Seems very unlikely. Is it even possible? The trial can (at least many think, and there is some precedent) be after the accused is out of office, but can the impeachment be?
There is also no past Democratic president who did anything nearly as bad as what Trump is accused of. Now if he were threatening to impeach former cabinet officials, there’s Benghazi and the e-mails…
No one can be certain until someone seriously tries, but from what I’ve read the consensus is that impeachment must happen while someone is in office but the trial can happen any time.
Trump will likely challenge the Senate’s jurisdiction in the event he is convicted, on the grounds that he was already out of office.
Most legal scholars (well, all the ones I’ve read anyway) seem to think he doesn’t have a leg to stand on. But I’m sure he’ll try.
And as far as impeaching George Washington or whomever else they have in mind… I think that’s VERY unlikely to succeed.
It would be more likely to succeed in a case like Richard Nixon where the person was only “former” because they resigned to escape impeachment. But since the impeachment was dropped when he resigned, we don’t know what would’ve happened if they’d tried to pursue it anyway.
I don’t see this getting past the “one or two congressmen submit impeachment papers” stage. Why would congress waste its time debating, speechifying, and voting on the impeachment of Obama or Bush or Jackson today?
Seems as if he doesn’t even know how the impeachment process works. But, he does, and it’s his constituents who, he thinks, don’t.
People have been tried in the Senate after they’ve left office before. The trial is moot, since it merely evicts someone from an office they no longer hold. No one asked about Unconstitutionality then, since the charges were pretty serious.
And, the former President was impeached while he was still president.
Is this simply bait for the uneducated wing of the GOP to vote for him in the 2024 GOP Primary for President?
I think we have our new Cray-Cray rouser.
Is the conviction by the Senate a legal action? Do they even need grounds at all?
I honestly don’t know. But if they bar him from ever holding office again then I’m sure that’s challengeable in the SCOTUS.
I think we should impeach all those Democrat former presidents who:
Yep, we should impeach any former president who did that.
Yes.
I win!
Any Congress critter that provided direct assistance to those attempting a coup should be impeached IMO.
I know the Senate prefers to follow a different procedure for removing one of its members and I’m guessing the House is the same way.
But yes. Anyone who provided assistance or broke rules to give them a tour or anything along those lines should not be serving.
Do we know whether giving a tour (to normal constituents) was against the rules? I had heard that tours were rare now, but not that they were not allowed at all. If tours were not against the rules, proof that these were improper will be harder.
https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/plan-visit/book-tour-capitol shows tours are cancelled.
And this Senator’s website (https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/contact) says it has been since March 12th.
I also read in the days following Jan 6th that emails had gone out to remind people that tours were prohibited.
Investigators will also eventually figure out who inside the Capitol was messaging the insurrectionists about the whereabouts of politicians. If it’s a Congress critter, throw the book at them
That should make it much easier to nail them.
My understanding from an interview with a congresswoman who has complained to Capitol police is that tours were banned in March 2020 b/c of Covid, and all members were reminded of the rule on the 3rd. The tours happened on the 5th, she had staffers report them as suspicious prior to the events of the 6th.
No it is not. It’s a purely political action. All it needs is votes. People need to stop conflating impeachment and a legal proceeding.
Exactly.
A member can be expelled for showing up drunk on a regular basis. It’s not illegal to be drunk. Yet, out ya go.
According to CNN it wasn’t allowed, but the reason was Covid (not preventing insurrection).
Still…