Iran's parliament impeached Economy Minister Masoud Karbasian on Sunday in the latest blow to embattled President Hassan Rouhani as he struggles to face down a mounting economic crisis.

Karbasian is the second cabinet minister to be sacked this month, following the impeachment of Labour Minister Ali Rabiei on August 8.

He lost a vote of confidence, which was carried live on state radio, by 137 votes to 121, with two abstentions.

The outcome sees him stripped of his post with immediate effect, leaving Rouhani to pick a replacement.

Critics say the government squandered the opportunities presented by the 2015 nuclear deal and have failed to tackle high rates of inflation and joblessness.</s>I wrote here about the Democratic Party’s impeachment hysteria. 222 mentions of impeachment in 18 hours on CNN and MSNBC! Only problem is, President Trump isn’t going to be evicted from the White House via impeachment. If the Democrats go to the mat with him, he will win. And if they think he will be cowed or chastened by a Democratic vote in the House they haven’t been paying attention. So it doesn’t seem like a great strategy.

Michael Ramirez puts this thought in the form of a cartoon that appeared too late for inclusion in The Week In Pictures. So here it is; click to enlarge:</s>Iran's parliament has voted to sack the finance minister, dealing another blow to President Hassan Rouhani as he faces mounting discontent over the economy.

Critics of the ousted finance minister, Masoud Karbasian, said the government had failed to do enough to shore up the economy as President Donald Trump began restoring sanctions after withdrawing the United States from Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says 137 out of 260 lawmakers present voted against Karbasian on Sunday. Earlier this month, lawmakers dismissed Rouhani's labor minister, Ali Rabiei, on similar grounds.

Iran has struggled with high rates of inflation and joblessness for years, despite a slight improvement following the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which lifted international sanctions and saw a flood of foreign investors.

Critics of Rouhani's government say it squandered the opportunities presented by the nuclear deal, which now looks increasingly moribund after the US pulled out of the agreement in May and began reintroducing sanctions.

"Inefficiency and lack of planning have nothing to do with sanctions," said one conservative MP, Abbas Payizadeh, in a speech ahead of the vote.

"Wrong decisions have harmed the people and led to individuals looting public assets," he added.</s>Iran's finance minister has been impeached by the country's parliament in the latest blow to the embattled government as it struggles against a fall in the currency value and a mounting economic crisis.

Masoud Karbasian lost the vote of confidence on Sunday by 137 votes to 121, with two abstentions.

He is the second minister in President Hassan Rouhani's cabinet to be impeached this month following the removal of Labour Minister Ali Rabiei.

Critics of Rouhani's government say it squandered the opportunities presented by the nuclear deal, which now looks increasingly moribund after the US pulled out in May and began reintroducing sanctions.

"Inefficiency and lack of planning have nothing to do with sanctions," said one conservative MP, Abbas Payizadeh, in a speech ahead of the vote.

"Wrong decisions have harmed the people and led to individuals looting public assets."

In late July, President Rouhani's cabinet appointed a new governor for the central bank, a move seen as a concession to hardline critics who blame the government for economic problems.

Protests linked to the tough economic situation in the country began last December, spreading to more than 80 cities and towns and resulting in 25 deaths.

Sporadic protests, led by truck drivers, farmers and merchants in Tehran's bazaar, have continued regularly since then and have occasionally resulted in violent confrontations with security forces.

Iran has struggled with high rates of inflation and joblessness for years, despite a slight improvement following the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which lifted international sanctions and saw a flood of foreign investors.</s>Cass Sunstein: The Clinton impeachment is not a precedent for Trump</s>On Monday afternoon, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani appointed Seyyed Rahmatollah Akrami as Acting Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, according to the official website of Iran's presidency 'preisdent.ir'.

Akrami's appointment comes a day after the Iranian parliament sacked Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance (MEAF) Masoud Karbasian, which in turn came more than two weaks after the impeachment of labor minister Ali Rabiei.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

According to Article 135 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and with regard to your commitment and executive and management experiences, you are being appointed as “Acting Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance”.

I wish you success in carrying out your responsibilities in serving the noble people of Iran and the Islamic Republic through cooperation of all employees of the ministry, upholding the principles of the rule of law, moderation and "Code of Ethics of the Government of Prudence and Hope".

