US Person was attending summer school at the University of London when the Nixon impeachment hearings were broadcast by British television. The event is vivid in his memory; so, it was oddly familiar to see John Dean, former White House Counsel, testifying to the House Judiciary Committee again, forty-six years later. His attractive wife, 'Mo' was not there for moral support, and Dean is older (80), but definitely a lot wiser. A clever stroke of irony having Dean testify as an expert on Nixon's obstruction: the similarities between Nixon's cover-up and the Duck's are striking, and were thoroughly elaborated upon by Dean. "What was the Saturday Night Massacre" had to be asked to US Person's amusement; two whole generations have to be schooled. Chairman Nadler definitely laid the public relations groundwork for more investigation beyond the cryptographic confines of Mueller's bureaucratic tour de force. This time the opposition is much more entrenched and hostile. Hostile committee members did not miss a chance to remind Dean he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for his part in Nixon's cover-up.
So far there is no smoking gun--the secret Nixon tapes--with which to bring Repugnants to their senses. If it is out there, the House committees will find it, even if the Speaker continues to tie their hands out of political convenience. If an inquiry is begun in committee the whole House will still have a floor vote on the issue. CYA for "nervous nellie" Democrats would then be opportune. Anti-impeachment Democrats are simply using their oversight strategy as a way to dodge the impeachment bullet. As one pro-impeachment Congressman put it, “I think Chairman Nadler has done a very good job, particularly considering the parameters under which he has to work. There are quite a few.”* Such as crashing a helicopter on top of a New York skyscraper? It made the news ahead of Mr. Dean's testimony. The distraction, if that was what it was, cost the pilot his life. At least Nancy recognizes that Don Veto is the "distracter in chief".
A factor in the latest Swampington TV drama is glaringly different, and makes the current impeachable offenses more serious, if that is possible. Both coverups were motivated by a President committed to accumulating more power than what is constitutionally permitted. Nixon abused his office by domestic spying on his political enemies. The Duck aided and abetted a foreign adversary's agit-prop campaign to accomplish the same. This time, national security is clearly compromised. Any attempt to twist the FBI's initiation of a counter-espionage investigation into a treacherous 'deep state' conspiracy is pure partisan lunacy intended to destroy the legitimacy of House impeachment proceedings. The FBI began Operation Crossfire Hurricane after their Australian counterparts informed the US that George Pappadopolous, a campaign aide, told an Australian official in London that the Russians had 'dirt' on Hillary Clinton. The investigation's genesis had nothing to do with the Steele Dossier, which partisans would have you believe. Impeachment now!
*Mr. Nadler and other committee chairs got another tool to use in their investigation of all things Trumpian. By party line vote, the House rules were changed to allow committee chairs to pursue judicial enforcement of their subpoenas without first seeking a floor vote for permission to litigate. Two potential witnesses who defied subpoenas, William Barr and Don McGhan were mentioned in the bill by name. Mr. Nadler has received grudging cooperation from the DOJ to turn over some unspecified background materials to the Mueller road map very recently. It is not clear if Mr. Nadler had to agree to not hold the Attorney General in contempt as a quid pro quo for the documents. At least 56 rank-and-file lawmakers are backing impeachment, according to a tally kept by The Hill, and Speaker Pelosi is under growing pressure to show that her preferred strategy of aggressive investigations is getting results. Former majority leader Harry Reid said impeachment hearings are "the right thing to do." US Person agrees. If Bill Clinton was helped by his impeachment acquittal, it was because the public could see for themselves the charges were inflated by extreme partisanship. The Democrats are missing the boat, again.