Professor Ryan Goodman Outlines the Road to Impeachment
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 3520
League President Leah Dembitzer, Professor Ryan Goodman and Cindy DunneThe luncheon topic could not have been more timely. During the same week that House Democrats announced they would hold public hearings on the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump, the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale hosted a luncheon with an expert on the impeachment process. They invited Ryan Goodman, Professor of Law at New York University and a co-editor in chief of the website Just Security.org to discuss, “Ukraine and The Impeachment Process: What are the Strongest Arguments on Either Side? What's Next?”
Perhaps that’s the reason the event was sold out.
Introducing Goodman, League President Leah Dembitzer read the following statement from the national League of Women Voters:
The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that presidential power should be exercised within the constitutional framework of a dynamic balance between the executive and legislative branches. Accountability and responsibility to the people require that unnecessary secrecy between the President and Congress be eliminated.”
“The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that structures and practices of the U.S. Congress must be characterized by openness, accountability, representativeness, decision-making capability, and effective performance.”
Goodman’s talk highlighted what happens when the balance between the legislative and executive branch is off kilter and there is loss of accountability. He provided a timeline and an analysis of what he expects to happen in the coming weeks.
He said, “We’re going to have an impeachment vote in the House by the end of the calendar year and it will be a yea vote. It will be on a single charge – about allegations about Ukraine.”
Why limit the articles to the Ukraine issue? Goodman said, “Congressman who come from purple districts said they would vote yes on impeachment on this issue. This is an issue that the public can easily understand.”
He went on to say, “The President pressured a foreign government to intervene in our elections. The articles of impeachment will be specific to Trumps dealings with Ukraine and will include a number of options. Representatives can decide which ones to vote for.
Goodman believes the articles of impeachment will be drafted based on those brought against Richard Nixon.
The first will be abuse of power. He said, even without a quid pro quo, the mere solicitation to a foreign government to interfere in our elections, constitutes an abuse of power. Add to that the quid pro quo, which was economic aid in exchange for an investigation of Hunter Biden, constitutes a second abuse of power. In other words, Trump used the power of the office, in violation of his oath, and solicited a foreign government to act for his personal gain.
The second article of impeachment will be for contempt of Congress. These charges results from the administration’s interference with Congressional committees and the White House’s refusal to produce witnesses or documents. In fact, the White House Counsel sent a letter to Congress saying they would not engage in any form of accommodation.
The third article will be for obstruction in that the White House engaged in a plan to cover-up and conceal the evidence and to intimidate the witnesses. About the whistle blower who initially made the report about the President’s conduct, Trump said, “I want to know who’s the person who gave the whistle-blower the information because that’s close to a spy,” Mr. Trump said. “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart with spies and treason, right? We used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”
According to Goodman, “that’s intimidating witnesses.”
Though a vote to impeach needs only a majority vote to pass in the House, in the Senate, a 2/3 majority is required. That means that 20 Republican senators would need to vote in favor of impeachment.
Though it’s unlikely that so many will cross party lines, Goodman predicted that if public opinion continues to move against Trump, there is a “non-trivial” chance that the Senate could also vote to impeach.
Goodman outlined three possible outcomes of the vote in the Senate:
-Conviction
-Acquittal
-A near miss – which could make it nearly impossible for Trump to be re-elected and continue in office. Goodman said, “That’s what happened to Andrew Johnson.”
What factors might determine these outcomes?
The strength of the indictment
Goodman believes the evidence to impeach is “damning” and “has been proven to a great certainty.” He called the transcript of Trump’s phone call to the Ukrainian president, “the smoking gun.” He continued, “The text messages between the ambassadors includes the quid pro quo itself. We are holding military aid.” Furthermore, he said, “90% of the whistle blower complaint has been corroborated.”
The bi-partisan vote
The composition of the vote will also be a factor. How will the house vote? How do people who are up for re-election vote? Do Republican representatives break with their party?