President of the Islamic Republic of Iran</s>On both sides of the political spectrum, a new argument is gaining traction: The impeachment of Bill Clinton is a strong precedent for the impeachment of Donald Trump.

The impeachment clause is a direct outgrowth of the American Revolution. The constitutional phrase “high crimes and misdemeanors” refers to egregious abuses of official authority.

It means, in the words of Gouverneur Morris at the Constitutional Convention, that “the people are the King.”

If a president tramples on civil liberties, punishes dissenters or pays no attention to the separation of powers, he can be impeached. If a president shoplifts, fails to pay his taxes or cheats on his wife, he is not impeachable.

Violations of the criminal law are not necessarily a legitimate basis for impeachment. And a president can be impeached for abusing his authority, even if he has not committed any crime.

In the Watergate era, when President Richard Nixon faced an impeachment proceeding (and resigned before a formal vote), both Democrats and Republicans took the constitutional standard seriously.

They acted with dignity. They focused on abuses of presidential authority, as through Nixon’s efforts to undermine the electoral process and to use the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for political purposes and in violation of people’s constitutional rights.

By contrast, the impeachment of Bill Clinton was politically motivated – and it did not come close to meeting the constitutional standard.

True, Clinton was alleged (among other things) to have perjured himself and to have obstructed justice in connection with the sexual harassment suit brought by Paula Jones. Those are serious allegations. But they are not the kind of wrongdoing that triggers the impeachment clause.

Invoking the Clinton precedent as a basis for impeaching Trump, Bret Stephens of the New York Times approvingly quotes Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who said in 1998 that Clinton “lied under oath numerous times, that he tampered with evidence, that he conspired to present false testimony to a court of law. We believe he assaulted our legal system in every way.”

Maybe so, but Clinton’s conduct is not what the impeachment clause is about. To use the Clinton impeachment as a precedent for Trump would compound a grave constitutional blunder. That’s something for both Democrats and Republicans to avoid.

If Trump had affairs and arranged to pay women to keep quiet, he would not be impeachable for that reason. The real problem for him lies elsewhere.

At a key moment in the Constitutional Convention, the delegates were debating whether to have an impeachment clause at all. In general, the arguments in favor of the clause focused on abuse of authority.

James Madison warned, “He might pervert his administration into a scheme of peculation or oppression. He might betray his trust to foreign powers.” Edmund Randolph noted, “The Executive will have great opportunitys of abusing his power.”

But there was one exception to the focus on abuse of authority while in office. George Mason urged, “No point is of more importance than that the right of impeachment should be continued.” His central example took the form of this question: “Shall the man who has practised corruption & by that means procured his appointment in the first instance, be suffered to escape punishment, by repeating his guilt?”

Mason was speaking of situations in which a president succeeded in corrupting members of the Electoral College. But his principle was broader.

Above all, the founding generation sought to create a republic. Because of their commitment to self-government, they saw the electoral process as sacrosanct. If a president “procured his appointment” through “corruption” – well, that is one thing that the impeachment clause is for.

It follows that if any president conspired with a foreign nation to obtain his office, the clause would be triggered. It also follows that the real issue, right now, is the admission by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, that he made payments to two women in violation of federal campaign laws “in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office.”

To make matters far worse, he did so “for the principal purpose of influencing the election.”

It is too early to make definitive statements about how Congress should respond to that devastating admission. But from the constitutional point of view, Cohen’s admission, and not the supposed Clinton precedent, is the right focus.

Cass R. Sunstein is the author of “Impeachment: A Citizen’s Guide,” published in 2017.</s>Tehran, Aug 27 (IANS) Iran’s parliament on Sunday voted to impeach the Minister of Economy and Finance for failing to manage the country’s ongoing economic crisis.

Masoud Karbasian’s firing comes in the wake of the latest round of US sanctions against Tehran imposed earlier this month following Washington’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement, which has put pressure on the moderate government of President Hassan Rouhani.

Iranian lawmakers were seen forcefully arguing during the impeachment session, with one MP approaching the central podium only to have his mouth physically covered by another MP, Efe reported.

The motion to censure Karbasian passed with 137 votes in favor, 121 against and two abstentions, out of a total of 260 legislators who participated.

Rohani is to address lawmakers on Monday and has up to three months to propose a replacement.

