Impeaching Donald Trump is now the major topic in American political news. One side either calls it evil or dirty while the other side calls it necessary. Meanwhile I am shocked to learn that many Americans do not understand the process of impeaching Donald Trump. As result, I put together this infographic about the process to impeach Donald Trump.
What is Impeachment?
1. The Constitution (Article 2, Section 4) says that Congress may remove a president if enough elected officials in Congress believe that Donald Trump committed “treason, bribery or other high crimes of misdemeanors”.
2. The House – which is currently led by Democrats – can impeach Trump with a simple majority. The House impeachment is like a criminal indictment. The impeachment proceeding would start at the House Judiciary Committee. If the House committee establishes that there is enough evidence to show that Donald Trump is likely guilty of the alleged crimes, they draft articles of impeachment detailing the allegations. They then send the articles to the full House for a vote.
3. Like a criminal indictment, a trial must be held to find Trump guilty of the alleged crimes. This is where the Senate comes in. The Senate is currently controlled by the Republicans.
When the Senate receives the House Articles of Impeachment, the trial begins. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is the prosecutor and the senators are the jury. The current Chief Justice is John Roberts, who was appointed by George W. Bush.
Two-thirds of the Senate need to vote to convict Donald Trump to remove him from office.
If Donald Trump is removed from office, it is Mike Pence that assumes the presidency.
Only two U.S. presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 and 1999. Both Clinton and Johnson were impeached by the House, but the Senate refused to convict both.
Richard Nixon was not impeached. Rather, the Democrat-controlled House Judiciary Committee passed three of five proposed articles of impeachment. However, Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 before the House voted to impeach him.
What are the alleged crimes against Donald Trump?
1. The Russian Connection: US Intelligence and the Mueller Report show that Russia helped Donald Trump get elected.
2. Obstruction of Justice: The Mueller Report lays out substantial evidence of Donald Trump’s attempts to obstruct justice.
3. Violation of the Emoluments Clause: The Constitution prohibits presidents from accepting payments from foreign powers. There are numerous ongoing investigations suggesting that Trump is in violation of the emoluments clause.
4. Conspiracy to Commit Campaign Violations: Michael Cohen provided evidence showing Donald Trump violating campaign finance laws to influence the election by making payments to silence former sex partners.
It goes without saying that my dream is to see Donald Trump in handcuffs. As he used to yell, LOCK HIM UP!