The procedural fairness and irregularities of the proceedings
Goodman explained, “The White House has raised legitimate concerns. The President’s lawyers cannot call or question witnesses. The perception of the fairness is important as well. What is the public’s perception of the fairness of the proceedings?
Goodman explained that in his view, even if Trump is not convicted in the Senate, the nature and perception of the proceedings and the make-up of the vote, could leave Trump unable to govern or get re-nominated by the Republicans to run for a second term.
According to Goodman, there is a “non-trivial” chance that President Trump will be convicted in the Senate. He says, “Public opinion is important. The most recent Fox poll showed that 51% of the public favor impeachment and removal from office. This might climb – to 60% or even higher. If so, the Republicans will have a problem on their hands when they look at the electorate.
Goodman also predicted that Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, could affect the outcome of an impeachment trial. Goodman said, “many think Giuliani has great criminal exposure and is already under criminal investigation. Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman have already been indicted, and presumably the FBI has their phones and transcripts of their communications with Giuliani. Will Giuliani flip in order to arrange a plea deal?
If so, his evidence could be even more damning to his boss.
Goodman gave a concise and insightful analysis of the situation to date. With new developments every day, the only certainty is that the impeachment inquiry will continue to dominate headlines, at least through the end of the year.
Kudos to the League for bringing a scholar and an expert to town. To dig deeper on this issue, visit Goodman’s website at justsecurity.org.
Raiders Fall in Hard Fought Battle
- Details
- Written by Ray Cooper
- Hits: 3004
Sophia Franco takes a hard shot.Over the past decade, the path to the sectional championship for Scarsdale’s field hockey team has almost always run through the Mamaroneck Tigers. The 2019 season proved no different as the third seeded Raiders faced the second seeded Tigers on October 30 in a semifinal standoff. The winner would earn the right to play Horace Greeley in the finals on November 2. On a night that featured a constant drizzle, the Raiders dropped a tough 2-0 decision to the Tigers.
Felder, Novenstein and Carrol on the move.
This contest marked the rubber match for the teams this season – with each team defending their home turf successfully with one goal victories. Both teams were coming off of solid victories in the quarter finals – with Scarsdale defeating White Plains 5-1 and Mamaroneck edging Carmel 3-1. The Tigers were riding a six game winning streak – not suffering a loss or tie since their loss to the Raiders. The Raiders appeared to be improving with every game over the final few weeks.
The contest was played under the lights and both teams came out with an abundance of energy and the crowd was certainly the largest and loudest that either team came across during the season – and added to the electric atmosphere.
With three minutes gone, Sophie Carroll stole the ball and made a nice drive down the field. Mamaroneck’s goalie came way out of the crease to kick the ball away. Scarsdale controlled the ball and the tempo for almost the entire half. Carroll and fellow co-captain Liz Scarcella were flying all over the field and kept the Tiger’s big guns in check.
Co-captain Liz Scarcella races down the field with the ball.With a little over eight minutes left in the half, a Mamaroneck midfielder drew a green card – giving the Raiders a one man power play for two minutes. However, Scarsdale couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity. Scarsdale had many long shots and passes go quite long down the field – but just past the Scarsdale forwards – and out of bounds past the Tiger goal.
With just over five minutes left in the half, Mamaroneck began to put pressure on Scarsdale deep in the Scarsdale half of the field. Finally, with 2:49 left the Tigers Sophie Showers scored the lone goal of the half from the right side of the crease – beating Scarsdale goalie Angela Hoey. The half ended with the score 1-0 in favor of the Tigers
Scarsdale came out for the second half particularly charged up – and drove the ball down the field – leading to the first corner of the entire game. After a scrum in front of the Mamaroneck goal, the Tigers had a long drive and had the ball in a great position. With a little over six minutes gone in the half, Hoey made the first of several fabulous saves – plucking a ball out of the air that was heading for cage. Moments later, Hoey came up large again off of a corner - making a diving save across the goal and saving yet another sure goal. The Tigers received a corner off of the play, and converted a nice pass for a goal – making the score 2-0 with a little over 19 minutes left in the contest.
