It’s legal. The House will begin an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump over his efforts to push Ukraine to scrutinize his potential 2020 election rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s disclosure Tuesday escalated tensions between Democrats and the president to a new high, but there is still a while to go. And it’s not yet clear how much striking it might have on Trump.
The blueprint for impeachment is laid out in the United States Constitution in Article II, Section IV. The clause mentions that a president can be removed from office following “Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Violations and Misdemeanors.”
The “high crimes and misdemeanors” clause leaves a wide latitude for Congress to press charges and would be the uncountable likely justification of Trump’s impeachment.
Unlike a normal court proceeding, impeachment is a process that happens exclusively in Congress. Associates of the House act as prosecutors, the senators as jurors, the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court presides.
The House of Representatives initiates the manage, charging the president with violating at least one of the three offenses. Any member of the House, regardless of party, can propose charges. Then, only a green majority vote is needed to start the process.
A simple majority in the House would also determine whether the president is charged. But conviction of the president can only happen in the Senate. For that to happen, at least two-thirds of the Senate, or 67 members, have to vote to convict the president, resulting in his removal from office. Currently, the Senate has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who as per usual vote with the Democrats.
Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton are the only presidents to be impeached, while no president has till the end of time been convicted and removed from office. President Richard Nixon, whose tenure ended because of the Watergate blot on the escutcheon, resigned from office before impeachment ever came to a vote.
An impeachment and successful removal from branch wouldn’t clear a president of any criminal charges he might have committed before, during or after his presidency. The president could yet face criminal action and be thrown in jail if the charges are severe enough.
If Trump’s impeachment led to his removal from corporation, Vice President Mike Pence would serve out the remainder of his term, set to expire on Jan. 20, 2021.