Former US President Donald Trump says the senate has no
power to impeach him.
On January 13, the US house of representatives voted 232-197
to impeach Trump for a record second time.
The majority of house members — including 10 of Trump’s
fellow Republicans — voted in favour of impeaching him for encouraging his
supporters to storm the congress on January 6.
The impeachment resolution charges Trump with just one
article: “Incitement of insurrection”.
A week ago, the house of representatives formally delivered
the impeachment charge against Trump.
On Tuesday, the house impeachment managers said Trump is
“singularly responsible” for inciting the insurrection at the US Capitol in
January.
In a 80-page brief, the house impeachment team said Trump
must be convicted and barred from holding future office over his actions which
“threatened the constitutional system that protects the fundamental freedoms we
cherish”.
“President Trump’s responsibility for the events of January
6 is unmistakable,” the team wrote.
“President Trump’s effort to extend his grip on power by
fomenting violence against Congress was a profound violation of the oath he
swore. If provoking an insurrectionary riot against a Joint Session of Congress
after losing an election is not an impeachable offense, it is hard to imagine
what would be.”
But in defence of the 45th US president, Bruce Castor and
David Schoen, Trump’s counsel, argued that the senate has no power to impeach
the former president.
In a 14-page brief addressed to the senate, Trump’s lawyers
said the US constitution only allows for impeachment of an official while in
office.
“It is admitted that the Constitutional provision at
Averment 1 is accurately reproduced. It is denied that the quoted provision
currently applies to the 45th President of the United States since he is no
longer ‘President’. The constitutional provision requires that a person
actually hold office to be impeached,” the brief said.
“Since the 45th President is no longer “President,” the
clause ‘shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for…’ is impossible for the
Senate to accomplish, and thus the current proceeding before the Senate is void
ab initio as a legal nullity that runs patently contrary to the plain language
of the Constitution.
“Since removal from office by the Senate of the President is
a condition precedent which must occur before, and jointly with,
“disqualification” to hold future office, the fact that the Senate presently is
unable to remove from office the 45th President whose term has expired, means
that Averment 1 is therefore irrelevant to any matter before the Senate.”
The lawyers said Trump “requests the Honorable Members of
the Senate of the United States dismiss Article I: Incitement of Insurrection
against him as moot, and thus in violation of the Constitution, because the
Senate lacks jurisdiction to remove from office a man who does not hold
office”.
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