Petri: Trump’s no kangaroo; so don’t try him in kangaroo court

Just because impeachment is outlined in the Constitution doesn’t mean it’s constitutional.

By Alexandra Petri / The Washington Post

Dear Congress,

ACTUALLY, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO IMPEACH THE PRESIDENT! Please cease this unconstitutional activity at once and listen to me. I know the law. I know what the Founders intended.

This is not a real impeachment inquiry. If it were a real impeachment inquiry, the president would be able to call a witness and approach the bench (he has not gotten to approach the bench ONCE) and say, “Objection, your honor!” and Mariska Hargitay would be there looking warm but stern, none of which has happened. I am definitely a lawyer, just like Denny Crane before me.

Never in history has Congress (not even a real branch of government, filled as it is with Democrats, something the Founders wouldn’t have wanted) so trampled over someone’s rights! I am appalled! Nobody has said to President Trump, “You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.” Nobody has even said he has the right to an attorney. You can tell he has not been informed of this when you look at what he has gotten instead, which is certainly not an attorney. They would need to tell him that for this to be real due process and not, as it is now, a kangaroo court. The president is not a kangaroo and cannot be tried as one, let alone by one! We are mammals, not marsupials! Are marsupials mammals? I don’t know! I’m just a lawyer. Ergo propter hoc, caveat!

Congress is taking us down a dangerous path, a path full of witches and kangaroos, and given that the president has not had the opportunity to do so, I will say I OBJECT, YOUR HONOR! YOU NEED ME ON THAT WALL!

Also furthermore and hitherto thusly, it is no longer fun for the president, and he wants to go home and have a juice box, so you need to stop.

This is not the fair process he deserves, and I will not have it. This clearly violates the Constitution, which states in Article 11 that the president possesses the absolute right to do whatever he wants (nobody talks about Article 11), that his calves are shapely like a ballet dancer’s, that his touch can cure scrofula and that the Bourbons will reign for 1,000 years.

Also, Donald Trump has been unbelievably transparent, so transparent that pigeons fly directly into him. So shut up! Maybe he should impeach you! Yes, he can! No, you shut up!

Meanwhile, Congress is acting like it has equal authority over the executive branch, as though that is in the Constitution somewhere, as though the Constitution provides for the legislative branch to act as a check or balance on the executive! MUST BE NEXT TO ALL THE PARTS ABOUT WITCHES AND KANGAROOS, HUH?

I just wish we would think more about the Founders. Donald Trump should have unchecked, absolute power, just as they intended a leader to have, so he can Refuse his Assent to Laws that are wholesome and necessary for the public good, can obstruct the laws for naturalization of foreigners, refuse to pass new laws to encourage their migrations hither, cut off our trade with all parts of the world and mark his character as a Tyrant fit to be the ruler of a Free People.

I rest my case, Your Kangaroo Honor.

Follow Alexandra Petri on Twitter @petridishes.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Monday, Jan. 13

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Participants in Northwest WA Civic Circle's discussion among city council members and state lawmakers (clockwise from left) Mountlake Terrace City Council member Dr. Steve Woodard, Stanwood Mayor Sid Roberts, Edmonds City Council member Susan Paine, Rep. April Berg, D-Mill Creek; Herald Opinion editor Jon Bauer, Mountlake Terrace City Council member Erin Murray, Edmonds City Council member Neil Tibbott, Civic Circle founder Alica Crank, and Rep. Shelly Kolba, D-Kenmore.
Editorial: State, local leaders chew on budget, policy needs

Civic Circle, a new nonprofit, invites the public into a discussion of local government needs, taxes and tools.

toon
Editorial: News media must brave chill that some threaten

And readers should stand against moves by media owners and editors to placate President-elect Trump.

FILE - The afternoon sun illuminates the Legislative Building, left, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash., Oct. 9, 2018. Three conservative-backed initiatives that would give police greater ability to pursue people in vehicles, declare a series of rights for parents of public-school students and bar an income tax were approved by the Washington state Legislature on Monday, March 4, 2024.   (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Editorial: Legislation that deserves another look in Olympia

Along with resolving budgets, state lawmakers should reconsider bills that warrant further review.

Comment: Blaming everything but climate change for wildfires

To listen to Trump and others, the disasters’ fault lies with a smelt, DEI and government space lasers.

Gessen: Film ‘Queendom’ shows performer’s transformative power

The documentary portrays a trans woman’s life, journey and protests inside Russia and out.

Comment: 5 questions Democrats must answer in 2025

The party needs to evaluate its leaders and check them against what the electorate truly supports.

FILE - Old-growth Douglas fir trees stand along the Salmon River Trail, June 25, 2004, in Mt. Hood National Forest outside Zigzag, Ore. The results in early 2023 from the government’s first-ever national inventory of mature and old-growth forests identified more than 175,000 square miles of the forests on U.S. government lands. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
Comment: The struggle over the Department of Everything Else

The Secretary of Interior leads an agency tasked with managing public lands, resources and Tribal affairs.

Orca calf’s death argues for four dams’ removal

In “Encounters with the Archdruid,” his narration of David Brower’s battles with… Continue reading

Comment: King’s call to fulfill dream still ours to heed

Join in a two-day celebration and commitment to service with events in Everett on Jan. 19 and 20.

Stephens: Among successes, much will weigh on Biden’s legacy

Illusions and deceptions, chief among them that he was up to defeating Trump, won’t serve his reputation.

Harrop: Mamas, don’t let your baby boys grow up to be sponges

There may be many reasons young men are failing to leave home. But moms may not be helping much.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.