4 ms·

Didn't Congress already impeach the president but the Senate voted to keep him in office?

colejohnson66 6y ago
Yes. But ignoring the courts would be a different thing: incompetence. See the 25th Amendment § 4[0]: > Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President. > ... Basically, if Congress decides Trump is incompetent, Pence will immediately become President. No impeachment trial will be necessary. And if Trump refuses to leave the White House at that point, he will be forcefully removed. Whether that’ll actually happen remains to be seen; Section 4 has never been invoked since its ratification. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-fifth_Amendment_to_the_...
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- three_seagrass 6y ago
  The President was brought up for incompetence to Congress in 2017 when he fired FBI director Jame Comey after Comey refused the President's request to drop the election-meddling investigation involving the President's personal friend. It's right there in the wikipedia article. The President got a pass. How would this be any different?
  - AnimalMuppet 6y ago
    If I understand correctly, it takes more than the President being charged with incompetence. It takes the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet agreeing. That didn't happen, not by a long shot.
    - three_seagrass 6y ago
      Considering the President surrounds himself with people who only support him, such as firing all the IG's that were investigating any Republican party members, what's to keep that from happening again in this instance?
      - AnimalMuppet 6y ago
        Nothing. The correct thing happened last time, too. See, "incompetence" doesn't mean blundering. It means senility or insanity. Firing Comey may be many things, but it's not incompetence. You want him gone? Get in line; a lot of people want that. But you're going to have to either vote him out or impeach him. And to impeach him, you're going to have to persuade more than one Republican Senator that he's crossed the line - which means you need something that the other side recognizes as an actual case.
        colejohnson66 6y ago
        > The correct thing happened last time, too. See, the thing is, during the trial in the Senate, Trump’s lawyers literally said:[0] > Every public official that I know believes that his election is in the public interest, and mostly you're right. Your election is in the public interest. And if a president did something that he believes will help him get elected, in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment. The fact that all but one GOP member voted to acquit is extremely concerning. > Firing Comey may be many things, but it's not incompetence. It may not be incompetence, but it sure as hell is corrupt. [0]: https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/29/politics/dershowitz-quid-pro-quo/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/29/politics/dershowitz-quid-pro-...
        AnimalMuppet 6y ago
        OK, fine, "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office". That still doesn't apply to firing Comey.
sanderjd 6y ago
Yes, the House impeached him, but the Senate did not convict and remove him.

Yes. But ignoring the courts would be a different thing: incompetence. See the 25th Amendment § 4[0]: > Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President. > ... Basically, if Congress decides Trump is incompetent, Pence will immediately become President. No impeachment trial will be necessary. And if Trump refuses to leave the White House at that point, he will be forcefully removed. Whether that’ll actually happen remains to be seen; Section 4 has never been invoked since its ratification. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-fifth_Amendment_to_the_...

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
three_seagrass 6y ago
The President was brought up for incompetence to Congress in 2017 when he fired FBI director Jame Comey after Comey refused the President's request to drop the election-meddling investigation involving the President's personal friend. It's right there in the wikipedia article. The President got a pass. How would this be any different?
- AnimalMuppet 6y ago
  If I understand correctly, it takes more than the President being charged with incompetence. It takes the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet agreeing. That didn't happen, not by a long shot.
  - three_seagrass 6y ago
    Considering the President surrounds himself with people who only support him, such as firing all the IG's that were investigating any Republican party members, what's to keep that from happening again in this instance?
    - AnimalMuppet 6y ago
      Nothing. The correct thing happened last time, too. See, "incompetence" doesn't mean blundering. It means senility or insanity. Firing Comey may be many things, but it's not incompetence. You want him gone? Get in line; a lot of people want that. But you're going to have to either vote him out or impeach him. And to impeach him, you're going to have to persuade more than one Republican Senator that he's crossed the line - which means you need something that the other side recognizes as an actual case.
      - colejohnson66 6y ago
        > The correct thing happened last time, too. See, the thing is, during the trial in the Senate, Trump’s lawyers literally said:[0] > Every public official that I know believes that his election is in the public interest, and mostly you're right. Your election is in the public interest. And if a president did something that he believes will help him get elected, in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment. The fact that all but one GOP member voted to acquit is extremely concerning. > Firing Comey may be many things, but it's not incompetence. It may not be incompetence, but it sure as hell is corrupt. [0]: https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/29/politics/dershowitz-quid-pro-quo/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/29/politics/dershowitz-quid-pro-...
        AnimalMuppet 6y ago
        OK, fine, "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office". That still doesn't apply to firing Comey.

sanderjd 6y ago

Yes, the House impeached him, but the Senate did not convict and remove him.