Let the voters decide!
Until this week, that’s been Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s take on whether to impeach President Trump or let the election run its course.
But there’s a way to take immediate action over the latest White House controversy and also to allow the will of the people to ultimately call the shots, according to Ohio State law professor Edward Foley:
‘Remove Trump from office, so that he cannot abuse incumbency to subvert the electoral process, but let the American people make the judgment on whether or not he gets a second term.’
Foley, in an editorial for Politico, points out that, under the Constitution, Congress can remove a president for the remainder of his term while, at the same time, allowing him seek to re-election next year.
“This approach would duly punish Trump for his 2020 election interference — and take such interference off the table — while still deferring to the will of the electorate,” he wrote. “That, in turn, might make the idea of conviction more palatable to Senate Republicans.”
Foley referred to Article I, section 3, clause 7 of the Constitution to explain the distinction between removal and disqualification. “Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.”
He said that if Congress truly cares about empowering the voters in the 2020 election, removal should be the route taken. This would be the first time such a move has even been possible, considering the impeachments of Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton were both during their second terms.
“Removal without disqualification tailors the remedy to the precise problem: letting Trump run, as he did in 2016, without wielding the powers of incumbency, the right to which he has forfeited by his incapacity to simultaneously serve as president and run a fair reelection campaign,” Foley wrote.
He added that If Democrats want to avoid looking overly partisan during the process, they should stick to the single charge of the improper phone call and not point to Trump’s wider range of offenses
“Both Democrats and Republicans should be principled and patriotic when considering the grave matter of impeachment,” Foley said. “In this hyperpolarized environment, it might be idealistic to expect Senate Republicans to elevate the integrity of elections over party loyalty. But decoupling removal from disqualification lowers the stakes and changes the constitutional calculus.”
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