The Raiders kept fighting and nearly scored right after the goal. Co-captain Sophie Franco, who appeared to be playing with a limp in the second half, almost converted a pass into a goal – narrowly missing the cage. With only ten minutes to go, the Tigers goalie made a magnificent save off of an MJ Callahan shot. The final minutes of the game saw Scarsdale drive, and continuing to apply pressure to the Mamaroneck’s defense. Unfortunately for the Raiders, they were not able to convert on their excellent penetration and Scarsdale’s season ended as the final horn ended and the scoreboard showed a 2-0 score in the Tiger’s favor.
Looking back, the Raiders had a fantastic season – finishing with a 13-4-2 record. Senior co-captains Franco, Scarcella, and Carroll along with Andie Novenstein led the team both on and off the field admirably and represented Scarsdale quite well – and continued the legacy of a consistently strong program. Coaches Lauren Barton and Sarah Martinez, in their second season coaching the Raiders, have created a very strong culture which should carry through to the future. The Raiders will field a very strong squad in 2020 – with experienced players such as MJ Callahan, Olivia Franco, Emily Felder, Angela Hoey, Maeve Jacobson, Victoria Wilson, and Haley Matusz.
Coach Lauren Barton said the following: In our last game, the girls played with heart, poise, discipline, love for the game, respect for their teammates, opponents and referees. They left nothing on the field. The hardest part of our last game was recognizing that in fact that was our last game together as a team. Our captains and seniors were incredible role models and united the team in every capacity. As we circled up after the final whistle blew, the girls began sharing their memories of the season....from our preseason trip up to Boston, the ropes course, various games and practices, and countless team bonding events. As a team, we created great memories this season and learned lessons that the girls will hopefully take with them as they move forward.
Scarsdale Soccer Stuns Archrival Mamaroneck
- Details
- Written by Ray Cooper
- Hits: 3680
Raiders celebrate Tirabassi's goal.In a game that had broad playoff implications for both squads, the Scarsdale Raiders boy’s soccer team upset its rival Mamaroneck on Saturday October 19. Playing under the lights at its home field, the Raiders concluded its regular season with a spectacular performance against the highly touted Tigers. After battling for 80 minutes with Mamaroneck, Scarsdale pulled out a thrilling 1-0 victory.
The Tigers had recorded a 14-1 overall record going into the affair, along with a 5-0 record within the conference. A win would have sealed the number 1 playoff seed for Mamaroneck. Scarsdale’s record was 6-5-2 overall and an even 2-2-1 conference performance, and was fighting for the number 9 seed in the Conference playoffs.
The match marked the end of homecoming week at Scarsdale and was played in front of a fairly large crowd during a pleasant fall night. The teams had played at Mamaroneck on October 3, where the Tigers held on to an early 2 goal lead and escaped with a 2-1 victory.
The Raiders came out full of energy – as Head Coach Marcos Monteagudo said, “The boys came out ready and prepared.” After an early corner kick six minutes into the game, senior Patrick Artes had a nice early chance for a goal. The teams battled within the middle of the field for the next four minutes with fellow senior Estaban Rudloff controlling the ball for a fair amount of that time period. The Tigers had a tough time moving the ball early. Co-Captain Ben Rubin and Sophomore Luke Peltz helped keep the Tigers at bay.
With 11 minutes gone in the first half, Mamaroneck began an offensive of its own and controlled the ball for most of the next six minutes. Near the halfway mark of the first half, Middie Liam O’reilly took a shot that forward Matt Giraldo headed over the top of the Raider goal. Rubin then cleared the ball and the Raiders began its own possession for Scarsdale. The Raiders Alfred Mrijaj worked hard against the Tigers and Adrian Lim had a very nice dribble down the field. With nine minutes left in the half, the Tigers stole the ball and moved down the field but Peltz stopped the drive and the Raiders regained the ball. After a number of swapped possessions, the Raiders had their first great chance to score as a pass from co-captain Zachary Medvinsky to fellow senior John Dowd almost found the mark with just under five minutes to play in the half. The last three minutes of the half saw Mamaroneck almost score the first goal of the game. The first attempt saw Scarsdale Goalie Luca Schettino make a save and the rebound bounced harmlessly away from Mamaroneck. With a little over a minute to play, Mamaroneck shot a corner kick over the Scarsdale goal. The half ended in a scoreless deadlock and both teams went to their benches.
