What Exactly Is an Impeachment Inquiry?
By: Rachael Hope
Tags: Donald Trump, Politics, Impeachment, News, Current Events

What Exactly Is an Impeachment Inquiry?

977 days into Trump’s Presidency, impeachment looms. Here’s what happens next.

Photo by Max Price on Flickr (cc)

This evening at 5:00 Eastern Time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the launch of a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. The announcement comes on the heels of a whistleblower complaint to the Director of National Intelligence and the President’s admission that he discussed Joe Biden on a phone call with the Ukranian President.

Screen grab from CNN.com by author

The President immediately responded to Pelosi’s announcement in his favorite mode of communication: by Tweet. “PRESIDENTIAL HARRASSMENT,” he virtually shouted into the void of the internet as people posted celebratory gifs and let out a breath they didn’t know they’d been holding. The President has already called the inquiry a “witch hunt,” and there is no doubt he will make the process as difficult as possible for the Representatives investigating his actions.

Many politicians and citizens have been calling for impeachment almost since the day, 977 days ago, when Trump entered office. Tonight, people across the nation are apprehensive and excited about the news- but what does it really mean? What happens now?

In terms you might be more familiar with, an impeachment inquiry is a bit like a grand jury. A committee, or in this case committees, will investigate actions by the President that may fall under the umbrella of impeachable offenses. These offenses include “ Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” What constitutes a high Crime or Misdemeanor exactly? Even that is a matter of debate.

Currently, there are 6 House committees already investigating Trump, and Nancy Pelosi has instructed them to continue their investigations “under the umbrella of impeachment inquiry.”

When these investigations reach a conclusion, they will write their articles of impeachment, then vote on whether to pass them along to the House of Representatives as a whole. If the articles go to the House floor, a simple majority of lawmakers must approve them, and when they are improved, the President is impeached. In simple terms, it’s like a special Presidential indictment.

If the indictment is approved, which seems likely given the Democratic majority in the House, the proceedings move to the Senate for a trial. This is where things get somewhat less hopeful for those hoping an impeachment would remove Trump from office. Because of the Republican majority in the Senate, it’s possible that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would simply call for a majority vote to dismiss the impeachment charges without even holding a trial.

The alternative is for the trial to go forward, with elected House managers bringing and presenting evidence. During the trial, the President may be defended by his own legal counsel, or may choose to represent himself. It takes a 2/3 vote, known as a supermajority, to remove the President from office. Given that the Senate is controlled with a 53–45 majority, 20 Republican Senators would have to vote to remove Trump, and that’s assuming that all Democrats and Independents vote in the affirmative.

The entire process from the announcement of the inquiry to a vote by the Senate on whether the President should be removed may take 4 months or longer. It’s a slow process, as it should be. Regardless of my personal feelings about our current President, removing someone from the highest office in our nation should be done with very careful consideration.

Impeachment inquiries are rare, having happened only three times before. President Bill Clinton and President Andrew Johnson were both impeached, but ultimately not found guilty by the Senate. Richard Nixon resigned before he could be impeached, but that will certainly not happen with someone in this case. I cannot imagine anything at this point that could get Trump to admit defeat without being legally ousted. When all’s said and done, the likelihood of his being removed from office is quite small.

There is a strong likelihood that these proceedings will serve to further the divide between right and left that’s been rending our nation in the past several years. Change is not easy, it is messy and often painful. As I wrote in my article about Trump this morning, right now the best thing any of us can do is make sure we are registered to vote. The next year is going to go by fast, and before we know it it will be time to vote once more. Make sure that you are registered, and that you use your voice.

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