John Oliver talks the real meaning of impeachment on Last Week Tonight

People have been talking impeachment since January 2017, but the Mueller report has made it all more real. What’s going to actually happen?

Let’s talk impeachment. Sure, you may be sick of it, but that’s just because you’ve probably heard it repeated endlessly, mindlessly, and without a proper explanation of just what, exactly, it means to impeach a President. At least Last Week Tonight and John Oliver are here to offer up a good faith effort to bring some clarity.

To be fair, impeachment isn’t a gentle stroll in the part. This is a huge decision that Congress has to make. Even with the specter of a potentially ground-shaking, nation-changing decision like that, impeachment is becoming increasingly prominent. Just don’t get too excited. Rep. Rashida Tlaib came under fire for saying “we’re going to impeach the mother f—r,” perhaps punished more for her enthusiasm and naughty language than straying from party sentiment.

Seems clear-cut, right? Except that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been dragging her heels on getting anything started. And it’s not just a case of Pelosi being an establishment Democrat who doesn’t know which way the wind is blowing. She’s got a point when she argues that most people don’t really understand impeachment.

So, what is impeachment? Is Pelosi right when she says impeachment won’t actually remove anyone from office? That’s a very real possibility. Clinton and Johnson were both impeached, but remained firmly affixed within the White House.

Impeachment begins with an investigation within the House of Representatives. If a majority finds an impeachable offense, they can vote in favor of it. The matter then moves to the Senate. If at least two-thirds of the Senate votes in favor of it, then a President may be finally, for real removed from office.

“High crimes and misdemeanours” is a broad term for serious misconduct that can lead to impeachment. Now, we’ve got considerable evidence that Trump obstructed justice. Mueller laid out ten instances in which that took place. For one example, let’s look to Don McGahn, former White House counsel.

He was quoted in the Mueller report referring to his threat to quit after Trump urged him to do, in McGahn’s words, “crazy sh-t”. Many people got all worked up over the language without focusing on the matter of McGahn’s charge. Trump told McGahn that “Mueller has to go”, then called the lawyer back asking if he had gone through with it. It was clearly serious.

Trump also reportedly tried to get McGahn to officially state that, no, of course the President wouldn’t have said something like the above statement.

Why should we care? If it weren’t for McGahn, Trump might have shut down the Mueller investigation, which would leave him practically free from scrutiny. But why hasn’t anything happened? The Mueller report has been out for months now. Yet, if you’re devoted to getting your news from conservative sources only, as a woman quoted on the show said, you won’t know that Mueller pointed out ten – again, ten – ways in which the President of the United States may have committed a deeply serious crime.

Let’s be real. Most people aren’t going to slog through the 400-plus pages of the Mueller report. That’s why public hearings are such a big deal. That’s also why missing witnesses are a big deal. Things get especially suspicious when the President has told said witnesses to ignore subpoenas. Who gains control of the public narrative in this case?

Speaking of the public, what do we collectively think of impeachment? A majority of Americans oppose impeachment proceedings. They also felt a similar way in the immediate aftermath of the Watergate scandal. In the Clinton impeachment, the public was against impeachment and in fact bolstered Democrats’ chances in the subsequent election. It could be that, in Pelosi’s view, impeachment proceedings could score a victory for Trump in 2020.

Do the risks outweigh the benefits? Trump has already stated that he is unlikely to leave in the face of impeachment. Oliver urges you to imagine the reality in which Trump humbly states that he was wrong and lets another, slightly more worthy person takes his place. Yeah, right.

Why are we talking about impeachment at all? Because it’s not as simple as Clinton or Nixon. There are a myriad of outcomes. We could uncover new aspects of Trump’s dealings. It can also establish a public precedent regarding the President’s accountability. Just think about the George Stephanopoulos interview with Trump that took place this week, in which Trump admitted that he would accept foreign intel on opponents without thinking to call the FBI.

“Give me a break,” he said. “Life doesn’t work that way.” Does it? Are we supposed to accept that this is now how our government works?

“The FBI Director is wrong,” Trump continued. Should the head of the Executive Branch, the so-called “leader of the free world”, be so dismissive of the FBI? By the way, what does Trump think of accepting the aforementioned dirt? “It’s not an interference. They have information. I think I’d take it.” That’s is foreign election interference, okay? That’s bad, in case you were wondering.

As time goes on and Trump keeps talking, the case for impeachment grows more prominent. Why try, though? Right now, with the President and his associates spewing various untruths and half-truths on the hour, it can feel pretty hopeless.

But it’s not all hopeless. Think of history for some dubiously inspiring examples. “Every asshole succeeds until finally they don’t.” Nixon had an ultra-high approval rating of 67% mere months before his impeachment. James Holzhauer wasn’t going to hang on to his Jeopardy! spot forever, no matter how he learned to play the game like a joyless robot.

This isn’t the time to look for your version of perfection, either. Even if impeachment doesn’t work out exactly how you think it should go, doesn’t mean it’s worthless. There are precedents and moral stands to consider. When the world seems mired in despair, that can make more of a difference than you think.