19
To the extent that one needs prior fame to become president, and since fame brings money in the modern world, be it through books or speaker fees, the answer is that it's unlikely a pauper could become president. The way Sanders became a millionaire is insightful in this respect.
19
According to the rules of both the Senate and House of Representatives, committee hearings may be held behind closed doors when they involve matters that could endanger national security, harm an ongoing investigation, cause a deep invasion of an individual's privacy, and a variety of other situations along those lines.
Presumably, the hearings on Ukraine ...
13
It depends how you define "foreign interference" (but also no)
If you are using this term to mean any non-citizen having any impact on the result of an election, then yes, this is clearly foreign interference.
If, however, you are using something more akin to Wikipedia's definition of Foreign electoral intervention as "attempts by governments, covertly or ...
8
So as not to allow witnesses to coordinate testimony. Furthermore, the reasoning seems to be that this is an initial investigation and it's being compared to a grand jury investigation and special counsel investigations which have preceded previous presidential impeachments. Those generally start with some form of closed doors testimony and investigation.
...
8
Historically speaking, the answer is no:
The 33rd president (ref. to Harry S. Truman) of the United States of
America spent most of his life in financial turmoil. He had a modest
upbringing, and years of bad investments and poorly performing
businesses (..) kept him in debt
However, moving to more recent times, it seems that the answer is yes:
...
7
In theory, one could use relatively modest amounts of money to run for the city council, use good work to become better known, organize donors to run for the state House or Senate, use good work to become better known, organize donors to run for the Federal level, and so on.
Of course the political hopeful will no longer be "poor" by the time he or she ...
6
If the meeting was recorded on film (I've seen still pictures only, but it implies someone is watching from a camera) it will likely be on CSPAN's website. C-SPAN provides un-moderated coverage of congress and other events related to the U.S. Federal Government (and the U.K. Canada, and Australian governments). This means the footage of the meeting can be ...
6
Pence and Pompeo haven’t achieved anything that wasn’t already in the making. Erdogan knew he had a limited number of days to complete his military action as, at least on paper, he was making himself an enemy of everyone. So, time was of essence. Pence’s and Pompeo’s visit was just a PR action for the White House that can now claim they haven’t let down the ...
5
Most anti-war politicians have not, because the withdrawal from Syria does not really represent a real withdrawal or a significant decrease in American military presence in the Middle East.
As the AP reports (thanks to @Fizz for pointing this out), Defense Secretary Mark Esper has announced that the troops being withdrawn from Syria won't be coming home to ...
4
This would obviously not fall under "high crimes and misdemeanors," so adding it would weaken the case that there are actual crimes.
Of course impeachment is a political process, with a trial in front of the Senate rather than judges, but it is not supposed to be used simply because a majority in the House disagrees with the President.
4
Vox published an explainer on Warren's trade policy when she released her plans:
President Trump’s pitch to white working-class voters has involved plenty of culture war politics, but also a striking break with the free trade policies adhered to by most Republicans over the past generation. [...]
Warren’s plan is a rejection of that legacy, but also ...
4
The purpose of the hearings should not be to produce bombshell soundbites edited out of context, or to allow the various representatives to grandstand.
They should be about gathering information in an orderly fashion. A number of issues may affect national security. They are asking former ambassadors about dealings with foreign governments, among other ...
4
Did any anti-war politicians commend Trump for removing US troops from Syria?
Yes, Senator Rand Paul did.
Iraq. Afghanistan. Now Syria. We hear that our presence could be needed for decades. To what end? What do we hope happens during that time? I, for one, don’t see what our national interest is in policing the Middle East and nation-building. ...
4
It is highly likely the tariffs will remain in place.
The press release specifically calls out four countries that the US says is behind most of the illegal state subsidies that triggered the tariffs: France, Germany, Spain, and the UK. While it does not specifically mention the issue of Brexit, the fact that the UK is specifically called out in this way ...
3
Why do US presidents play golf?
