Departments

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impeachment

  • SOURCE: The Bulwark
    2/12/2021

    What Good Is Impeachment, Anyway?

    by Lindsay M. Chervinsky

    The Constitution sets forth an expectation that Congress will check the power of the executive, through impeachment if necessary. The fact that it has failed to do so in th past doesn't excuse inaction in the present. 

  • SOURCE: Bill Moyers
    2/16/2021

    When a Trial is Not a Trial

    by James D. Zirin

    Attorney James Zirin, author of a book on Trump's history of litigation, critiques the second impeachment trial as a sham. 

  • SOURCE: New York Times
    2/9/2021

    Would the Founders Convict Trump and Bar Him From Office?

    by Eli Merritt

    "Today’s Republican senators must at least be willing to break with their party and disappoint some of their constituents — and, yes, perhaps lose their jobs in coming elections — to serve the larger interest of protecting the nation."

  • SOURCE: New York Times
    2/10/2021

    Impeachment Trial May Hinge on Meaning of ‘Incitement’

    Although Trump's second impeachment trial may ultimately be decided by political considerations, the legal question of his culpability for incitement hinges on the question of when speech crosses a line to encouraging action and whether an impeachment trial is governed by different standards of proof than a criminal trial. 

  • SOURCE: The Atlantic
    2/9/2021

    January 6 Was Just One Day in a Sustained Campaign

    by Richard H. Pildes

    A constitutional law professor argues for a broad perspective in the Senate trial; the questions at stake for the rule of law and Trump's accountability for a months-long effort to undermine democracy are too important to focus only on January 6. 

  • SOURCE: The Atlantic
    2/9/2021

    Trump’s Lawyers Lost the Day

    by David Frum

    David Frum argues that Trump's lawyers ignored history, contradicted their own arguments, and made it impossible for Republican senators to claim any motive other than political expediency when they vote to acquit.

  • SOURCE: Wall Street Journal
    2/7/2021

    The Constitution Doesn’t Bar Trump’s Impeachment Trial

    Attorney Chuck Cooper argues that the Senate's discretionary power to bar a convicted officer from holding office in the future means that it is perfectly permissible to try Trump even though his term in office has ended. 

  • 2/7/2021

    The Constitution Forbids a Post-Presidential Impeachment Trial

    by William G. Hyland, Jr.

    A biographer of George Mason argues that, by the text and original intent of the Constitutional impeachment power, Donald Trump's exposure to trial ended when he left office and the Senate trial set to start on February 8 is unconstitutional.

  • SOURCE: Freedom Forum
    2/3/2021

    A First Amendment Case that May be the Key to Trump's Impeachment Trial

    by Tony Mauro

    A First Amendment researcher offers a brief primer on Brandenburg v. Ohio, a case which Trump's legal supporters argue shields his January 6 rhetoric from criminal sanction because it was not purposefully aimed at inciting "imminent lawless action" – a claim critics say is blatantly contradicted by the subsequent actions of a mob a mile away from where Trump spoke.

  • SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel
    2/4/2021

    Senate Must Punish Trump For Capitol Riot: Commentary

    by David Marks

    "Inciting lethal violence against the government, based on lies and selfish goals, has grave consequences. And considering the likelihood that some angry devotees will continue to be violent in the wake of Trump’s ongoing unwarranted assertions, legal action is obligatory."

  • SOURCE: The Atlantic
    1/30/2021

    Only Accountability Will Allow the U.S. to Move Forward

    by Mitch Landrieu

    Full accountability for the Capitol Riot is essential lest white supremacists and other extremists take the lesson that their actions are accepted and permitted. The white supremacist massacres of the post-Reconstruction period show that moving on without accountability is impossible. 

  • SOURCE: Lawfare
    1/22/2021

    A Practical Path to Condemn and Disqualify Donald Trump

    by Philip Zelikow

    The standard of proof required for the Senate to bar Donald Trump from holding office under the 14th Amendment only demands that Trump gave aid and comfort to enemies of the Constitution, not that he participated in an insurrection. As his own words demonstrate that he did, this path should be followed. 

  • SOURCE: Wall Street Journal
    1/22/2021

    Yes, the Senate Can Try Trump

    by Keith E. Whittington

    The debates at the constitutional convention over the impeachment power don't give any suggestion that that power would be limited to current government officials.