Mumbai:
Donald J Trump has become only the third President of the United States of America, in its 243 year old history, to have been impeached by a Democratic dominated House of Representatives in the US Congress. Although he will get to complete his term in office till January 2020 as the 45th President of the USA, his impeachment has left his “Trump Legacy” tarnished which in itself is the worst punishment that a US President can think off, according to Americans. The ball now is in the Republican dominated Senate.
He is only the third US President to be impeached while in office, the other two being – Andrew Johnson (February 24, 1868) and William (Bill) J Clinton (December 19, 1998). Richard M Nixon who was the 37th President from 1969 to 1974, did not face his impeachment trial and resigned on August 9, 1974. Apart from them, in the 243 year old US history only 19 public officers that includes 2 US President’s, 2 Senator’s and 15 judges who have been impeached.
Johnson was impeached over the slavery issue and his removal of his Secretary of War (Defense Minister) Edwin Stanton. In a trial that lasted between February 25, 1868 to May 26, 1868, Johnson was acquitted of his charges. Besides, Nixon, the impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998 for lying on oath to a federal grand jury (for his cover-up of his alleged affair with White House Intern Monica Lewinsky) was the most sensational.
Nixon was the only US President to have resigned without facing the trial in the Senate over his role and cover-up in the investigation in the Watergate complex break-in and wire-tapping in 1972 of the Democratic party headquarters in New York. The media investigation that followed, led to the impeachment of Nixon who resigned before facing the trial. The scandal later became famously known as the “Watergate Scandal” and became subject matter of five Hollywood movies later.
With a legacy tarnished, it remains to be seen whether Donald J Trump will get re-elected to office again in January 2020. The 2 Articles of Impeachment (charges) approved by the House of Representatives – abuse of power and obstruction of the Congress with a simple majority vote. The Democrat dominated lower house voted 230 in favor and 197 against in first charge of abuse of power and 229 in favor and 198 against in the second charge of obstruction of the Congress.
What is now known as the “Trump-Ukraine” scandal, the Democrats have charged President Trump of soliciting foreign interference in his 2020 re-election. They charged Trump of pressurizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce an investigation against former US Vice President Joseph (Joe) Biden and his son Hunter Biden, conditioning $400 million US Dollars to Ukraine as security aid to fight against Russia and a one to one White House meeting on investigations. The Muller Commission had investigated the allegation of Russian interference in the Trump election of 2016.
On paper though the Republicans control the 100 member Senate, the fact remains that in order for the charges to be upheld, 67 votes are needed which is an uphill task for the Democrats. In the 116th Congress (2019-2021), the Republican’s have 53 senators, Democrats 45, Other parties 2 (both caucus are with Democrats). Whereas, in the 435 member House of Representatives, the Democrats have a clear majority with 233 representatives, Republicans 197, Independent’s 1 and 4 vacancies.
In the US Congress, the US President, Vice President and all Civil officers can be removed by process of impeachment on grounds of conviction of, treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors as per Article II, section 4 of the US Constitution. The US constitution gives the sole power of impeachment to the House of Representatives to impeach the official and the Senate the sole court for impeachment trials.
The impeachment trials may last anywhere between two to four months by which time Trump’s presidency will come to an end. During that time, he may stand for re-election if he secures the Republican nomination.
The power of impeachment is limited to removal from office, but also provides for a removed officer to be disqualified from holding future offices. Whereas, fines and potential jail term for crimes committed while in office are left to the Civil court.
Once the matter is referred to the Senate to commence the impeachment trials, it is for the Senate and its Speaker to decide on the appointment of managers for impeachment. In the case of the impeachment trial for the US President, the trial proceedings are chaired by the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. It is now up to the Senate to decide whether Trump is to be removed from office or not, whether the charges merit any substance. However, US legal experts argue that the definition of treason, bribery, high crimes and misdemeanor is open to debate.
The impeachment process is treated as a political process and not a criminal one. It is based on the Articles of Impeachment (charges) are list of charges which are drafted. The process begins in the House of Representatives where any member may make a suggestion to launch an impeachment process. It is then up to the Speaker (Nancy Pelosi), as the leader of the majority party, to determine whether or not to proceed with an inquiry into the alleged wrong doings.
The matter is then referred to the House Intelligence committee which investigates the matter holding public inquiries. The report is then passed on to the House Judiciary committee which frames the Articles of Impeachment (charges) which are voted in the committee first and then put to vote in the House of Representatives. The Articles of Impeachment were moved by Jerrold (Jerry) Nadler, a Democrat from New York and carried through by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The best quote on the impeachment process was from Katie Hopkins who tweeted “Pelosi hanging on Articles of Impeachment is like a desperate divorcee refusing to sign the papers to set a tortured husband free”. While noted foreign policy expert Brahma Chellaney in his tweet remarked that the House vote without a single Republican extending support shows how divided and polarized the US democracy has become and termed it as a sobering lesson for other democracies around the world.
