3 ms·

If the agent is known to be an agent, Congress can quickly impeach him. During an election, all parties are highly incentivized to find dirt on the others, whi

If the agent is known to be an agent, Congress can quickly impeach him. During an election, all parties are highly incentivized to find dirt on the others, which helps increase the likelihood of discovery. No system is perfect, but directly voting in an agent is generally unlikely.

freehunter 8y ago
But that only works if Congress has an incentive to vote to impeach. If we're in a hypothetical situation where we know the president to be a foreign agent, assuming that people in Congress are not similarly compromised, at the very least they are members of the same political party as the president. Impeaching one of their own would have political consequences, and Trump's approval rating still shows a pretty decent base who like him. It would be basically political suicide for any Republican to vote to impeach because many Americans don't believe Trump is an agent, don't believe he did anything wrong, and still agree with his policies and agenda. Congress has the ability to impeach, but not the will.
dragonwriter 8y ago
> If the agent is known to be an agent, Congress can quickly impeach him. Of course, for members of his party concerned about the danger such public knowledge would do to their own personal political position and their party, the incentive if they know he is a foreign agent is to actively blur and distract from the issue to prevent the public from getting a clear understanding. EDIT: This might result, say, in the bizarre spectacle of Congress members and of that party continuously attacking the credibility of individuals and institutions which have traditionally favored (or who are members of) that party simply because they are faithfully pursuing (or insufficiently sabotaging) an investigation of the operation in which the President is involved.

3 ms·

If the agent is known to be an agent, Congress can quickly impeach him. During an election, all parties are highly incentivized to find dirt on the others, whi

by dwheeler 8y ago

freehunter 8y ago
But that only works if Congress has an incentive to vote to impeach. If we're in a hypothetical situation where we know the president to be a foreign agent, assuming that people in Congress are not similarly compromised, at the very least they are members of the same political party as the president. Impeaching one of their own would have political consequences, and Trump's approval rating still shows a pretty decent base who like him. It would be basically political suicide for any Republican to vote to impeach because many Americans don't believe Trump is an agent, don't believe he did anything wrong, and still agree with his policies and agenda. Congress has the ability to impeach, but not the will.
dragonwriter 8y ago
> If the agent is known to be an agent, Congress can quickly impeach him. Of course, for members of his party concerned about the danger such public knowledge would do to their own personal political position and their party, the incentive if they know he is a foreign agent is to actively blur and distract from the issue to prevent the public from getting a clear understanding. EDIT: This might result, say, in the bizarre spectacle of Congress members and of that party continuously attacking the credibility of individuals and institutions which have traditionally favored (or who are members of) that party simply because they are faithfully pursuing (or insufficiently sabotaging) an investigation of the operation in which the President is involved.