Raiders Boys Soccer team senior class and parents after ceremony.
During halftime, Scarsdale honored the Seniors on the team and their families with a ceremony near midfield. The following Seniors were noted:
Patrick Artes
Cameron Davis
John Dowd
Lukas Forsingdal
Calvin Lee
Aidan McKenna
Zachary Medvinsky
Benjamin Rubin
Esteban Rudloff
Joshua Strassberg
The second half saw the game open up – as both sides had multiple opportunities to score. With only a minute gone, the Tigers Joey Dos Santos took a shot that went over Scarsdale’s goal. The Raiders Adam Wasserman and Ben Rubin moved the ball down the field rapidly. With five minutes elapsed in the second half, The game took on a fair amount of physicality – as is common in contests between these two teams and noted by Roman Tirabassi: “anytime its Scarsdale/Mamaroneck it’s going to be a fight to the end.” Rubin was fouled quite hard by the Tigers Kevin Vasquez –who received a yellow card-- leading to a Scarsdale indirect free kick. The Raiders had the ball near the Tiger goal for the next three minutes and only a great save by Mamaroneck goalie Niclas Andersen avoided a Raider goal off of a Rubin throw in.
With slightly over ten minutes elapsed in the second half Medvinsky was creamed by the opponents, which led to a Scarsdale direct free kick. This time the Raiders converted as Tirabassi found an opportune time to notch his first goal of the season and booted a rebound past Andersen. With 11:30 gone in the half, the home crowd erupted in a roar as the Raiders found itself with a 1-0 lead.
Scarsdale's Roman Tirabassi scores the sole goal of the match.
The Tigers were far from done and attempted to penetrate the Raider defense. They continued to apply pressure and with 18 minutes left in the game almost converted a cross in front of the Scarsdale goal. This was followed by a direct free kick that missed the mark and led to a Tiger corner – which was cleared by Rubin. With 16:40 left a controversial call by a flustered referee led to another direct free kick – and Schettino made another save. The referee continued his frequent whistle blowing and gave Scarsdale’s Josh Strassberg a yellow card. The ensuing Tiger direct kick represented Mamaroneck’s best chance to score all evening and was just wide of the Raider goal. Scarsdale was left clinging to its lead with 15 minutes left in the game.
Scarsdale then took possession of the ball and Medvinsky nearly scored with a long shot that hit the post with just over ten minutes to play. The Tigers continued their assault and with 7:30 left forward Marco Kecman stole a Scarsdale pass, drove down the field, and put a beautiful cross past the Raiders goal – but no one was there for the Tigers to convert the kick.
The tension was palpable in the final minutes. With 4:30 left, Mamaroneck Kecman had a nice drive down the field – but the Raiders Mrijaj made a fabulous and clean tackle on him. With 2:30 left, Medvinsky cleared a Tiger corner – but the ball went to a Tiger player down the field. Mamaroneck, playing with urgency, had its final chance to knot the score. With 1:30 left they narrowly missed a shot to the left of the Scarsdale net. The Raiders then kept possession and cleared the ball – sealing the upset and a huge Raider win.
The timing of the win was excellent and should clearly boost the Raider confidence as the playoffs begin Thursday. Medvinsky remarked: “this felt like a playoff game,” and Monteagudo said: “this propels us and we feel good about ourselves…anytime you can beat a team of their caliber it’s great.” Tirabassi added: “this gives us momentum and shows we can compete with any team in the section.”
Photos by Pam Rubin and Ray Cooper.
