Impeachments and forced removals from office emerge as partisan weapons in the states
1 year, 2 months ago

Impeachments and forced removals from office emerge as partisan weapons in the states

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Republicans in Wisconsin are threatening to impeach a recently elected state Supreme Court justice and raised the possibility of doing the same to the state’s election director. “Since the founding of our state in 1848, no state Legislature has even introduced articles of impeachment in order to nullify a vote by the people of Wisconsin to gain partisan advantage,” the state’s Democratic Party chair, Ben Wikler, said last month. After Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis brought charges against Trump and 18 others for trying to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results, some state legislative and congressional Republicans called for the Legislature to impeach her. Michigan State University law school professor Brian Kalt described the failed recall as “just another example of polarization and the weaponization of constitutional law to solve political disputes.” Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said impeachment and recall are intended for cases where there seems to be a clear abuse of power.

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History of this topic

Rare Republican Challenger Emerges in Fulton County District Attorney Race
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Rare Republican Challenger Emerges in Fulton County District Attorney Race

Associated Press  

Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis, the Democratic candidate seeking a fourth term, faces a rare Republican challenger in the upcoming election. Courtney Kramer, a lawyer who interned in the White House counsel's office under Trump, is vying for the position. Willis, known for her tough-on-crime approach, has faced criticism for her handling of cases, with some arguing she overuses gang and …

Wisconsin Republican leader derides GOP impeachment attempt targeting state’s top elections official
11 months ago

Wisconsin Republican leader derides GOP impeachment attempt targeting state’s top elections official

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — A Republican attempt to impeach Wisconsin’s nonpartisan top elections official is nothing more than “a big show for the cameras” and will be ignored, the Assembly’s GOP majority leader said Thursday. Several Republican lawmakers, including the state Senate president, have called for Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe to be impeached over her handling of the 2020 …

Republicans want to impeach the Maine official who cut Trump from the ballot. They face long odds
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Republicans want to impeach the Maine official who cut Trump from the ballot. They face long odds

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — Republicans who want to unseat Maine’s secretary of state for barring former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot will face long odds impeaching a stalwart and influential Democrat whose party holds firm control over both Legislative chambers. Bellows said Wednesday she stands by her decision to unliterally remove Trump from the state’s ballot, and isn’t fazed …

Wisconsin leader pivots, says impeachment of state Supreme Court justice over redistricting unlikely
1 year ago

Wisconsin leader pivots, says impeachment of state Supreme Court justice over redistricting unlikely

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — The Republican leader of Wisconsin’s Assembly who had threatened possible impeachment of a new liberal state Supreme Court justice over her views on redistricting now says such a move is “super unlikely.” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos originally threatened to impeach Justice Janet Protasiewicz if she did not recuse herself from the redistricting challenge, which is backed by …

GOP impeachment effort against Philadelphia prosecutor lands before Democratic-majority court
1 year ago

GOP impeachment effort against Philadelphia prosecutor lands before Democratic-majority court

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s highest court on Tuesday weighed whether the Legislature can proceed with an impeachment trial against Philadelphia’s elected progressive prosecutor and whether the court or lawmakers should determine what qualifies as misbehavior in office. Justice Christine Donohue, among the four Democratic justices at the hearing, said she was not comfortable delving “into the weeds” of what the …

Another Trump lawyer, Jenna Ellis, pleads guilty in Georgia 2020 election subversion case
1 year, 2 months ago

Another Trump lawyer, Jenna Ellis, pleads guilty in Georgia 2020 election subversion case

LA Times  

Jenna Ellis speaks with her lawyer Franklin Houge after pleading guilty in Georgia over efforts to overturn former President Trump’s 2020 election loss. Jenna Ellis, who boosted former President Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, pleaded guilty in Georgia on Tuesday after reaching a deal with prosecutors. As a senior legal advisor to Trump, Ellis participated …

Wisconsin Republican leader won’t back down from impeachment threat against Supreme Court justice
1 year, 2 months ago

Wisconsin Republican leader won’t back down from impeachment threat against Supreme Court justice

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — The Republican leader of Wisconsin’s Assembly refused to back down Thursday from possibly impeaching a newly elected liberal state Supreme Court justice over her refusal to step aside in a redistricting case, even after two former conservative justices advised him against the unprecedented move. Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said Vos’s comments are a signal that …

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice advises Republican leader against impeachment
1 year, 2 months ago

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice advises Republican leader against impeachment

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — There should be no effort to impeach a liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court justice based on what is known now, a former justice advised the Republican legislative leader who asked him to review the issue. “Impeachment is so serious, severe, and rare that it should not be considered unless the subject has committed a crime, or the subject …

