This is a question that many are asking, given the recent revelations about the U.S. President Donald Trump. According to a document obtained by the New York Times, Trump allegedly fired FBI Director James Comey due to the ongoing investigations over Trump-Russia collusion that possibly tampered the November presidential election.
According to the document, Trump told the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Oval Office, "I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off." This conversation took place on May 10th, one day after the firing of Comey.
In addition, during this meeting with Lavrov, Trump allegedly disclosed highly classified military intelligence obtained from Israel regarding ISIS (the Islamic State). Many feel that interfering with the FBI investigation is in itself an obstruction of justice, and the sharing of highly classified intelligence (from U.S. allies) with Russia is a disgraceful act 'unbecoming' of a U.S. president.
Some feel that this might be enough to initiate an impeachment inquiry. In fact, Congressman Ted Lieu from California (and a current sitting member of the House Judiciary Committee) has confirmed his intentions to research the possibility of impeachment.
So what exactly is impeachment and how does it work?
Impeachment is the process of formally bringing criminal charges against a high official of the government by a legislative body, in this case, Congress. Impeachment can be applicable to the President, Vice President, and other high ranking government officials. The process starts with an inquiry conducted by members of the House Judiciary Committee. If the measure passes a simple majority vote in the committee, then the impeachment inquiry is opened to the entire House of Representatives. If the measure passes a majority vote of the House, then it is referred to the Senate for a formal trial. This is much like any other criminal trial, where witnesses can be called upon to testify either for or against the defendant. A supermajority (two-thirds) of the Senate must vote in favor of impeachment for the measure to succeed in removing the defendant from office.
Has impeachment ever happened to a U.S. president?
The simple answer is no. Two U.S. presidents have been successfully impeached by the House (Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton), but neither were successfully impeached by the Senate. What about Richard Nixon? Some think that he was removed from office via impeachment, but actually he resigned from office before the impeachment process was completed (because he knew what was coming); so technically, he was not impeached.
Is it likely that Trump will be successfully impeached?**
The answer is highly unlikely. Here is my reason: the Republicans control both the lower (the House of Representatives) and upper (the Senate) houses of Congress. Even if the measure somehow passes the majority vote in the House, once it is referred to the Senate, there is no way that the measure will garner two-thirds of the Senate votes necessary to remove Trump from power. No matter the circumstances, in U.S. politics, it is extremely difficult to get two-thirds of the vote in ANYTHING, much less a highly politicized impeachment process. Two-thirds of the vote is called a supermajority for a reason! The only way I see this happening is if truly bombshell revelations come to the fore (such as high treason or bribery) that will create such a public outcry as to force many Republicans to join the Democrats in the processions. Obstruction of justice is just not going to be enough.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you think that this whole thing is overblown and everyone is overreacting, or are we just seeing the tip of an iceberg?
Let us share our thoughts and thanks for reading!
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About the Author : I am a cryptocurrency enthusiast and a U.S. Certified Public Accountant with over 15 years of experience in accounting, taxation, and finance. I also like to follow current affairs and politics!