Impeachment Archives - Public Seminar

Politics

Could Donald Trump Pardon Himself?

Why the U.S. constitution doesn’t give the president a “GET OUT OF JAIL FREE” card

October 4, 2023 • by Gary J. Schmitt and Jeffrey K. Tulis

In the event of a 2024 reelection, the question arises: Can Trump pardon himself? Constitutionally, this issue exists within a gray area....

Columnists

Don’t Believe the Republicans. The Fix is In

The only authority they respect is theirs

February 11, 2021 • by John Stoehr

I know what Mitch McConnell said, but I’m not a fool. Neither are you. He continues to leak information about “his thinking” to reporters who in turn tell us the Senate minority leader believes a vote for Donald Trump’s guilt or innocence is a matter of conscience in his party, ...

Don’t Believe the Republicans. The Fix is In

Columnists

The Case for Impeachment

As Donald Trump’s second trial begins, Representative Raskin warns the Senate that to not convict is to invite future presidents to do whatever they need to do to hold on to power

February 11, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

The second impeachment trial for former president Donald J. Trump began on February 9, this time for incitement of insurrection against the American government. Still, the people who are really on trial are the 50 Republican senators judging Trump’s guilt. The impeachment trial, this time around, covered whether it is constitutional to ...

Politics

What Roger Stone’s Commuted Sentence Tells Us About Trump’s Commitment to Conspiracy

The president is covering up the cover-up of a crime

July 14, 2020 • by John Stoehr

It’s hard to know where to begin discussing the president’s commutation of Roger Stone’s sentence. So let’s start with what it means. It’s not a pardon. Donald Trump’s goombah is still a felon convicted of witness tampering and lying to the U.S. Congress. He plans to appeal the guilty verdict. “Commutation” ...

What Roger Stone’s Commuted Sentence Tells Us About Trump’s Commitment to Conspiracy

North America

A Post-Impeachment Roadmap for Congress

Impeachment may be over, but President Trump is continuing his assault on the Constitution. The House can check him. Here’s how.

February 17, 2020 • by Jeffrey K. Tulis

The problem is that Donald Trump does dwell on the past. His recent impeachment has replaced his 2016 presidential election the primary focus of his resentment. He seeks to magnify the significance of his acquittal and diminish that of his impeachment. As Americans turn their attention away from impeachment, Donald ...

North America

The Trump Party Rises from the Ashes of the GOP

Retribution against those who sought to make Trump accountable begins

February 6, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

“The grave question the Constitution tasks senators to answer is whether the president committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a ‘high crime and misdemeanor,’” Romney said. “Yes, he did.” The fact that Romney voted yes on one of the articles was really the ...

The Trump Party Rises from the Ashes of the GOP

Democracy

Trump says he was looking for corruption in Ukraine — where President Zelenskyy was known for mocking corruption in Ukraine

Like Trump, Zelenskyy was a showman before he entered politics. So what does he stand for?

February 4, 2020 • by Jessica Pisano

Zelenskyy’s career as a showman reveals Ukrainians’ shared sense of moral values, frustration with politicians’ corruption and national solidarity in the face of Russia’s politics of division. I’ll explain below. Zelenskyy emphasized shared values Trained as a lawyer, Zelenskyy made his name in the Russian-speaking world through competitive improvisational comedy, on a ...

Trump says he was looking for corruption in Ukraine — where President Zelenskyy was known for mocking corruption in Ukraine

North America

Yes, Putin cares about Trump’s impeachment trial — but not for the reason you might imagine

He has another target in mind

February 4, 2020 • by Jessica Pisano

But the Kremlin does not need assistance from Trump -- much less from Rudolph Giuliani -- to find or manufacture dirt in Ukraine about Trump’s political rivals. Russia has highly trained professionals for that: kompromat, or compromising material, and blackmail are key Kremlin tools. Trump’s claim that he was concerned about corruption in Ukraine makes sense ...

Yes, Putin cares about Trump’s impeachment trial — but not for the reason you might imagine

Democracy

Why Ukraine’s president said there had been ‘no pressure’ from Trump

The word is weighted with different meanings in Ukraine.

February 4, 2020 • by Jessica Pisano

And yet, as some Republican members of Congress have noted, in his televised Sept. 25 meeting with Trump, when asked about the now-infamous July 25 phone call in which Trump asked for a favor, Zelensky said “nobody pushed me.” Why would Zelensky claim that “nobody pushed” if military aid was indeed on the ...

Why Ukraine’s president said there had been ‘no pressure’ from Trump

North America

Impeachment Has Always Been More Than Impeachment. And It Still Is

Trump must be defeated politically

February 3, 2020 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

My very first column on impeachment was published over a year ago: January 7, 2019. Written long before the release of the Mueller Report, “On Calls to Impeach the Motherfucker” made clear that impeachment was a serious option only when viewed as part of a broader strategy of resisting and ...

Impeachment Has Always Been More Than Impeachment. And It Still Is

North America

In Trumpland, Trials Have No Evidence

As Republicans scramble to justify their votes, the evidence against Trump and his aides continues to drip, drip, driplessly

February 1, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

Republican Senators scrambled to justify their votes. As I wrote last night, Alexander said that the Democrats had proven the charges against the president but those actions were not impeachable. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) said that Alexander spoke for him, as well as for other senators. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said ...

North America

Impeachment as National Renewal

Can non-democratic institutions be repurposed for democracy?

January 28, 2020 • by Ian Zuckerman and Daniel Kato

All of these authors recognize that these comparisons have limitations. The 1868 impeachment of Johnson failed to remove him from office -- just as, in all likelihood, Trump will remain president after his impeachment. But the deeper problem is that these celebrations of the political potential of impeachment elide its ...

Impeachment

Could Donald Trump Pardon Himself?

Why the U.S. constitution doesn’t give the president a “GET OUT OF JAIL FREE” card

Don’t Believe the Republicans. The Fix is In

The only authority they respect is theirs

The Case for Impeachment

As Donald Trump’s second trial begins, Representative Raskin warns the Senate that to not convict is to invite future presidents to do whatever they need to do to hold on to power

What Roger Stone’s Commuted Sentence Tells Us About Trump’s Commitment to Conspiracy

The president is covering up the cover-up of a crime

A Post-Impeachment Roadmap for Congress

Impeachment may be over, but President Trump is continuing his assault on the Constitution. The House can check him. Here’s how.

The Trump Party Rises from the Ashes of the GOP

Retribution against those who sought to make Trump accountable begins

Trump says he was looking for corruption in Ukraine — where President Zelenskyy was known for mocking corruption in Ukraine

Like Trump, Zelenskyy was a showman before he entered politics. So what does he stand for?

Yes, Putin cares about Trump’s impeachment trial — but not for the reason you might imagine

He has another target in mind

Why Ukraine’s president said there had been ‘no pressure’ from Trump

The word is weighted with different meanings in Ukraine.

Impeachment Has Always Been More Than Impeachment. And It Still Is

Trump must be defeated politically

In Trumpland, Trials Have No Evidence

As Republicans scramble to justify their votes, the evidence against Trump and his aides continues to drip, drip, driplessly

Impeachment as National Renewal

Can non-democratic institutions be repurposed for democracy?

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