Republican leader of Wisconsin Assembly says he won’t move to impeach state’s top elections official
1 year, 2 months ago

Republican leader of Wisconsin Assembly says he won’t move to impeach state’s top elections official

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — The Republican leader of the Wisconsin Assembly said Thursday that he will not pursue impeachment for the presidential battleground state’s nonpartisan top elections official, despite calls from the Republican president of the state Senate to do so. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told a WKOW-TV reporter that he will wait until a judge has determined whether the Republican-controlled …

Wisconsin Republicans propose impeaching top elections official after disputed vote to fire her
1 year, 3 months ago

Wisconsin Republicans propose impeaching top elections official after disputed vote to fire her

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — A group of Republican Wisconsin lawmakers on Thursday proposed impeaching the battleground state’s top elections official as Democrats wage a legal battle to keep the nonpartisan administrator in office. Democrats say the GOP-controlled state Senate acted illegitimately when it voted along party lines last week to oust Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe. “It’s irresponsible for this …

GOP threat to impeach a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice is driven by fear of losing legislative edge
1 year, 3 months ago

GOP threat to impeach a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice is driven by fear of losing legislative edge

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Republicans have enjoyed outsize control of the Legislature in one of the most closely divided states for a dozen years. “It’s a desperate gambit to avoid accountability to voters who choose their state representatives, their state senators and their Supreme Court justices.” Altering the makeup of the Wisconsin Supreme Court also holds the potential to affect …

Wisconsin GOP's impeachment plan: Another MAGA coup against democracy
1 year, 3 months ago

Wisconsin GOP's impeachment plan: Another MAGA coup against democracy

Salon  

MAGA Republicans in Wisconsin are gearing up to impeach newly elected state Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz, just five weeks after she took her seat on the court and before she has cast her first vote. Protasiewicz's resounding victory last April tells us that a large statewide majority in Wisconsin — typically a "purple" state where votes are evenly divided …

Dems launch defense of Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice as GOP impeachment threats continue
1 year, 3 months ago

Dems launch defense of Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice as GOP impeachment threats continue

Raw Story  

Wisconsin Democrats are warning that Republican lawmakers could initiate a constitutional crisis if they follow through with threats to impeach state Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz over campaign comments and donors. To back up that warning, Democrats announced a plan to pressure Republicans to “do the right thing and defend our democracy.” In the month since Protasiewicz ascended to the …

GOP tries to impeach liberal Wisconsin judge before she's even heard a case: report
1 year, 3 months ago

GOP tries to impeach liberal Wisconsin judge before she's even heard a case: report

Raw Story  

Wisconsin Republicans are considering impeaching a liberal State Supreme Court justice who threatens their hold on the state, The New York Times reported. Justice Janet Protasiewicz hasn't heard a single case yet, but the Republican uproar over her seat "could raise new questions about democracy and the legitimacy of elections in a state where GOP lawmakers and their allies spent …

Wisconsin’s new liberal Supreme Court justice hasn’t heard a case but Republicans may impeach
1 year, 3 months ago

Wisconsin’s new liberal Supreme Court justice hasn’t heard a case but Republicans may impeach

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Even before the newly elected justice who gave liberals a one-seat majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court has heard a case, Republican lawmakers are talking about taking the unprecedented step of impeaching and removing her from office. It’s a legitimate concern, as Democratic-friendly groups brought two lawsuits in the first week of newly elected Justice Janet Protasiewicz’s …

Trump impeachment manager on indictment: 'Damning, damning, damning'
1 year, 4 months ago

Trump impeachment manager on indictment: 'Damning, damning, damning'

Raw Story  

WASHINGTON – While some lawmakers on Capitol Hill thought former president Donald Trump would never face the justice system over the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, Rep. Madeleine Dean tells Raw Story she never doubted the day would come. It reads like a screenplay, but this one is slightly denser but it’s literary, lyrical, using those verbs, saying …

Lisa Murkowski Is Feeling Pretty Vindicated After Voting To Convict Trump
1 year, 4 months ago

Lisa Murkowski Is Feeling Pretty Vindicated After Voting To Convict Trump

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Former President Donald Trump was indicted for the third time on Tuesday, and this time he’s being accused of the most serious crimes yet: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. “In early 2021, I voted to impeach former …

Georgia bill is latest GOP effort targeting prosecutors
1 year, 8 months ago

Georgia bill is latest GOP effort targeting prosecutors

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — A new Georgia commission to discipline and remove wayward prosecutors would be the latest move nationwide to ratchet up oversight on what Republicans see as “woke prosecutors” who aren’t doing enough to fight crime. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has decried the measure, claiming it’s a racist attack after voters elected 14 nonwhite district attorneys in Georgia …

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