch Hunt" and predicted that it would bode well for him in next year's election. Congressional Republican leadership expressed dismay at this latest turn of events, accusing the Democrats of trying to re-litigate the 2016. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued this statement,
Washington Democrats have been searching for ways to reverse their 2016 election defeat since before President Trump was even inaugurated,.... The result has been a two-and-a-half year impeachment parade in search of a rationale. When investigations by Special Counsel Mueller and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence deflated their breathless accusations of campaign conspiracy with Russia, Democrats have simply shifted to new arguments for their predetermined conclusion... (nbcnews.com; date accessed Sept. 24, 2019)
What comes next?
For his part, the president said he would release an unredacted transcript of the phone call and the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the White House will allow the anonymous whistleblower to testify before Congress (wsj.com; date accessed Sept. 24, 2019). What happens next is politically risky territory for both parties. For the Democrats, if this inquiry backfires, it could mean the end of majority rule in the House of Representatives, not flipping the Senate and the White House. Depending on what comes out during the inquiry, VPOTUS Biden could be forced out of the race or be seriously compromised. The Republicans, the consequences are not that dire. The president does not want to find himself fighting off impeachment and removal from office while campaigning for re-election. This is political suicide. Regardless, we are a very, very long away from that and the most likely scenario is the voters will decide on November 3, 2020. Stay tuned.
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