The Impeachment Inquiry is Constitutional and in Line With Precedent
Neither history nor the constitution supports popular Republican talking points on Impeachment.
This story originally appeared on TrigTent.com
“We know what a constitutionally serious impeachment process would [look] like; we saw that happen both with President Nixon and with President Clinton. This is not that. This is not a search for the truth. This is not a situation where you’ve got the majority, the Democrats, who are upholding their constitutional duty and trying to get to the truth.”
— Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), speaking to reporters, Oct. 22
The Constitution says very little about Impeachment, but the one thing it is clear about is that the House has the power to impeach. Crucially, nowhere in the Constitution, nor anywhere in the Federalist papers, are the procedures for how the House should conduct an impeachment inquiry laid out. There are of course precedents for impeachment, although the House is not obligated to recognize them. Because there are no clearly defined laws that the House must follow other than possibly these precedents from previous impeachments, which are closer to guidelines and conventions than hard and fast rules or…
