The Constitutional Case Against Late Impeachment
February 11, 2021
Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial is underway in the Senate. The proceedings mark the first time in American history that a president has been impeached twice. The effort to impeach Trump is controversial, in part, because he is no longer president. The House voted to impeach Trump on January 13, when he was still in office. But it waited until January 25 to deliver its article of impeachment to the Senate, when he was no longer in office.
The Trump impeachment trial therefore raises the question of whether the Senate can convict Trump now that he is no longer president; now that he is a private citizen and, therefore, no longer subject to House impeachment in the first place.
The Case Against Late Impeachment
Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial is underway in the Senate. The proceedings mark the first time in American history that a president has been impeached twice. The effort to impeach Trump is controversial, in part, because he is no longer president. The House voted to impeach Trump on January 13, when he was still in office. But it waited until January 25 to deliver its article of impeachment to the Senate, when he was no longer in office.
The Trump impeachment trial therefore raises the question of whether the Senate can convict Trump now that he is no longer president; now that he is a private citizen and, therefore, no longer subject to House impeachment in the first place.