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The Senate Cannot Impeach Donald Trump
American Thinker ^ | January 27, 2021 | Jonathon Moseley

Posted on 01/27/2021 5:34:12 AM PST by Moseley

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has delivered Articles of Impeachment of Donald J. Trump and the appointment of Impeachment Managers to the U.S. Senate on January 25. The Senate cannot legally hold a trial on impeachment of a President or other official who has already left office.

As we will watch, the Senate has extensive, long-established procedures -- but only as its own rules. The Senate must convene the next day at 1:00 P.M. But the Senate typically schedules the actual trial for later. Chuck Schumer says the trial will start February 8. Senate rules require a trial, whereas the Constitution only allows the Senate to hold a trial should they choose. No trial is required. But in any trial, a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction must be taken up first.

Remember: Democrats in the House were conducting impeachment hearings of President Richard Nixon for some serious crimes. It appeared that the votes were there in the Senate to remove Nixon from office. But when Nixon resigned, the entire effort stopped. Democrats then believed that they did not have the jurisdiction to proceed with impeachment. In December 2019, when Rep. Matt Gaetz suggested impeaching Barack Obama no longer in office, the Washington Post “fact checked” the idea as unlikely, with more professors arguing against than for.

There have been a couple past impeachments of former officials. But those cannot override the Constitution. It is unconstitutional even if the Congress impeached a few former officials before. There is no “precedent” that can change the Constitution.

To interpret our short Constitution, lawyers examine legal experiences from England and the American colonies as illuminating what the drafters of our Constitution were possibly thinking. That includes noticing when our Founders sharply diverged intentionally from English legal traditions.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: civilofficer; former; impeachment; trump
British impeachments were radically irrelevant because the English government had a completely different structure.

Early state constitutions are strongly inconsistent from one another, providing no guidance. However, the Massachusetts’ constitution is almost identical to the U.S. Constitution on this topic, with New Hampshire close. It offers no support for impeachment of former officials. Thus, it appears that the Constitutional Convention chose to follow the Massachusetts model while distinctly rejecting examples from other States. Despite the fact that some states knew how to explicitly allow for impeachment of former officials when they wanted to, neither the U.S. nor Massachusetts Constitution chose to follow the examples of other States. See, Brian C. Kalt, The Constitutional Case for the Impeachability of Former Federal Officials: An Analysis of the Law, History, and Practice of Late Impeachment, 6 Tex. Rev. L. & Pol. 13 (2001-2002).

Also, the U.S. Constitution rejects English tradition by shifting criminal prosecution after impeachment over to the regular courts. That is a sharp change. England’s Parliament could prosecute former officials for anything. But our Constitution explicitly divests Congress of prosecution after removal and entrusts the separate judicial branch for follow-up.

The U.S. Constitution segregates criminal prosecution by naming the President as the only prosecutor (who of course appoints assistants) and making the judiciary the only real courts. By contrast, the English Parliament had the ability to try anyone itself.

1 posted on 01/27/2021 5:34:12 AM PST by Moseley
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To: Moseley

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE AT:

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/01/the_senate_cannot_impeach_donald_trump.html


2 posted on 01/27/2021 5:34:40 AM PST by Moseley (http://www.MoseleyReport.com)
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To: Moseley
I'm no Constitutional expert but it seems to me that Roberts having refused to preside is his way of saying "you've gotta be kidding". Of course Professor Dershowitz (and,IIRC,Jonathan Turley as well) have said that this whole thing is a Constitutional farce.

But yesterday 45 Senators voted to declare the proceedings illegal.Of course that won't stop Chuck "Twelve Ways From Sunday" Schumer but it seems unlikely that there will be more than 55 votes for "conviction".

3 posted on 01/27/2021 5:42:30 AM PST by Gay State Conservative (Trump: "They're After You. I'm Just In The Way")
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To: Gay State Conservative

The Commierats really want a fight don’t they?


4 posted on 01/27/2021 5:45:07 AM PST by HighSierra5
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To: Moseley

It’s simple: Impeachment and the trial is for removing sitting Presidents and officials, not former Presidents and officials

*IF* he did anything wrong then he’s subject to criminal justice system and it’s laws as a private citizen so they should go there if they think he did something criminal. Of course he didn’t do anything wrong or criminal in nature on Nov 6


5 posted on 01/27/2021 5:56:12 AM PST by Bigtigermike
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To: All

Trump has been charged with lying about election fraud.

Can he introduce the thousands of affidavits into evidence supporting his claims? Can he call witnesses?

Or is this a star chamber show trial CCP “struggle session” to punish a political opponent?

Dems like Harris called for riots and destruction to continue. Should she be impeached?

Or is there a lower racist expectation and blacks should be legally allowed to riot because they can’t be expected to behave better? When mostly white folks push shove and break their way into a building (no statues destroyed, no fires set) the FBI has billboards up nationally to catch them? Why the unequal treatment under the law? Blacks “let off steam.” Whites stage a “coup” or “insurrection.”


6 posted on 01/27/2021 5:59:43 AM PST by TigerClaws
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To: HighSierra5

The leftists want conservatives [Trump supporters] to go kinetic.


