Last week, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) announced the opening of formal impeachment inquiries against President Trump. While it is easy to find reporting on the subject, those looking for the longer view may be asking for something more. With this collection of past Law & Liberty essays, we invite you to dig into the issue of the moment for yourself.
If you only have time for one essay, read Keith Whittington’s 2017 essay, What Is the Impeachment Power For?
For those interested in a deeper dive, we begin with Michael Stokes Paulsen’s informative series on the constitutional issues and opportunities presented by impeachment and presidential prosecution:
Constitutional Interpretation and the Impeachment Power
Could Aaron Burr Have Been Impeached for the Duel?
Impeaching Judges: Some Preliminary and Prior Thoughts
The Propriety of Presidential Impeachments, Past and Present
The Original Meaning of “High Crimes and Misdemeanors,” Part I
The Original Meaning of “High Crimes and Misdemeanors,” Part II
Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist, and the Power of Impeachment
The Ratification-Era Understanding of “High Crimes and Misdemeanors”
Is Early Impeachment Practice Relevant to Original Meaning?
The Constitutional Categories of Impeachable Offenses
The Constitutional Propriety of Prosecuting the President
Does Holding Federal Office Confer Immunity from Prosecution?
Professor Paulsen also considers a number of objections to impeachment:
The Specter of the “No Confidence” Vote
Overturning the Result of An Election
The Protest that “This Hasn’t Been Our Practice,” Part I
“This Hasn’t Been Our Practice,” Part II
In addition to Paulsen’s systematic commentary, consider the diverse perspectives offered by a number of our other authors:
An Impotent Congress Can’t Impeach Trump
by Greg Weiner
The House Has No Obligation to Impeach the President
by John O. McGinnis
Obama and Trump: At What Point Has a President Forfeited the Public Trust?
by Jeremy A. Rabkin
And finally, for some pre-Trump discussion of impeachment:
by Michael S. Greve (October 2016)
Impeachment Won’t Stop the Debasement of Our Government
by Angelo M. Codevilla (August 2014)
by Greg Weiner (July 2014)
All civil officers constitutionally can be indicted, tried, and even sentenced for commission of federal crimes, whether they have been impeached or not.
Does the practice of impeachment in the early American republic offer guidance to understand "high crimes and misdemeanors" today?