Impeach Trump?

I recently got an email with a logo urging “Impeach Trump”. You may have seen it. According to the Constitution, “impeachment” means that a majority of the House of Representatives votes to prefer charges of misconduct against the president (or a Federal Court judge), who is then tried in the Senate. If convicted by a sixty percent supermajority of the Senate, the official is removed from office and and may be barred from holding any future Federal office or receiving any Federal pension to which they would otherwise be entitled.

The U.S. Constitution specifies Treason, Bribery, and “high crimes and misdemeanors” as the grounds for impeachment. Readings of historical documents from the time when the Constitution was adopted make it plain that the Framers expected impeachment would NOT be used lightly. Even a cursory glance at the history of presidential impeachment shows that it has only been used for serious purposes, and has failed every time.  Three presidents have faced impeachment in the two centuries since the Constitution was adopted. Twice the Senate voted against the articles of impeachment.  The other time, the president resigned before the House of Representatives could act.

 If you’re for getting rid of Trump, impeachment right now might not even be a good idea, as it will surely fail in the Republican-dominated Senate, even if every Democratic senator voted to impeach. Even in the House of Representatives, where only a simple majority is required to prefer articles of impeachment, Republicans hold the majority by a large margin.

No President or Justice has ever faced impeachment twice (as of this writing), and it is certainly possible that the Constitutional protection against double-jeopardy might apply. The Supreme Court, packed by President Trump, certainly could so rule. (It didn't.) If President Trump is as smart as he thinks he is, he might even welcome impeachment now, when he can easily win, and then possibly be immune from impeachment for the rest of his presidency.