Why Public Hearings?

Most of the facts are known to anyone paying attention at this point so we are now going to have a spectacle designed to sway public opinion.

I don't think many opinions will be changed related to impeachment, maybe a few, but ultimately the following scenario is almost certain.

After the hearings the House will vote articles of Impeachment.  The Senate will conduct what is likely to be a sham trial and acquit the President.  There is a very small chance that when given the opportunity enough Senators may decide to vote for conviction but I doubt that very much.

So why are we bothering?

Its much more about the election than it is actual impeachment.  The hearings will highlight the President's behavior and it is clearly inappropriate.  Is it Impeachable?  Well he will be impeached but probably not convicted, so there is no answer to that question.

Still highlighting the actions may be persuasive to certain voters.

If enough voters in certain swing states decide they have had enough of this guy and his empty promises, it will suffice.

If not, well that's a different outcome.

Televised Boredom

Watching the televised hearings was a good way to waste some time but it wasn't entertaining.

It wasn't supposed to be.

He conducted a two year investigation into election tampering by a foreign government and possible obstruction of justice.  He wrote a two volume report that detailed his investigation and findings.

The report is a pretty boring document in the tradition of almost all government reports ever written but it does represent the official findings of the investigation.

It was intended for congress to be used to determine if further action was required.

The report has been used for political purposes and in that vein they decided to make the leader of the effort testify.

He stood by his report, as he should, and didn't provide any bombshells.  In fact he was careful after a career in Government service to respond in a careful measured way.

In today's world of short attention spans and politics above all else, nether party got what they wanted, a response that would provide fodder for their election campaigns.

Some got to make little speeches, disguised as questions, but we know pretty much as much as we did before the hearings.

Some late night shows criticized the whole thing as boring, well it wasn't supposed to be entertaining.

For that you have the clown show in the white house.

Impeachment?

Today we are witnessing testimony that will almost certainly accomplish nothing.

Still it will provide some decent campaign sound bites and may get some people to realize that the report did not clear the dontard.

Sitting Presidents are generally exempt from criminal prosecutions,  They are instead subject to impeachment which replaces the criminal process.

The report details a number of activities that appear to be criminal obstruction but of course a series of facts isn't a crime until it is tried.

Whether impeachment proceedings are brought is an open question.

Whether they are is probably more a political decision than a legal one.

The house serves in a way the same way a grand jury serves, to determine if the impeachment should be filed.

However the senate than takes it on as the final decider, requiring a 2/3 majority to convict.

It isn't going to happen.

The House might go ahead and file articles of Impeachment but the Senate won't convict.

Knowing this the politics take over as to whether the process would help or hinder candidates in the next election.  There is no clear evidence of that.

These hearings may influence the public enough to sway the decision.

They may not.