Prosecutorial Judgment

A smart prosecutor doesn't bring a criminal case to trial unless there is a good chance for conviction. How guilty the defendant is believed to be is irrelevant.

Aaron Blake, blogging at The Washington Post's The Fix, quotes Rep. Paul Ryan as saying, in the context of impeachment talk:

[The Republicans’ differences with the White House do] not rise to the high crime and misdemeanor level.

I don't agree with the Ryan quote. I find the President too often a scofflaw.

On the other hand, I do agree with smart prosecutor Ryan that impeachment is off the table because there is zero chance of conviction in the present political environment. That environment could, but probably won't, change with the passage of time.