Team captains Calvin Lee, Ben Rubin and Zach Medvinsky
Raiders Field Hockey Team Routs Ossining in First Round of Playoffs and White Plains in Second Round
- Details
- Written by Ray Cooper
- Hits: 3466
Sophia Franco, Sophie Carroll, and Haley Matusz surround the Pride's goal early. The “second season” for Scarsdale’s field hockey team began in splendid fashion as the Raiders took on the Ossining Pride on October 23rd in a first round conference sectional under the lights at Butler Field. Donning its home white uniform on a brisk autumn night, the Raiders controlled the tempo and the ball for almost all of the contest. The Raiders came prepared as coach Lauren Barton said, “we worked on every aspect of our game as our record is 0-0 going into the playoffs”. This was evident as Scarsdale featured an all-around effort against the Pride as both the offense and defense looked strong and dominated the Pride 6-1.
Scarsdale entered the match with an 11-3-2 overall record and a conference record of 3-1 – which earned them the 3 seed in the playoffs, while Ossining was 6-8-1 overall during the regular season and 0-3-1 in conference play.
The Raiders began the affair with the ball and immediately went to work moving the ball down field. With only 1:30 gone in the contest, Scarsdale was awarded a corner. The ball remained deep in Ossining territory for the next few minutes. At the five minute mark of the half, co-captain Liz Scarcella sent a cross by the Ossining goal that nearly led to an early score. 30 seconds and 2 corners later, the Raiders commenced their scoring parade with Haley Matusz banging in a rebound off an assist by Sophie Carroll.
Raider defense patrolling midfield.Scarsdale took control of the ball quickly after the goal and Emily Felder drove with the ball down the field. One minute later, co-captains Sophie Carroll and Sophia Franco connected for the Raiders second goal as Franco lifted the ball beautifully over the leaping Pride goalie and Carroll had her second assist of the game. Scarsdale stood with a 2-0 lead with only seven minutes elapsed in the affair. Of note, the Raiders were quite sharp on corners all night – turning an early season area of concern into a strength. Coach Barton commented that “this game gave us an opportunity to try out our corners – it was very helpful.”
The assault on the Pride’s defense and goal continued, and a short minute plus later Scarsdale struck again – making the score 3-0 - with another corner leading to Matusz’s second goal of the match off an assist from Andie Novenstein.
The Raiders continued to control the action for the next few minutes. After a nice stop by a Pride defenseman with 18 minutes left in the half, Ossining had its sole offensive moment of the evening – penetrating the Scarsdale half of the field and earning its first corner. The Corner went to Ossining’s Lily Barossi at very edge of the circle – who took a very long shot that beat Scarsdale goalie Angela Hoey.
The Raiders then controlled the ball for the remainder of the half. Several great saves by Ossining goalie Kylee Taxiera, held the swarm of Scarsdale players at bay for several more minutes. The Scarsdale offense was relentless while the midfielders did not allow the ball onto the Raider side of the field. At last, Taxiera could not contain the Raiders anymore and with five minutes left, Carroll scored with an assist from Scarcella. After several more Scarsdale drives, the half ended with the Raiders firmly in control 4-1.
The second half featured more of the same – as the Raiders were in complete control. Novenstein, Felder, Olivia Franco, Scarcella, and Defensemen Victoria Wilson, Maeve Jacobson, and MJ Callahan were solid in keeping the ball in the Pride’s half of the field. Coach Barton inserted Freshmen Riley Iasiello and Mackenzie Mauro – giving them valuable playoff experience.
Matusz finalizing her hat trick.With just under seven minutes left Matusz, off Scarcella’s second assist of the night, found the back of the Pride goal again – knotting a hat trick for the Attacker – and putting a bow on top of an enormous effort. Matusz is coming off a very strong sophomore season and has provided an important presence on offense all year. When asked about the team’s intensity during the playoffs she said, “we play every playoff game like it’s against (archrival) Mamaroneck.” The remainder of the game saw Scarsdale control the ball, and, with 35 seconds left in the game, Scarcella raced with the ball down the field and joined the goal party with only ten seconds remaining – ending the scoring and the contest with Scarsdale on top with a convincing 6-1 victory.
