The Constitutional Litmus Test for Impeaching a US President

Introduction 

Currently, the US Congress is engaged in an impeachment process that is driven by President Trump's Ukraine scandal. The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi publicized that a formal inquiry into the impeachment would be launched. However, there is still a great deal of confusion concerning the impacts and the constitutional provisions of the presidential impeachment. This article examines the constitutional provision for a presidential impeachment and its impacts on the current president and the people of the US. Only two American presidents have ever been impeached- Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson. It is important to note that the process of impeachment is not the ejection of a fraudulent president from the White House but, the adoption of charges by the House Committee that would trigger the Senate to conduct a trial. Therefore, the passing of the impeachment articles by the House committee resulted in the impeachment of both Clinton and Johnson. However, the charges were acquitted by the Senate. The US Constitution dictates that the Senate must acquire two-thirds of the votes to conduct an impeachment with ejection from office; however, the Constitution is not clear about the procedures. 

What is Impeachment? 

The concept of impeachment is a statement of charges concerned with official misconduct, which leads to a trial. The process of impeachment of the Executive by Congress is clarified in the Constitution according to the House of Representatives. The term impeachment originated from the British Constitution and involved the process of holding the King’s ministers answerable for their misconducts, by the parliament. The process of impeachment strictly entails public misconduct of officials leading to public mistrust. The founding fathers considered impeachment of the president and other public officials to be crucial, to avoid potential abuse of the executive powers by their holders. 

Grounds for Impeachment 

The Constitution provides for the grounds under which impeachment is applicable, especially Article 2, Section 4 of the Constitution. Section 4 of the Constitution particularly mentions bribery, treason, high crimes, and misdemeanour as grounds for impeachment. From the interpretation of the term impeachment, it does not need the accusation of a crime, but some serious patterns or acts as considered by Congress. The grounds for impeachment are designed by the House as prescribed by its long-standing practices and rules. Subsequently, the approval of the articles of impeachment against the president would result in their presentation to the Senate for further action. 

The Process of Impeachment 

The current debate about the impeachment of President Trump has been the most confusing; since in the past impeachment inquiries, the House initially voted to permit the Judiciary Committee to begin the proceedings of impeachment. According to Williams, Moe, and Frank, in their article, published in the NBC News on Nov 13, 2019, t he House Judiciary Committee is engaged in a complete legal investigation with the dilemma of deciding whether to recommend impeachment articles against the President. The voting process will involve debate and voting by the Judiciary Committee about each impeachment article, and reporting them to the House for impeachment conclusive voting and debate. Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and the Oversight Committees make up the House; they are mandated with gathering documents and witnesses, as well as conducting investigations. The House Committee is currently leading the investigations. The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the actual voting on the specific impeachment articles will be conducted by the Judiciary Committee. The committee mark-up will be publicized and could take numerous days. President Trump could be impeached if the House Committee endorses any of the impeachment articles by a vote of the simple majority. 

The Likelihood of the Senate Voting to Convict and Remove Trump from Office 

The likelihood of the Senate voting to Convict and remove President Trump from the office is slim. This is because acquittal will only need thirty-four Senate Republicans out of the possible fifty-four senators. Additionally, it would be impossible for approximately twenty senators from the President's party would vote against him and try to impeach him with the oncoming presidential election in mind. Consequently, the outcomes of the House inquiry, journalists’ investigations, or the admission of the President himself- are not likely to lead to the impeachment of the president. 

Conclusion 

If President Trump is impeached and subsequently acquitted, will lead to a saga that will only lead with a presidential election in 2020, and his removal from office or possible re-election. The implications of the House Democrats’ actions are going to be momentous to the direction the impeachment process is going to take. As a result, the impeachment reinforces the idea that the 2020 presidential election is an important chance of looking at the racist, norm-breaking, sexist attitude, and extensive corruption allegations by President Trump. However, the likelihood impeachment impact on the President’s re-election has sparked several arguments in the Nation, especially from the Democrats. On the other hand, the public is not aware of the difference between impeaching the President, the initial proceedings and ejecting the President from the office. The impeachment of the President should not be politically instigated, instead should focus on misconduct and misuse of the public office. Most Democrats believe that the impeachment inquiry is a moral or a constitutional mandate even if it will lead to Trumps' re-election for a second term. 

References 

Williams, P., Moe, A., & Frank, T.V. (Nov 13, 2019). Congress: What is Impeachment and How Does it Work? 10 Facts to Know. NBC News . Retrieved on 20 November 2019, from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/what-impeachment-how-does-it-work-10-facts-know-n1072451.