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The ‘Dear Colleague’ Impeachment
Looking at the rules and procedures the Democrats have proposed for the running of their impeachment efforts, one is reminded that its various features are very similar to another set of adjudication processes designed, implemented, and vigorously promoted by progressives as affirmatively better than what is required by the Bill of Rights.
I’m referring to the Title IX compliance requirements Obama’s Department of Education established for the nation’s colleges and universities via its infamous 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter for adjudicating allegations of sexual misconduct.
As the Obama Administration had every right to expect, the overwhelmingly left-wing administrator corps of the nation’s institutions of higher learning leaped joyously to obey.
They immediately established adjudication procedures that featured some, or all, of the following;
- the accused has no right to counsel, and in some colleges is affirmatively barred from having counsel present.
- the accused is not informed of the specific charges against him or the identity of his accuser until the trial or just before.
- the accused is not allowed to question the accuser or directly challenge the accuser’s testimony.
- the accused’s questions, witnesses and evidence must be preapproved by the accuser’s advocate or counsel.
- the accused is not allowed to question the accuser’s witnesses or directly challenge their testimony.
- the accused is not allowed to see or hear the testimony or examine the evidence against him.
- the accused is not allowed to present witnesses to testify on his behalf or present evidence in his favor.
- the accused is not allowed to have access to any transcripts or records of the proceedings.
- the same official serves as prosecutor, judge, jury – and/or also counsel for the accuser.
- the accuser can alter her testimony (including changing dates and locations), even after the accused has presented a defense.
- the accused can be barred from attending hearings on his case.
- the accused has no presumption of innocence and may be required to disprove his guilt.
Now, let’s look at the impeachment inquiry being run by Adam Schiff and supported by nearly 100 percent of the Democrats in Congress.
- Secret accusers
- Secret testimony
- Secret evidence
- Secret hearings
- Secret transcripts
- Prosecutor (Adam Schiff) has veto power over questions, witnesses and evidence by advocates for the accused.
- No counsel for the accused.
- Prosecutor also acts as judge – deciding what is admissable and what is not.
And to make matters worse, just like they did with the Obama administration’s destruction of due process rights for accused students, the principal cheerleaders for this travesty are the very same people who proclaim themselves to be the first guardians of Americans’ civil liberties – the Press.
This is scary stuff.
One of the reasons I decided that Trump would get my vote in 2016 was the absolute terror that even more of the folks who came up with the “Dear Colleague” letter, and their willing allies from academia will get their hands on the levers of power if Hillary was ever sworn in as president. I feared that we only saw a mild preview of what a “social justice”-driven president can do with Obama.
The National Lawyers Guild is already on board with these very same “Dear Colleague” rules to go off-campus and be applied in real criminal courts. And there are at least three Supreme Court Justices who would rule trials under these rules to be in keeping with the Constitution.
If anything, it should now be very clear that the removal of civil liberties and due process protections from disfavored individuals and groups is a feature, not a bug, of any system of adjudication favored by the left.
If they can do this to a sitting President of the United States, imagine what they can do to you.
Published in Politics
Hey, at least they’re checking off all the boxes towards bad governance.
Exactly, exactly, exactly.
The only positive from that so far is that when men fight their colleges in court, they win.
But the process is the punishment. Keeps the Trial Lawyers happy, and cycles money back to the Demoncrat Party.
Lots of bad stuff on that list but this one sounds the worse to me.
I think the White House and GOP will have to go directly to the public with evidence that Schiff will try to ignore.
I think the White House and GOP will have to go directly to the public with evidence that Schiff will try to ignore.
Ah, yes! That would be…Twitter. Maybe there is an excellent reason for the President’s Twitter presence.
Agreed. Except… they have been doing it to “us”, for a while now.
Martin,
This is a very solid post. Linking what’s happening now back to that Obama “Dear Colleague” letter is absolutely correct. If I would flesh it out a little I’d mention a few extras. You start with a deconstructionist extreme nihilism that becomes popular in the 1990s. Then you more forward into a Marxist inspired historical narrative that starts infiltrating everything. Then you contort every issue around intersectionalist victim mongering. Now you’ve got everyone and everything so confused that you can simply throw due process into the waste basket and present a legal procedure that Lavrentiy Beria would be comfortable with.
The kind of institutional ideological evil that we are seeing perpetrated can take its time. It aims to corrupt and undermine. It is happy to stay in the shadows where its evil intent isn’t noticed. Then when ready it strikes like a poisonous snake.
Regards,
Jim
If I were Devin Nunes, I’d look for and hire 3 people with echoic memories (Ted Cruz apparently has this gift) and make them my aides. Their sole job would be to sit in on the charade, record everything in their heads and transcribe it all immediately afterwards.
I keep struggling with our Republican Representatives. They come out to face the press with their heads hanging and their faces sorrowful. ‘it’s terrible the way they won’t allow us any witnesses or even to repeat publicly what their witnesses said.’ Time after time our guys keep saying this, while I am yelling at the TV, “What are the Dems going to do to stop you? If they can leak, so can you. Stop crying and start leaking!”
Simply a great post.
These rules are rules designed to intimidate into submission those in the populace that do not fully comply and agree in all respects with all the Ruling Government diktats. These rules are nothing short of the opening act on the way to a harsh Authoritarian dictatorship which of course our Marxist Democrat and Never Trumper friends longingly desire.