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impeachment



  • We're Living in Ken Starr's America

    by David Greenberg

    With two proceedings against Donald Trump and Republicans promising one against Joe Biden if they retake the House, we live in an age where impeachment is a part of national politics. Ken Starr can take as much credit or blame as anyone. 



  • 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. 



  • 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. 



  • 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."



  • 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. 



  • 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. 



  • 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.



  • 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. 


  • 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.



  • 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.



  • 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."