7 posted on 01/27/2021 5:59:59 AM PST by Cletus.D.Yokel (If there be WAR in the offing, let it begin HERE. With ME.)
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To: Moseley

The impeachment serves many purposes. They want Donald Trump convicted of insurrection so he can’t run again. They want to expand the Senate’s power and reach. They want to demoralize us. They want to send a message to any other outsiders that think they’re going to upset the status quo. They want to label us as violent radicals so they can turn the government against us. And so on


8 posted on 01/27/2021 6:02:38 AM PST by RC one (Lying, cheating, deceiving & manipulating are as natural to Democrats as swimming is to fish.)
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To: Moseley

Who’s up for a vote of no confidence on Biden?
And a couple hundred others for Dems in the Senate and House?


9 posted on 01/27/2021 6:03:44 AM PST by Buttons12 ( )
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To: Gay State Conservative
How much money is Soros willing to spend to buy the votes of 12 more Republican senators?

It seems that the trial will just be a chance for days of Democrat senators making speeches about how horrible Trump is, like they did during the impeachment proceedings in 2019/2020, as if that will change the minds of anyone. The RINO senators like Romney will join them and the Republican senators hoping for a political future will defend Trump more or less sincerely.

10 posted on 01/27/2021 6:07:44 AM PST by Verginius Rufus
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To: RC one

And one more you did not mention. Possibly the primary one. They want to send a clear message that no Republican of any quality had better ever consider running for high office again. That if you want your life to be destroyed run for office as a Republican.


11 posted on 01/27/2021 6:18:12 AM PST by ChildOfThe60s (If you can remember the 60s.....you weren't really there..)
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To: Moseley

Our side just can’t come to grips with the current reality. Articles are constantly being written about what so-and-so can’t do. The Senate can’t impeach Trump, Pelosi can’t do this, Schumer can’t do that.

The persons in power can do whatever they want. The Constitution doesn’t mean what you interpret it to mean. It means what they interpret it to mean. And when challenged in the Supreme Court, the justices will vote exactly the way Roberts tells them to vote.


12 posted on 01/27/2021 6:25:53 AM PST by KobraKai
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To: KobraKai

The entire US Govt is a criminal Enterprise Network that makes the ‘former’ mafia and current worldwide cartels and other hoodlum groups look like child’s play! Fear that it has been that way for decades but just much worse since the kinton days then ratcheted up again during nobama with Brennan ‘hammer’ hold over the Pravda media and any one else of prominence - at least since post WWII since the consolidation of Hitler’s gestapo with the CIA and other alphabets by Dulles, Bush and others....our situation SUCKS to high heaven today that’s for sure!


13 posted on 01/27/2021 7:06:12 AM PST by ldish (TRUTH & FREEDOM DIED ON 11/4/20! SCORCH THE GOVT-TRUMP SHOULD'VE RELEASE ALL FILES)
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To: Moseley

Technically speaking, the Senate cannot Impeach anyone. That happens in the House.


14 posted on 01/27/2021 7:08:43 AM PST by NonValueAdded (Killer Joe: babies, jobs, tax cuts, he kills them all.)
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To: Moseley

They’ve lied and stolen so what makes you think they’ll follow a bunch of rules on an old piece of paper?


15 posted on 01/27/2021 7:11:27 AM PST by bgill ("Salute the Marines")
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To: Moseley
Better to impeach Harris instead.

Senate Resolution 511

is Senate memo passed to confirm McCain as a Natural Born Citizen, “... born of American citizens on a US military base”.

Harris is an unnatural born native with no American citizen parents. She is unlawfully occupying the office of Vice President of the US, for which she is unqualified for lack of being a Natural Born Citizen, as defined in the Senate Resolution 511. It's a prima fascia case using public documents from the US Senate.

16 posted on 01/27/2021 7:13:32 AM PST by RideForever (We are born to be tested ...)
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To: Moseley
"British impeachments were radically irrelevant because the English government had a completely different structure."

Or in the words of Senator Arlen Specter: "not proved under Scottish law"

17 posted on 01/27/2021 7:16:14 AM PST by Psalm 73 ("You'll never hear surf music again" - J. Hendrix)
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To: NonValueAdded

“Technically speaking, the Senate cannot Impeach anyone. That happens in the House.”

I didn’t write the headline. ‘Nuff said, wink, wink

Love the guys there, though


18 posted on 01/27/2021 8:05:56 AM PST by Moseley (http://www.MoseleyReport.com)
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To: KobraKai

“Articles are constantly being written about what so-and-so can’t do.”

We have to clarify what is true and knock down the lies and convince everyone that our enemy is 100% wrong, not deserving of respect, and without merit.

But then we need to fight like hell in rhetorical and political hand to hand combat (rhetorically speaking).


19 posted on 01/27/2021 8:08:47 AM PST by Moseley (http://www.MoseleyReport.com)
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To: Moseley

They can’t.

But they will.

The Democrats (with the help of the media) aren’t held up by rules, regulations or Constitutions.


20 posted on 01/27/2021 8:28:45 AM PST by MCSETots ( )
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