I think this is right, Nick, and think I have seen lawyers comment just to this 
effect either in print or on video.

One need not have committed a criminal offense to be held to have committed a 
“high crime”.

Eric



> On Jan 19, 2021, at 1:46 PM, <[email protected]> 
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> I think of "high" crimes and misdemeanors as those that only a person of 
> lofty office can commit.  So violation of an oath of "high" office is a High 
> Crime.  I don't know if that interpretation has any basis in history.  But 
> the plain text of the constitution seems to suggest it: "...bribery and OTHER 
> high crimes and misdemeanors..."  So, I see the impeachment passage in the 
> constitution as setting out vulnerabilities of high office in addition to 
> those that ordinary citizens endure. 
>  
> n
>  
> Nick Thompson
> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
> https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/ 
> <https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwordpress.clarku.edu%2fnthompson%2f&c=E,1,oUlafNnFpVFIvOa1OXXvEVgBrc1U87aoeYYfNUIEiVN8NAwu-dBmw7m2XB_ZmAwcycgiJXIObWFz1EXn0JhOVKxTd7w0O36AaasUAIPIeVJVlw,,&typo=1&ancr_add=1>
>  
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Friam <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> On 
> Behalf Of Marcus Daniels
> Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2021 12:09 PM
> To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[email protected] 
> <mailto:[email protected]>>
> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] incitement
>  
> It would certainly hit Benjamin Franklin's assertion that impeachment was for 
> those times when the Executive "rendered himself obnoxious" or Hamilton's 
> "those offences which proceed from the misconduct of men, or in other words, 
> from the abuse or violation of some public trust. They are of a nature which 
> may with peculiar propriety be denominated POLITICAL, as they relate chiefly 
> to injuries done immediately to the society itself."
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Friam <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> On 
> Behalf Of u?l? ???
> Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2021 9:58 AM
> To: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] incitement
>  
> I suppose all 3 positions (Marcus, Eric, and Nick) argue that impeachment 
> isn't really a legal proceeding, but a democratic one ... representative 
> democracy, however far removed. I've often argued that it's reasonable that 
> lawyers be elected to Congress. The purpose of Congress is argumentation. And 
> lawyers are the closest we have to professional arguers. But, I suppose I'm 
> changing my mind about that. Congress might be legislative, but it's not 
> about arguing (at least not anymore). Their "debates" seem mostly 
> granstanding. And the "deals" that turn into legislation are done more by 
> what looks like beating the pavement ... lots of "arguing" in semi-private, I 
> guess. But not in the sense of rational debate and consideration of 
> consequences. That all happens in the courts.
>  
> So we go back to populism. It strikes me as a populist sentiment that Trump 
> is guilty of incitement (and populist sentiment that he's an "outsider" 
> "fighting the deep state"). And I'm left with the question: What's the 
> difference between democracy and populism? Yeah, I know populism is cartooned 
> as requiring a belief in the "corrupt elite". But is democracy really only a 
> well-formed populism?
>  
> If it's not the *letter* of some law that convicts or acquits Trump, then 
> what method should be used? "My noisiest constituents want me to 
> [convict|acquit]"?
>  
> On 1/19/21 8:29 AM, [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> 
> wrote:
> > I am concerned that the present article of impeachment relies on the 
> > concept of incitement, which has, I am told, a very specific and narrow 
> > definition in federal law.  Now I recognize that violation of federal law 
> > is not required for impeachment.  However, I would hope that, just to be 
> > sure, we would add the charges of “reckless disregard” during the Ellipse 
> > speech and "dereliction of duty to protect” during the later stages of the 
> > riot itself.  Neither charge requires the establishment of criminal intent. 
> >  It is as if he drove down a crowded walking street at high speed and then 
> > failed to stop to give aid when he heard a bunch of thumps on his fenders.  
> > Sure he was late for a dentist appointment; what difference does that make?
>  
> On 1/19/21 8:21 AM, David Eric Smith wrote:
> > That does raise a certain question of law, however (not goal, just method 
> > and framing).  If you don’t plan ahead for destruction because you are 
> > unconcerned whether actions you take might cause it, it seems that 
> > shouldn’t be _less_ of a wrongdoing than having incited intentionally.  
> > Since the Richie Ramirez thing appears to be back in the pop consciousness 
> > just now (I remember the evening news cycle when I was a boy and that was 
> > all going down), we can probably say there is precedent that sociopaths 
> > don’t get indemnity.
> > 
> >> On Jan 19, 2021, at 11:10 AM, Marcus Daniels <[email protected] 
> >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
> >> 
> >> That his lack of caution arises from stupidity as much as it does from 
> >> malice shouldn't give him any relief. 
>  
>  
> --
> ↙↙↙ uǝlƃ
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