There have been calls to impeach Trump even before he took office. It reached fever pitch last week because of President Donald Trump’s handling of the violence between white supremacists and Antifa in Charlottesville, VA.
Early last week “Impeach Trump” was trending on Twitter. Christianity Today ran an article entitled “White Evangelicals Oppose Calls to Impeach Trump.” (His support among evangelicals is slipping, and that poll was taken before Charlottesville.)
I am a white evangelical. I was “Never Trump” during the general election. I do not support impeaching President Trump.
Yet.
Let me explain with a question I asked back in May – Impeach him for what?
Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution says, “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
If you are unfamiliar with the Impeachment process only one President has been impeached in my lifetime – President Bill Clinton the second President to be impeached in our history (President Andrew Johnson was the first). President Richard Nixon following Watergate was headed down that road, but he resigned first. The House of Representatives vote on Articles of Impeachment. Think of them as a grand jury so to speak and the articles of impeachment are the charges. If they vote in favor of one or more articles of impeachment then a trial is held in the Senate per Article I, Section of 3 with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presiding.
If the Senate convicts, then the President is removed from office. The Senate has never convicted a President.
So I ask again, impeach President Trump for what? Being offended by him? Disagreeing with his policies? (I said the same thing to some of my fellow conservatives when they were crying for President Obama’s impeachment.)
There is not any evidence at this time that shows he has committed “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” The standard is high, and it should be. The impeachment process is not meant to be a kangaroo court nor should it be politicized.
If evidence is presented that shows President Trump did, in fact, break the law then Congress should consider articles of impeachment. For a Republican Congress to do so, it will have to be compelling.
As of now, calls for impeachment are premature (which is an extreme understatement). For those pushing for this without evidence, the next three-and-a-half years are going to be very long for you.
So can we dispense with this nonsense unless there is an actual reason for it?