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. 

(Review) "Impeachment" Reminds us Monica Lewinsky Wasn't the Villain

The lurid details of Ken Starr's report on the Clinton-Lewinsky affair have hidden the fact that Starr dragged Lewinsky into the public eye in his zeal to punish Clinton; her life was upended while he suffered no consequences. 

"Impeachment" Shows How Different the Clinton Scandal Looks with Women at the Center

by Nicole Hemmer

"Monica Lewinsky fits squarely in this retelling of the work and experiences of women in the 1990s, as well as broader efforts to grapple with the influence of the decade on our current political travails."

This U.S. Governor was Impeached—For Cracking Down on the KKK

Governor William Woods Holden responded to a brazen campaign of KKK terrorism with a declaration of martial law in two North Carolina counties. The backlash led to his impeachment. 

Trump’s Impeachment Trial Already Shows How Far US Democracy Has Been Undermined

by Jim Sleeper

Institutional deadlock in Congress indicates a deeper and far more worrying threat to rational debate among American citizens.

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. 

‘This Acquittal Sends Three Dangerous Messages to Future Presidents’

Politico's roundup of expert opinion on the failure of the Senate to get the supermajority needed to convict Trump includes thoughts from historians Mary Frances Berry, Geoffrey Kabaservice, Keisha N. Blain and Allan J. Lichtman. 

Convicting Trump would have Required Accepting a Half-Century of Republican Guilt

by Steven M. Gillon

Senate Republicans could not convict Donald Trump without also accepting their party's collective blame for the politics of white male resentment and Christian nationalism that the party has cultivated for decades before MAGA. 

Congress Must Invoke the 14th Amendment to Stop Trump from Running Again

by Tom Coleman and John C. Danforth

A former Congressman and former Senator, both Republicans from Missouri, demand that Congress invoke the 14th Amendment's provisions on insurrection to bar Donald Trump from holding office in the future. 

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.

Trump Probably Won't Speak at His Impeachment Trial. That May be a Good Thing

Columnist Hayes Brown suggests that there's enough evidence Democrats can bring against Trump without giving him a public platform to espouse conspiracy theories. German authorities came to regret giving Hitler such a platform in 1924, as summarized by historian Volker Ullrich.

The Trump Trial Wouldn’t Have Been Possible Without This Impeachment

by Richard White

The impeachment of Secretary of War William Belknap on 1876 seemed to have settled the question of whether an official's impeachment can be tried after they leave office in the affirmative. Today's Republican Party is ignoring the message. 

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."