CONNECTICUT, USA — The single article of impeachment will be submitted against former President Donald Trump Monday for high crimes and misdemeanors against the state. While the facts of this trial may be straightforward, some in congress are questioning its constitutionality.
"There’s nothing in the text of the constitution that prevents this," said retired UConn Law Professor Richard Kay
Kay says it is not unusual for political figures to face an impeachment trial even after they have left office. Impeachment isn’t only implemented to remove a sitting president. It can also be used to prevent someone from ever holding office again. It's an action that precedes our nation's Constitution.
"One of the most famous impeachment cases occurred with Warren Hastings in the 18th century," said Kay. "That’s something that the people who wrote the constitution knew about and there’s no reason to think that they were excluding that ability when they put the language that we have in the constitution."
Parties in the Senate have agreed to start the trial on February 9th and believe it could move faster than Trump's first impeachment trial. Kay believes it could move quickly.
"The facts are kind of out of the table. There’s nothing to really argue about regarding who did what, when. They could argue that the language the president used didn’t amount to incite or that he had no intention of inciting when he gave that speech but that’s not going take a long time," said Kay.
Senators will be sworn in for a jury on Tuesday to hear the case. Whether or not political bias will play a role in their decision making remains to be determined.
"This is a political process from start to finish and it’s idle to think that we are going to have a jury that’s utterly unbiased," said Kay.