It varies, somewhat.
When Presidents Play Golf, JUN 18, 2011.
Obama is the 17th president to golf since William McKinley made the first presidential putt in 1897. In the 114 years since, Teddy Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, and Jimmy Carter were the only nongolfing presidents.
...
Nixon clearly was the ...
3
This isn't a good question because stamping out corruption in an ally (of sorts) is generally desirable. Even more desirable if you fund a major part of the international financial bailout system, like the IMF. Corrupt countries tend to be money sinks.
Of course one can take the ultra-cynical view that keeping a country corrupt and dependent on IMF bailouts ...
3
The spirit of the Double Jeopardy Clause would seem to be violated if: (1) a president was alleged to have committed a "high crime or misdemeanor;" (2) was impeached by a majority Democratic House; (3) the impeachment failed to gain enough votes in a majority Republican Senate; and (3) afterwards, the president was impeached again, by the same House and on ...
3
Economic policy is a huge area. I don't know if you can get a succinct answer on the whole lot.
This Marketwatch article for example, implies that there are significant differences, but doesn't provide any solid details on those differences.
A potential 2020 election showdown between President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren would ...
3
The answer turns out to be yes and no. Plans are, in general, not addressed at people in poverty, but at specific situations.
Furthermore, plans do not specifically address "climate change", seeing as that is a somewhat political term, but address specific changes to the landscape. Whether or not these changes are caused by climate change is basically left ...
3
Those agreements standardized drivers license among other things.
The federal government lacks the power to regulate drivers licenses.
The 1949 agreement was for international driving permits, 68 had domestic permits.
3
Why don't the US Democrats add the withdrawal from Syria to President Trump's impeachment charges?
Article II, Section 2
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; ...
The president, as Commander in Chief, is ...
2
She posted a long policy statement/vision on Medium
Two things that stand out [to me], which haven't been emphasized in the other answers:
unlike Trump, while I think tariffs are an important tool, they are not by themselves a long-term solution to our failed trade agenda and must be part of a broader strategy that this Administration clearly lacks. [...]...
2
A post scarcity society is a pretty common trope in science fiction. This isn't usually depicted as a problem unless you're living in a dystopia that doesn't distribute those available resources equitably.
If rises in productivity is because of capital goods (which would include both software and hardware automating work previously done by people), the ...
2
Has Pence essentially granted Kurdish Syrian territory to Turkey, subject to Russian approval?
How can the USA grant something that isn't theirs to give?
It's Syrian territory - Syria and Russia have the final say in this.
Note that the five day cease fire allows Syrian troops to enter the area. If anything at all, this cease fire allows Syria to oppose ...
2
Historically, the richest president (adjusted for inflation) is Donald Trump (multi-millionaire to multi-billionaire depending on who is doing accounting) and the second richest was President was George Washington, which means that historically almost every President was not all that wealthy (comparatively) and many were rather poor (Abraham Lincoln and U.S. ...
2
This is not a direct approval of Obama's withdrawal decision, but in 2014 Paul blamed the Iraq War more than Obama for Isis:
“What’s going on now -- I don’t blame on President Obama,” Paul said in an interview with NBC’s David Gregory to air on “Meet the Press” Sunday. “Has he really got the solution? Maybe there is no solution. But I do blame the Iraq ...
1
Andrew Johnson was born into a poor family, but later became a successful tailor.
1
The most ardent and outspoken anti-war member in Congress; Senator Rand Paul (Senate Foreign Relations Committee) commended Trump for this move. Here is a relevant USA Today article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/10/16/donald-trump-right-leave-syria-rand-paul-editorials-debates/4003497002/ ...
1
As others have said, Impeachment is not a criminal matter, but it's important to align what stage in the Criminal Justice System the matter aligns with and where Double Jeopardy would apply. But first, let's get the simplest answer out of the way.
Double Jeopardy usually applies only in criminal matters and only then at the trial stage (Once the Jury is ...
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