Scarsdale vs. White Plains
Scarsdale moved to the second round of the playoffs – defending its home field against White Plains on Saturday, October 26 at 2 pm. When asked about the White Plains team, Coach Barton said, “they are a strong team with a handful of strong players and goalie who played very well against us last year. The Raiders will enter the game with much momentum as Carroll added, “we are very confident in how we are playing.”
Led by its trio of Senior Captains, Scarsdale dominated its second round playoff game against neighboring White Plains 5-1.
Liz Scarcella and Sophia Franco tallied two goals apiece and Sophie Carroll added one while Carroll had two assists and Scarcella notched one.
The Raiders were in charge for the entire contest - defensemen Emily Felder, Olivia Franco, and Maeve Jacobson held the Tigers away from Scarsdale’s goal and helped keep the pressure on White Plains.
Scarcella noted the teams improvement over the season to this point by saying “ we play better and better in every practice and every game through our hard work.” Carroll expressed the urgency with the teams pace of play when she said that the team “didn’t want our season to end.”
Goalie Angela Hoey dives for a save.Carroll also gave a perspective on the team’s approach by saying “ we play smart and move the ball around quickly”.
Coach Lauren Barton reflected on the season to date and her feelings - “ I feel so proud of this team .... the captains really unified us and they all look out for one another.
Scarsdale takes on its perennial arch-rival Mamaroneck in the Semi-finals on Wednesday October 30 on the road. The teams each took a one goal victory at their home fields during the regular season - with the Raiders prevailing in the last contest.
The team’s success was reflected in Barton’s post game comments regarding her teams chances vs. the Tigers exhibited confidence in her team by saying “when we play our game we will be successful .... we tend to play up to the level of our competition.”
Franco scores one of her two goals.
Scarsdale 2, New Rochelle, 3 in Tight Soccer Match on October 11
- Details
- Written by Anna Cho
- Hits: 3078
Sophomore Cian Battiwalla playing against adversaries from New Rochelle. The Raiders Boys Varsity Soccer team lost 2-3 in a very tight match on Friday October 11 against New Rochelle High School. Scarsdale was tied 2-2, until a score was kicked by New Rochelle during overtime. Going into the game, the players though about “which players were good and which ones to mark, and their tendencies so we can work around what we know about them,” said junior Cooper Cohen since Scarsdale played New Rochelle earlier in the season. Unfortunately, the boys struggled to, “score and to put them away which allowed New Rochelle to stay in the game,” said senior Captain Zach Medvinsky.
Senior Captain Zach Medvinsky kicking against New RochelleThroughout the ups and downs of the game the boys made sure to support one another. All of the players, “try and motivate each other on the field and during halftime. By working hard on the field, we help the other players around us play better,” explained Cohn. Despite this loss, these athletes have had a pretty good season, defeating Mount Vernon 4-0 the next day. Medvinsky believes, “We can beat anyone in the section.” The entire team has been building towards playoffs, and are ready to take on big rival, Mamaroneck, on Saturday October 19. Don’t miss their next game this Saturday against Mamaroneck at 6:00 pm at Scarsdale High School.
Patrick Artes, Cian Battiwalla, Cooper Cohen, Cameron Davis, John Dowd, Lukas Forsingdal, Eli Gledblum, Katcher Adam, Calvin Lee (Captain), Adrian Lim, Aidan McKenna, Zachary Medvinsky (Captain), Luke Peltz, Jack Porter, Benjamin Rubin (Captain), Estaban Rudolff, Luca Schettino, Joshua Stressberg, Rafael Tassari, Roamn Tirabassi, Adam Wasserman, and Michael Waxman
Junior Adam Wasserman playing against New Rochelle.
Photos and text by Anna Cho.
