Trump Impeachment Wasn't Illegal and Baseless
The Claim
Donald Trump's impeachment was illegal and baseless.
Emerging story
In her Republican National Convention speech Wednesday evening, Rep. Elise Stefanik idescribed the impeachment of President Donald Trump earlier this year as "illegal."
Claims starting circulating after Stefanik told her viewers Trump's impeachment was an attack.
Misbar’s Analysis
The claim is false, as President Trump's impeachment was conducted in accordance with the legal framework laid down by the Constitution. After a complaint against Trump was made public, an impeachment inquiry was launched against him by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on September 24, 2019.
Regarding the due process of impeachment, the United States Senate website says, "The United States Constitution provides that the House of Representatives shall have the sole Power of Impeachment" and that "the Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachment, but no person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present. The president, vice president, and all civil Officers of the United States are subject to impeachment."
In impeachment proceedings, the House of Representatives charges an official of the federal government by approving, by majority vote, articles of impeachment. A committee of representatives, called “managers,” acts as prosecutors before the Senate. The Senate sits as a High Court of Impeachment in which senators consider evidence, hear witnesses, and vote to acquit or convict the impeached official. In the case of presidential impeachment trials, the chief justice of the United States presides. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict, and the penalty for an impeached official upon conviction is removal from office.
The formal impeachment inquiry initiated by Pelosi lasted until November 2019. It included testimony by multiple witnesses testified and hours of hearings. On December 18, 2019, the House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against Trump charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
On February 6, 2020, the Senate, run by the president's fellow Republicans, voted to acquit him 52-48 on charges of abuse of power and 53-47 on obstruction of Congress thereby making him the first impeached president to seek re-election.
The timeline of events indicates that Trump’s impeachment process was conducted in accordance with the legal framework put forth by the Constitution.
