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Is the Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump constitutional? According to Jonathan Turley, professor of law at George Washington University and contributor to Fox News, the question is a “narrow question”.
Turley joined Sandra Smith and John Roberts on “America Reports” Tuesday to offer her perspective on the 45th president’s second impeachment.
JONATHAN TURLEY: IMPEACHING TRUMP – THE HOUSE THREATS TO BREAK THIS FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE TO ENSURE CONVICTION
JONATHAN TURLEY: We all agree that’s a close question. Most people have a fault one way or the other. I tend to be more default with text. And I think the best argument is probably the narrowest argument, that you really don’t have room for retroactive trials under the text.
I think at the end of the day you have a very interesting and unsolved problem. I have evolved in my vision of the text, and I still agree … there is value in retroactive trials, [it’s] you just have to weigh them against those costs and against the text.
First of all, I found it to be a very good performance from these managers. I thought [Rep. Joe] Neguse [D-Colo.] was very, very good.
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They started with this very moving story with this video, which was remarkably detached from the issue of the Senate. Everyone agrees that what happened on January 6 was horrible, despicable. It was a desecration as much as an insurrection. But that doesn’t come down to the question of whether we should open that door to retroactive trials.
[On previous impeachment trials of officials who had already left office] There are only two cases, and the results do not support it. In [the case of Sen. William] Blount, they dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds [in 1799]. And in [the case of former Secretary of War William] Belknap[in1876=closetohalfoftheSenatawasdismissedfromhisfunctionsbecausetheybelievedthatitwasunconstitutionalandthentheyacquittedhim[in1876=almosthalfoftheSenatedismissedbecausetheybelievedthatitwasunconstitutionalandthentheywentontoacquithim[en1876=prèsdelamoitiéduSénataétédémisdesesfonctionsparcequ’ilscroyaientquec’étaitinconstitutionnelpuisilsl’ontacquitté[in1876=almosthalfoftheSenatedismissedbecausetheybelievedthatitwasunconstitutionalandthentheywentontoacquithim
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