Our legal expert, attorney P. J. Mitchell of Mitchell and West, LLC, discusses the Trump impeachment process
“Treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” are the grounds on which a president of the United States can be subjected to impeachment. The lower chamber, the House of Representatives, has the “sole power of impeachment,” which is similar to a formal indictment. If the House of Representatives approves the motion by a simple majority, the president would be “impeached,” and the upper chamber, the Senate, which has “the sole power to try all impeachments,” would conduct the trial. This constitutional power to hold a trial and vote determines whether there should be a conviction on the articles of impeachment and the consequent disqualification from office. For a conviction, sixty (60) senators (a two-thirds majority) would have to vote “yes” to convict. From there, regarding disqualification, only a simple majority, that is, fifty-one (51) votes, would be needed to bar the president from ever holding office again.
Throughout history, there have been several judicial challenges to impeachment proceedings. The most prominent was brought by Judge Walter L. Nixon. See Walter L. Nixon v. United States, 113 S. Ct. 732 (1993). Nixon argued that Senate Rule XI violated the impeachment clause of the United States Constitution, since it was a Senate committee, rather than the full Senate, that took testimony and gathered evidence during the proceedings. Under the impeachment clause, the Senate has the power to “try” all impeachments. In essence, Judge Nixon argued that the full Senate should be the body to gather and examine the evidence, not a select Senate committee. The Supreme Court ruled that the Senate had the exclusive authority to choose impeachment procedures under Article 1, Section 3, Clause 6 of the United States Constitution, on the grounds that the impeachment clause presented a nonjusticiable question.
According to the records of the United States Senate, in 1876 the Senate debated whether it had jurisdiction to hear five (5) articles of impeachment against Secretary of War William W. Belknap after he had resigned from his position in the government. The articles alleged, among other things, that Belknap had “criminally disregarded his duty as Secretary of War and basely prostituted his high office to his lust for private gain.” The Senate convened the trial after agreeing that it retained jurisdiction to try former public officials. Specifically, during the trial, the House managers argued that Belknap should not be allowed to escape justice simply by resigning from office. Ultimately, Belknap was acquitted, as the necessary two-thirds vote threshold was not reached.
To date, Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States, is the only president in history to have been impeached twice. As in his first impeachment trial, it is unlikely that Trump will be found guilty, since a supermajority would be required. In addition, a conviction would be a precondition for a vote on his disqualification from holding public office in the future. Judging by the senators who will be voting, it appears that Donald J. Trump will be acquitted once again.
Ultimately, Trump’s supporters maintain that he put “America first” through economic policy, trade policy, and an unprecedented unemployment rate, using every tool at his disposal. Trump realized that the political class had taken advantage of the working class and used it for its own benefit. Working-class jobs had moved to other countries as a result of the globalist policies that began with George H. W. Bush and continued in later administrations. Trump understood that the working class had been used to win votes and to keep the country going economically. The working class has been working every day to keep a roof overhead and food on the table, hoping their children would have a better life than their own. The working class trusted that their elected leaders would do the right thing, and those leaders failed them. Democrats should rethink this political strategy of the second impeachment, as it will continue to give wings to Trump and the Republican Party.
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