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Monday, December 17, 2018

The I Word

Cass Sunstein teaches law at Harvard.  He's extensively published; his books  are fascinating, and educative.  I particularly enjoyed The Second Bill of Rights (2004).

Now I've come across another of Professor Sunstein's works that I intend to tackle ASAP.  It's called Impeachment: a Citizen's Guide (2017).  Given the results of the recent midterm elections, and the effect of those results on the House of Representatives, it's certain that Democrats will conduct extensive investigations in the Committees they'll control after Jan. 3.  For instance, Jerry Nadler will chair the Judiciary Committee, Adam Schiff, Intelligence, and Maxine Waters, Financial Services.  (I'd bet Mr. Trump is writhing over that last.)  Any of these and more might eventually lead to serious consideration of impeachment for Donald Trump.

I hope to learn, from Sunstein's most recent book, exactly what high crimes and misdemeanors are.  Treason and bribery are pretty easy to get one's head around.  In any case, they're defined within the Constitution itself.  But high crimes and misdemeanors aren't, at least not in anything better than opaque fashion.

Chapter 5 in Sunstein's latest is called Interpreting the Constitution.  That's where I'll start.  I believe wholeheartedly in the need to view our foundational documents through the filter of the evolution of language (In that context, you might be interested in Garry Wills' Inventing America.)

Stay tuned.

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