The second impeachment of Donald Trump thread

[Dashinka 24,735]

52 minutes ago, Boiler said:

A boycott seems the right response.

I doubt Harvard would care as long as they are getting paid.

[nykolos 711]

Not sure if this question has been addressed already, since I haven't read the entire thread, From what I've read, it's a open question to whether or not a President (or Senator for that matter) can be convicted by the Senate AFTER he leaves office,  they would be putting a private citizen on trial to Impeach him, but impeachment is a mechanism to remove a sitting President from office, but in this case he's already left the building.. The only reason to pursue a trial would be to prevent him from holding office again, and there is no legal consensus the Senate can do that, it's a gray area, something that's never happened before to a President, only to a Senator in 1799,  Sen William Blount, and the case was dismissed on grounds that Blount was a private citizen and the Senate did not have Jurisdiction.

https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/can-president-trump-be-impeached-after-he-leaves-office

 

 

 

 

 

 

[laylalex 7,300]

William Belknap, the Secretary of War in the Grant administration, resigned before he could be impeached. He was still impeached and put on trial, although he was not convicted. The Senate debated whether it had jurisdiction because Belknap had resigned. It ruled that it did. Considering that that happened 77 years after Blount, I would think that what happened to Belknap might be another impeachment to consider. (Psssst: this is also in your article, along with judge West Hughes Humphries.)

[Boiler 45,946]

Can a President and/or VP be impeached before they take office?

[laylalex 7,300]

5 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Can a President and/or VP be impeached before they take office?

I don't think Joe Biden could be, because he has no official office (i.e. the Office of the President Elect isn't actually an elected position) but Sen. Harris could be. But not as a VP elect, as a senator. That's my understanding.

[Dashinka 24,735]

13 minutes ago, laylalex said:

I don't think Joe Biden could be, because he has no official office (i.e. the Office of the President Elect isn't actually an elected position) but Sen. Harris could be. But not as a VP elect, as a senator. That's my understanding.

But he was Veep 4 years ago which was an actual office.

 

33 minutes ago, laylalex said:

William Belknap, the Secretary of War in the Grant administration, resigned before he could be impeached. He was still impeached and put on trial, although he was not convicted. The Senate debated whether it had jurisdiction because Belknap had resigned. It ruled that it did. Considering that that happened 77 years after Blount, I would think that what happened to Belknap might be another impeachment to consider. (Psssst: this is also in your article, along with judge West Hughes Humphries.)

Not really sure if the Senate opinion would be the final word on this question.

 

2 hours ago, nykolos said:

Not sure if this question has been addressed already, since I haven't read the entire thread, From what I've read, it's a open question to whether or not a President (or Senator for that matter) can be convicted by the Senate AFTER he leaves office,  they would be putting a private citizen on trial to Impeach him, but impeachment is a mechanism to remove a sitting President from office, but in this case he's already left the building.. The only reason to pursue a trial would be to prevent him from holding office again, and there is no legal consensus the Senate can do that, it's a gray area, something that's never happened before to a President, only to a Senator in 1799,  Sen William Blount, and the case was dismissed on grounds that Blount was a private citizen and the Senate did not have Jurisdiction.

https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/can-president-trump-be-impeached-after-he-leaves-office

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have alluded to this question a couple of times in this thread.  I wonder why Trump would even give any Senate trial the time of day if it happens after Biden’s inauguration.  Why waste his money on lawyers in the Senate, let them do what they are going to do and he can take it to court.  If the House can start impeaching, and the Senate trying a President that has left office, I wonder when all the former Presidents that were also slave owners will be impeached.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

36 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Can a President and/or VP be impeached before they take office?

 

    The articles of impeachment all refer to acts that occur while in office.  Biden could technically be impeached before he took office, because he has held the office of vice president in the past. There is no time limit or statute of limitations, so theoretically if evidence of an impeachable offense pops up from Biden's past they could pursue it (in theory but unlikely with a Democrat controlled congress).

Edited January 16, 2021 by Steeleballz

[Boiler 45,946]

And Obama and Hillary

 

[Dashinka 24,735]

18 minutes ago, Steeleballz said:

 

    The articles of impeachment all refer to acts that occur while in office.  Biden could technically be impeached before he took office, because he has held the office of vice president in the past. There is no time limit or statute of limitations, so theoretically if evidence of an impeachable offense pops up from Biden's past they could pursue it (in theory but unlikely with a Democrat controlled congress).

So the January 5th 2017 meeting in the Oval Office where Biden and Obama plotted to overthrow the incoming Administration could be construed as sedition?

[Boiler 45,946]

4 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

So the January 5th 2017 meeting in the Oval Office where Biden and Obama plotted to overthrow the incoming Administration could be construed as sedition?

Well that would be something for the Impeachment hearing to determine.

 

 

 

[Steeleballz 7,550]

19 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

So the January 5th 2017 meeting in the Oval Office where Biden and Obama plotted to overthrow the incoming Administration could be construed as sedition?

 

    I wasn't privy to the discussion, but proceeding hypothetically, I presume the GOP controlled congress would have acted on it between 2017-2018 if there was anything to act upon. Although perhaps since Obama couldn't run again and they didn't anticipate (or feel threatened by) Biden running, there was less incentive to do anything.

[laylalex 7,300]

Wow, it's like full on fantasy land here.

 

Trump has been impeached and he probably won't get convicted, but who knows. Nobody from former administrations is going to get impeached. If people are asking questions about whether an incumbent president who has been impeached is actually capable of being convicted a few days or weeks after he has left office, and whether that's even constitutional, do you really think an impeachment of Obama or Biden or Hillary (as Sec of State she could have been impeached) would fly? 

 

I've got a migraine at the moment and this is distracting me from the pain.  Let's impeach James Buchanan while we're at it, he was a terrible president too. 

[Crtcl Rice Theory 2,432]

31 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

So the January 5th 2017 meeting in the Oval Office where Biden and Obama plotted to overthrow the incoming Administration could be construed as sedition?

Didn't happen

[Boiler 45,946]

Times are very different now.

[Dashinka 24,735]

Just now, CanAm1980 said:

Didn't happen

Proof?