Today, Congressman Shri Thanedar (MI-13) introduced articles of impeachment against Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, citing a sweeping abuse of power, flagrant violations of the Constitution, and acts of tyranny that undermine American democracy and threaten the rule of law.
“Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that he is unfit to serve as President and represents a clear and present danger to our nation’s constitution and our democracy,” said Rep. Thanedar. “His unlawful actions have subverted the justice system, violated the separation of powers, and placed personal power and self-interest above public service. We cannot wait for more damage to be done. Congress must act.”
The resolution includes seven articles of impeachment outlining a range of constitutional violations.
Can someone ELI5 what impeachment even achieves, and why it seemed to do nothing last time? Is it just a badge of dishonour?
Impeachment is a formal process used to formally accuse a public official, including the president, of misconduct while in office. It’s a legislative action, not a court trial, and is the first step in the process of potentially removing the official from office and disqualifying them from holding future office. The House of Representatives initiates impeachment proceedings by drafting and voting on “articles of impeachment,” which are essentially charges of misconduct. If enough people in the house vote to impeach, they kick it over to the senate to have a trial. It takes 2/3 or 66% of the senate to convict before he can be removed from office. The last 2 times the house was able to vote on the articles of impeachment. When it got kicked to the senate the last 2 times, there weren’t enough votes to convict. This is because republican senators were more interested in protecting the republican party than they were the country. Most of us would rather lawfully remove Trump from office. The constitution is still important and many of us still believe in it. Even if it’s not successful, it still has a purpose. The people that vote no on impeachment are going on public record to aid an abet his crimes, potentially opening themselves up to legal consequences once trump is gone. Also, exhausting all avenues of the law makes civil disobedience more legitimate should things get bad enough to come to that.
An impeachment conviction results in removal from office. The previous impeachment proceedings did not result in a conviction.
(Edit for additional information: While an impeachment uses terms like “trial” and “conviction” it is not a judicial proceeding. It is entirely a legislative proceeding which is formatted to resemble a judicial one, but is not bound to judicial procedure and it also can not produce a criminal conviction or sentence.)
Ah, thanks for explaining!
It really makes no sense. Even if you succeed an impeachment, you can just get re-elected next term - as long as you didn’t use your two terms.
Wrong. You cannot run again after two successful elections.
Only if you are not removed, impeachment is only one part of the removal process.
And even this is looking increasingly irrelevant. Trump has another 3¾ years to ensure nothing is in his way for a 3rd, 4th, or even more terms. And with Republicans working to ensure a permanent Republican ascendancy, even voting will become a performative act; a thin veneer of legitimacy papering over useless theatrics and a predetermined outcome.
They will fail.
Like all the other things they have “failed at” with almost zero consequences? Like ignoring judicial orders and deporting American citizens and dismantling the government and shredding the constitution and all that other anti-democratic crap?
Sure, buddy. And I have some premium sand for you to bury your head into.