Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Republican Is Trying to Oust House Democrat Who Would Oversee Trump's Impeachment Accusing Him of 'Coup Attempt'

Republican Is Trying to Oust House Democrat Who Would Oversee Trump's Impeachment Accusing Him of 'Coup Attempt'
National Archives

Good luck with that.

The term coup is not one that has applied in the United States since the Revolutionary War period. While the US history books may refer to the creation of the USA as a revolution, the British Empire could have called it a coup.

There was no legal method of removing the British from power in the colonial era and the word coup means:


"a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government"

And therein lies the sticking point for a recent accusation by Republican Representative Lance Gooden of Texas against Chair of the House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler of New York. Gooden claims Democrat Nadler is attempting a coup and must be stopped.

On Tuesday, GOP member Gooden introduced a measure to remove Jerry Nadler as the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee.

Gooden's measure states:

"By law, he may not launch impeachment proceedings until the full House votes for him to do so. This attempted coup against a duly-elected, sitting president is unprecedented and must be stopped."
"I urge the Majority to move immediately to have him stripped of his chairmanship and that any accomplices on the Judiciary Committee not be considered as a replacement."

While Trump supporters have bandied the word coup about for some time in regards to the many investigations into the now dissolved Trump Foundation charity, Trump University, impropriety by since resigned members of the Trump administration, indicted and convicted Trump campaign members and foreign interference in the 2016 election, do they have a valid case.

As defined, Nadler's Judiciary Committee inquiries into more potential impropriety by the Trump administration—obstruction of justice this time—falls far short of the definition of a coup. While not all coups are violent, they are sudden—the last two plus years fails to be a sudden occurrence—and illegal.

It is the question of legality upon which Gooden rests his hopes to remove Nadler. Freshman Representative Gooden—a University of Austin graduate with a BA in government—is putting his knowledge of constitutional law up against Jerry Nadler, a graduate of Columbia University with a law degree from Fordham University and 42 years experience in state and federal government, including during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.

As with GOP outcry over the Justice Department's duly appointed Special Counsel, dislike of the law or provisions of the US Constitution does not nullify either. As many times as President Trump and his supporters claimed investigations into the proven interference and other crimes by Russian assets and members of the Trump campaign were illegal or a witch hunt, legally and constitutionally they were not.

Just as the House Judiciary Committee investigating possible obstruction of justice to see if an impeachment is warranted is neither a coup or an actual impeachment.

For the question of country over party, or even party over President Trump, people felt Gooden's devotion lay solely with the President.

@girlsreallyrule/Twitter

Many called on Texans to remove Gooden instead.

While one person had advice for what might work better than Gooden's measure to remove Nadler for a coup.

While the GOP minority in the House supported Gooden's measure, the Democratic majority held a meeting at 4:00pm Tuesday to decide how to proceed based on the recent congressional hearings as well as new information about the President pressuring a foreign government to help him gain an advantage over a political rival. It was announced a formal impeachment inquiry would commence.

The book Impeachment: An American History is available here.

*****

Listen to the first season of George Takei's podcast, 'Oh Myyy Pod!' where we explore the racially charged videos that have taken the internet by storm.

Be sure to subscribe here and never miss an episode.

More from News

Screenshot of Stephen Colbert
CBS

Stephen Colbert Makes Somber Plea To Americans In Wake Of Charlie Kirk's Death

Late-night host Stephen Colbert had a somber message for Americans as he addressed the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk, stressing that "political violence only leads to more political violence."

Kirk died after an unidentified gunman shot him in the neck as he—ironically enough—mocked victims of gun violence at an event in Utah Valley State University. Kirk's murder has galvanized the far-right, with President Donald Trump and his surrogates claiming without evidence that rhetoric from Democrats is responsible for Kirk's death.

Keep ReadingShow less
a woman sunbathing on rocks.
a person sitting on a towel on a beach
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

People Share The Weirdest Flexes They Heard Someone Say With A Straight Face

It is never attractive to gloat.

Even so, some people can't help but brag, or "flex" as it is sometimes known, about certain accomplishments or attributes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @thedowntheredoc's TikTok video
@thedowntheredoc/TikTok

TikToker Hilariously Calls Out Target After Champion Pants Feature Awkwardly-Placed Front Pleat

Sometimes you can just tell when something was designed *for* women, but was not actually designed *by* women.

Take, for instance, the new pleated pants available at Target from the Champion clothing line. While there's nothing wrong with pleated pants and they certainly have a suitable spot in the workplace, the latest rendition of Champion pleated pants are, shall we say, NSFW.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @kaicutch's Instagram video
@kaicutch/Instagram

Woman Flips Her Car After Belting Out Ironic Britney Spears Lyric In Wild Viral Video

Whether we want to admit it or not, we've all had our fair share of carpool karaoke and maybe even imagined our car as our own personal recording studio.

But TikToker and Instagrammer Kaitlynn McCutcheon may have gotten too into her performance of Britney Spears' classic, "Hit Me Baby, One More Time," when the road and her car both said, "Bet."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from ​@lynnshazeen's TikTok video
@lynnshazeen/TikTok

Woman Goes Viral After Revealing How Her Obsession With Matcha Landed Her In The Hospital

Let's be honest: Too much of anything isn't good for us. It's all about the balance!

But the media and social media trends have taught us that certain things are really good for us, encouraging us to be like the "very mindful and very demure" girls and take care of ourselves. One such example is drinking more matcha, especially if you really like coffee or think you have a caffeine addiction.

Keep ReadingShow less