When Massie’s articles of impeachment against Peter Hegseth got procedurally killed yesterday it was a good thing. It was good for several reasons which I’ll cover, but it was also the procedurally right thing to do.
The bill got killed upon a successful referral to committee, but that committee is Republican controlled, so any investigation of the charges, debate, or decisions on whether to bring it to a full vote on the floor were in their hands, something we would not want if we were really attempting to impeach Hegseth.
Democrats should wait until January for multiple reasons, first among them being that the charges are in no way complete. While the charges cover many of Hegseth’s criminal acts, belligerent abuse of sovereignty, and other abuses of power, they are lacking many articles that must be included.
I’m sure you can think of a few, but lets’ start with the abusive misogyny demonstrated by the promotions that Hegseth scuttled that diminished our military’s ability to recruit able and willing candidates.
He also destroyed the futures of black candidates, illegally removed transgender troops from service, attacked black men who have beards, assaulted civil rights with intrusive Testosterone level checks, and destroyed the service’s appeal to whole segments of our society, who are all as willing and able to serve as anyone else when it comes to defending this country.
It’s necessary and important to include full articles for all of the criminal abuses of powers and civil rights committed so that no future Secretary of Defense ever again attempts the same things.
So it’s better that the Hegseth impeachment be fully detailed, and sent to a Democratic controlled house judiciary and/or rules committee come January. Please join with me in calling for that to happen.
Also, here’s a good reference for that process with a visual aid for the house and senate steps and responsibilities for that process.
https://ballotpedia.org/Impeachment_of_federal_officials
Cross posted to Little Green Footballs Page
