TC - what are your thoughts on this question ?
Is POTUS Constitutionally required to aid a U.S. Ambassador in peril ?
That is, not a contractor, not a soldier, but an Ambassador.
Any Constitutional scholars / military out there with experience on this question ?
High crimes and misdemeanors. This was a call as Commander in Chief. Based on the ‘fog of war’ (actually the fog of political risk), time delay, possible political fallout overseas, etc. etc., no. POTUS has to have discretion and be given the capacity to make these decisions. Doesn’t rise to a Constitutional basis for impeachment IMHO.
Certainly want this exposed so the facts come out, especially before the election but even after. Delta Force was 2 hours away and Americans were left to die? Horrible. Horrible decision and horrible President.
Impeachable offense? No.
Now, that’s the actual events.
Did someone in the administration lie under oath?
Were they instructed to lie under oath?
Obama apparently lied in speeches and to media, but that’s not a criminal offense.
If, however, in closed hearings or in any situation where sworn testimony was taken that member of the administration lied they face criminal responsibility. If the lying was ordered by a superior up the chain, the superior is responsible.
Watergate wasn’t just a break in, remember. It was the coverup that collapsed the Nixon presidency. Nixon knew after the fact and ordered various criminal acts (perjury, destruction of evidence, etc.).
We don’t know what’s gone on so far. We’ll find out...
The White House Situation Room has a list of what's called Essential Elements of Friendly Information. That's the military's acronym for it, but they would have a similar thing, a critical information list. Certain things go right to the person that's standing next to the president, both military and civilian leadership. So he would have known within minutes or it's supposed to be informed within minutes because an ambassador is a four-star equivalent, very high, very important person, you know, represents the president and essentially is the president's -- you know, is the surrogate of the president in that country. So the White House cannot deny that the president knew immediately.