This is hypothetical. Suppose we’ve got the votes in the senate (the house should be easy), what would/should we impeach Trump for?
He was impeached for his extortion of Zelinskyy. He was impeached for the insurrection he caused. Can we do that again? Or are there rules where you can’t impeach for the same thing twice? I mean the Senate just did not convict.
Maybe the illegal tariffs? His creation of his own ICE army? Stolen documents? The mis-handling of the Epstein files? The destruction of the East Wing? The ridiculous ballroom?
He is a bumbling fool, but that’s more 25th territory.
There’s a lot to choose from. Other ideas? What say you?
He defied Congress by starting a war, without their consent or knowledge. He’s made millions (billions?) of dollars as president to benefit himself and his family which is against the Emoluments Clauses of the US Constitution. I’m not sure if ordering the kidnapping and jailing of a foreign leader is unconstitutional or illegal.
But that was for criminal charges, and the last time around, they made a big stink about how impeachment wasn’t a criminal proceeding, but a political one.
He CAN but it’s not automatic. The Constitution itself says the impeachment does not prevent any other legal consequence, but itself is limited to removal and, if so decided, disqualification.
He would then have to argue his SCOTUS-ruled “presidential immunity” on the basis that it all happened while acting officially. And the prosecutors WOULD need to have evidence of an actual statuted offense to charge. Not just “we the Senators think it’s pretty damn obvious you are guilty.”
“We charge Donald J. Trump with high crimes and misdemeanors, to wit:” waves hands around “Pretty much everything he has done since he took office, at this point it would be quicker to list the things he did that were not high crimes and misdemeanors”.
Not really. If the senate is at the point where there are enough senators to convict him and remove him from office, presumably those same senators would be willing to convict and remove from office any of those SCOTUS justices that stick their necks out for Trump. They could be impeached for the crime of aiding and abetting whatever the original charges against Trump are, and convicted by the same senators that convicted Trump.
Alas, that’s only a dream. It would basically take Democrats winning every single seat during the midterms.
ETA: I do like the suggestion that the primary charge be violating his oath of office, with all the various things he’s done in that regard being included.
Maybe for a small group of senators, like John Cornyn. But at this point I think most of the Republican senators have drank the Koolaid and have become true believers.
Hardly. The USA has often had a nutcase minority operating in the House, etc. As long as the MAGA or “tea party” or whatever is a minority within a minority, they are there for entertainment value, and are harmless.