Coale Mind

Can Donald Trump be impeached after he has left office?

January 24, 2021 David Coale Season 1 Episode 25
Coale Mind
Can Donald Trump be impeached after he has left office?
Show Notes

The Senate plans to begin a second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Can it do so under the Constitution? This episode looks at the Constitution's text, evidence of the framer's intent, two historical impeachment cases, and the Constitution's structure. It concludes that the answer is likely a matter of political will and consensus, which the two historical examples  (former Senator William Blount in 1798 and former Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876) show is hard to actually sustain all the way through a trial to an judgment of impeachment.