As with so many things in legal texts, the Constitution does not explain much about the impeachment process of a senior official, except that the House of Representatives is the only one who has the power to subject them to ‘impeachment’, that the Senate is the only one who has the power to process the resulting accusation and that the ultimate punishment will be to remove him from the position he holds.
The case against Trump
Donald Trump was subjected to a second impeachment the week before his departure from the White House, setting the record for a president: charged twice by Congress with crimes committed on office. And also twice a year.
The event killed five people, destroyed assembly headquarters facilities, suspended that formal session for several hours, and shook many Americans’ confidence in the soundness of democratic institutions.
Under normal circumstances, such as during Trump’s first impeachment trial in January 2020, there was no such debate because it was about the incumbent president. The verdict, if it had come, would have been his dismissal.
But Trump is now a former president, a private citizen with no responsibilities under the law beyond those of any other citizen.
Is it constitutional or not for the Senate to begin impeaching Trump almost a month after he left the presidency?
The answer is overwhelming, but not unique. Yes, yes you can, and no, you can’t, it all depends on how the person responding reads the text.