On August 8, Iranian lawmakers also voted to sack the Minister of Labor, Ali Rabiei.</s>Iran’s parliament impeached Economy Minister Masoud Karbasian today in the latest blow to the embattled government as it struggles to face down a mounting economic crisis. Karbasian lost the vote of confidence, which was carried live on state radio, by 137 votes to 121, with two abstentions. He is the second minister in President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet to be impeached this month, following the removal of Labour Minister Ali Rabiei on August 8.

Iran has struggled with high rates of inflation and joblessness for years, despite a slight improvement following the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which lifted international sanctions and saw a flood of foreign investors. Critics of Rouhani’s government say it squandered the opportunities presented by the nuclear deal, which now looks increasingly moribund after the US pulled out of the agreement in May and began reintroducing sanctions.

“Inefficiency and lack of planning have nothing to do with sanctions,” said one conservative MP, Abbas Payizadeh, in a speech ahead of the vote. “Wrong decisions have harmed the people and led to individuals looting public assets,” he added.</s>Iran’s parliament impeached Economy Minister Masoud Karbasian on Sunday in the latest blow to embattled President Hassan Rowhani as he struggles to face down a mounting economic crisis.

Karbasian is the second cabinet minister to be sacked this month, following the impeachment of Labour Minister Ali Rabiei on August 8.

Critics say the government squandered the opportunities presented by the 2015 nuclear deal and have failed to tackle high rates of inflation and joblessness.

With the United States abandoning the nuclear deal in May and reimposing sanctions, Rowhani’s hopes of attracting vast sums of foreign investment appear dead in the water.

Major European firms, including France’s Total, Peugeot and Renault, and Germany’s Siemens and Daimler, have all announced their departure since the US announcement.

French energy giant Total quits Iran gas project with China’s CNPC as US reimposes sanctions

Rowhani’s conservative opponents – who long-opposed his outreach to the West and efforts to improve civil liberties – say the primary blame lies with government corruption and mismanagement.

“Inefficiency and lack of planning have nothing to do with sanctions,” said one lawmaker, Abbas Payizadeh, in a speech ahead of the vote.

“Wrong decisions have harmed the people and led to individuals looting public assets,” he added.

Rowhani, a political moderate, can still count on the support of a sizeable reformist bloc in parliament, but even some of its key figures have grown disillusioned.

“What have we done with this nation? We made them miserable and wretched,” said Elias Hazrati, of the reformist Hope faction in parliament.

“The middle class are moving towards poverty,” added Hazrati, who broke ranks to vote in favour of the impeachment.

Karbasian lost the vote of confidence, which was carried live on state radio, by 137 votes to 121, with two abstentions.

The outcome sees him stripped of his post with immediate effect, leaving Rowhani to pick a replacement.

Hazrati said the government had failed to plan for the real pain of sanctions, which will hit when a second phase of US measures is reintroduced in November targeting Iran’s crucial oil sector.

“We haven’t been prepared and we are not prepared now,” said Hazrati.

“The only person we could get our hands on was the economy minister. Otherwise, the president should have been impeached,” he added.

For now, Rowhani remains protected by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said this month that removing the president would “play into the hands of the enemy”.

But parliament has summoned the president for the first time to answer questions on the crisis, and he is expected to appear on Tuesday.

Washington criticises European aid package for Iran, warning of ‘more money to conduct assassinations’

One of the key markers of Iran’s economic crisis has been the collapse in the currency, which has lost around half its value since April.

That was partly owing to US hostility, but also due to a disastrous decision to fix the value of the rial and shut down currency traders. The move triggered a boom in the black market and widespread corruption, before the decision was finally reversed this month.

Businesspeople in Iran point to other deep-rooted problems, from the debt-ridden banking sector to the outsized and opaque role of military-linked organisations in the economy.

Rowhani has taken small steps to resolve these issues, but most Iranians are dissatisfied with his progress.

There have been persistent, low-level strikes and demonstrations across the country for months over high prices and unpaid wages that have occasionally turned into violent protests against the system as a whole.

Figures released by the central bank on Saturday showed huge jumps in the cost of essential goods compared with a year ago.

Dairy products are up by a third, chicken by more than 20 per cent and fresh fruit by 71 per cent.
Iran's finance minister Masoud Karbasian is sacked after an impeachment attempt by parliament. This is the second impeachment this month, after Ali Rabiei's on 8 August.