EXPLAINER: Can Trump be impeached after leaving
office?
By JESSICA GRESKOyesterday
A cameraman waits by an unused microphone stand outside the West Wing at
the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, in Washington. On President Donald
Trump's last full day in office, there was an eerie quiet, with no public
events scheduled, his last event being Jan. 12, seven days earlier. (AP
Photo/Gerald Herbert)
WASHINGTON
(AP) — President Donald Trump might argue the calendar is his friend when it
comes to a second impeachment trial.
Trump’s impeachment last week by the House of
Representatives for his role in inciting the riot at the U.S. Capitol set up his trial
in the Senate. But there’s one potential wrinkle.
In
2019, the last time Trump found himself impeached by the House,
he had nearly a year left in his presidency. But on Wednesday, with the inauguration of Joe Biden, Trump will be out
of office by the time any Senate trial gets started.
Some
Republican lawmakers argue it’s not constitutional to hold an impeachment trial
for a former president, but that view is far from unanimous. Democrats for
their part appear ready to move forward with a trial.
On
Tuesday, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said she doesn’t think a post-presidency
impeachment trial is constitutional. But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, wasn’t so
sure.
MORE STORIES:
·
– EXPLAINER: Election claims, and why it's clear
Biden won
·
– AP Explainer: Why are youth protests sweeping
Tunisia?
·
– EXPLAINER: What's next after House impeachment
vote
“I
think there’s serious questions about it,” he said.
Connecticut
Democrat Richard Blumenthal, meanwhile, said it was “bogus” that a trial after
Trump leaves office wouldn’t be constitutional, noting that the Senate has held
impeachment trials of federal judges after they’ve resigned.
“So
whether somebody resigns, or runs out the clock it makes no difference. They
can still be held accountable and there’s nothing in the spirit, or the letter
of the impeachment provisions in the Constitution that argues against it,” he
said.
Some
questions and answers about whether a former president can be impeached.
WHY
IS THIS OPEN TO DEBATE?
The
Constitution says: “The President ... shall be removed from Office on
Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and
Misdemeanors.”
But
the Constitution says nothing about the impeachment of a former president. The
question has also never come up. The only other two presidents to be impeached,
Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson, were tried while still in office.
WHAT
DO SCHOLARS AND HISTORY HAVE TO SAY ON THE TOPIC?
A recent Congressional Research Service report for
federal lawmakers and their staffs concluded that while the Constitution’s text
is “open to debate,” it appears most scholars agree that a president can be
impeached after leaving office. One argument is that state constitutions that
predate the U.S. Constitution allowed impeachment after officials left office.
The Constitution’s drafters also did not specifically bar the practice.
Still,
the text of the Constitution could be read to suggest impeachment only applies
to current office holders. In the early 19th century, one influential Supreme
Court justice, Joseph Story came to that conclusion.
One
powerful suggestion that post-office trial is acceptable, however, comes from
history. The Congressional Research Service report cites the 1876 impeachment
of Secretary of War William Belknap. Belknap resigned over allegations he received
kickbacks. The House impeached him after his resignation, and while Belknap
objected to being tried in the Senate because he’d left office, the Senate
heard three days of arguments on the topic and then deliberated in secret for
over two weeks before concluding Belknap could be tried. He was ultimately
acquitted.
Full Coverage: Politics
COULD
TRUMP CHALLENGE A CONVICTION?
Courts
are unlikely to want to wade into any dispute over impeachment. In 1993, in a
case involving an impeached former judge, the Supreme Court ruled it had no
role to play in impeachment disputes because the Constitution says the “Senate
shall have sole Power to try any impeachments.”
DOES
AN IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF A FORMER PRESIDENT PRESENT OTHER LEGAL ISSUES?
One
other issue is who would preside at the impeachment trial of an
ex-president. The Constitution says it’s the chief justice’s job to
preside at the impeachment trial of a president. But scholars offer differing
views about whether that’s Chief Justice John Roberts’ job if Trump’s trial
begins after he’s out of office.
The
choices for who would preside appear to be Roberts, Kamala Harris, who by then
will be vice president, or Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who will be the Senate’s
president pro tem once the Democrats take control of the Senate.
WHAT’S
THE POINT OF IMPEACHING SOMEONE WHO IS OUT OF OFFICE?
The
consequence the Constitution sets up for a president who is impeached and
convicted is removal from office. That’s not really a concern for a former
president. Still, conviction would send a message about Trump’s conduct.
Moreover, if the Senate were to convict, lawmakers would presumably take a separate vote on
whether to disqualify Trump from holding future office. Some
lawmakers believe that’s appropriate.
“We
need to set a precedent that the severest offense ever committed by a president
will be met by the severest remedy provided by the Constitution — impeachment
and conviction by this chamber, as well as disbarment from future office,”
incoming Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said Tuesday.
___
Associated
Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
No comments:
Post a Comment