There have been 4 presidential political trials in the history of the United States. During the following year, half of them have been experienced through Americans.
The political trial at the time of former President Donald Trump ended on February 13, just one year and 8 days after the end of his first trial. Trump was acquitted again, but he also broke down the barriers to the country’s sparse history of presidential punishment. Trump is the first federal public servant to be charged twice and the first president to stand trial after leaving office, and his trials have damaged two records of senators who voted against the president of his own party.
Before Trump, only two presidents had been charged: Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998, neither of whom was convicted. Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 after the articles of the trial were written, but before the House could vote for them.
The Constitution stipulates that presidents and other federal officials may be charged with “treason, corruption, and other felonies and felonies. “No president has been charged with treason or corruption; So far, all the accusations have been summarized through what Congress “serious crimes and misdemeanors”.
The term “serious crimes and misdemeanors” is not explained in the Constitution, leaving to Congress what is permissible in a specific case. Historians and legal experts say this usually means a serious abuse of public trust.
Here’s a look at what led former presidents to be charged.
The House has the strength to dismiss the President, and the Senate, in an upcoming process, then makes the decision to dismiss a president deposed from office. The Senate would possibly also hold a separate vote on whether to ban the president from returning to the office. .
The House drafts the accusations describing the president’s alleged crimes and would possibly vote to dismiss him by an undeniable majority of votes on one of the articles; however, the indictment in the House is not enough to disqualify or disqualify a president from office.
The Senate then conducts a political trial and nevertheless votes whether to convict or acquit the president of the articles approved in the Cámara. Se expects a two-thirds majority of senators (at least 67) to vote to convict the president, resulting in his impe trial and possible ban on public office.
What happened?
The seventeenth president is the first to be charged.
Johnson, a Tennessee Democrat, president Abraham Lincoln’s time as vice president. Within 42 days of the appointment of vice president, Johnson became president after Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865. and soon clashed with Congress on how to manage reconstruction.
Johnson favored an indulgent with the former Confederate states and surprised lawmakers with some of his vetoes, adding his veto to a bill that would have provided food, shelter, and assistance to newly released African-Americans and refugees from the South.
The coup de grace came in 1868, when Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, a Lincoln-appointed user who opposed Johnson’s technique for reconstruction. House Republicans said it violated the Term of Office Act, a law passed a year earlier that stipulated that the Senate will have to pass the dismissal through the president of a member of the cupboard he had appointed (Johnson vetoed the bill, but Congress overulled it. The Supreme Court ruled in 1926 that the Term of Office Act was invalid and no longer applicable. )
What did the articles say about the trial?
In February 1868, the House voted in favor of a political trial solution opposed to Johnson. A week later, the House passed 11 allegations.
Most of the articles dealt with Johnson’s firing of Stanton, claiming that the resolution challenged the Senate and violated the Constitution. An article accused Johnson of illegally ordering that all army orders come from the army general.
Another article said Johnson had given speeches trying to “put shame, mockery, hatred, contempt, and reproach the United States Congress. “The article said Johnson had declared “out loud, some unwelcome, incendiary and outrageous peroratas, “and that he had made” strong threats and a bitter threat “to Congress.
The text of the accusations read that Johnson “was unaware of the main tasks of his oath in office. “
What’s the result?
Only 3 of the edbeds were voted in the Senate: two on the appointment of Stanton’s replacement and one on insulting and disturbing Congress.
In one of those three clauses, the Senate acquitted Johnson by a bachelor vote. He remained in the workplace until 1869, and left after a period in which he did not win the nomination of his own party.
What happened?
Nixon, a Republican, resigned before facing a formal political trial vote, but is the first president since Johnson to write accusations against him.
Nixon’s political trial procedure began in October 1973, after the Watergate scandal lasted more than a year.
Nixon resisted subpoenas while the Watergate investigation intensified. The trial procedure began a few days after saturday night’s “Massacre,” when Nixon fired special prosecutor investigating Watergate, Archibald Cox, and accepted the resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William. Ruckelshaus.
In the political trial process, Nixon was not directly involved in the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, but concentrated on his efforts to obstruct the Watergate investigation.
What did the articles say about the trial?
The House Judiciary Committee 3 charges against Nixon in July 1974.
The first stated that Nixon had worked with subordinates to “delay, obstruct, and obstruct the investigation” about watergate’s theft to “hide, hide, and those responsible; and hide lifestyles and the scope of other illegal covert activities. “
The article at the time stated that the president had “repeatedly committed conduct that violated citizens’ constitutional rights” by “undermining the management of justice and conducting lawful investigations. “
The third article dealt with Nixon’s resistance to The House Committee subpoenas, stating that the President had “brought the forces of the presidency opposed to valid house subpoenas, thus assuming the purposes and judgments for the exercise of the only constitutionally conferred unconstitutional force in the House of Representatives. “
What’s the result?
The House Judiciary Committee approved all 3 articles, but the articles never came to a vote in the plenary chamber. An unavoidable indictment after the U. S. Supreme Court ordered the White House to publish a tape of a phone call showing that Nixon had ordered a cover-up. Even the Republican leader in the House said he would vote to charge Nixon.
Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974; I have become the first and so far the only president of the United States to resign and, although technically he was not charged, he was also the first and only president to resign due to an indictment process. .
A month later, Nixon’s successor, President Gerald Ford, gave Nixon full forgiveness for any crime he could have committed as president, making sure he would not threaten to be punished outside the office. Ford argued that the end of the Watergate saga in the country’s most productive interest.
What happened?
More than 130 years after Johnson’s political trial, Clinton, a Democrat, is the time when the president should be charged.
Clinton’s political trial procedure was the result of the Starr Report, the result of an investigation by a four-year independent attorney into her management, and a lawsuit filed through Paula Jones, a Clinton accuser of inappropriate sexual conduct.
In a statement for Jones’ trial, Clinton falsely claimed that she had no sex dating with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Starr’s report said Clinton had tried to improve her affair with Lewinsky and recalced her secretary Betty Currie to repeat her denials.
What did the articles say about the trial?
The House, in the possession of Republicans, drafted four political trial articles opposed to Clinton, but two were approved.
The first article that was passed stated that Clinton had provided “testimony of perjury, false and misleading” to a grand jury in the Jones case, which was approved by a vote of 228 to 206.
The article of the approved moment, which was approved with a vote of 221-212, stated that Clinton had “prevented justice in an effort to delay, obstruct, hide, and hide lifestyles similar to the Jones case. “
An article for a moment tells of perjury, and an article accusing Clinton of abuse of power, did not get a majority of votes.
Clinton was charged in December 1998. Al least one Democrat voted in favor of the four terms of trial, and five Democrats voted for either of the two that were eventually approved.
What’s the result?
A Republican-controlled Senate acquitted Clinton of any of the charges in February 1999. The Senate trial resulted in forty-five “guilty” perjury votes and 50 “guilty” votes for obstruction, either less than two-thirds of the votes needed to convict and charge the president.
The forty-five Democratic senators voted “not guilty” on either charge, and several Republicans joined them, and some said Clinton did not deserve to be dismissed from the White House for those crimes.
Clinton stayed and finished her term for the time being.
What happened?
Some Democratic congressmen, as well as protesters across the country, began asking for President Trump’s dismissal just after he took office, but an unlisted whistleblower complaint was needed in the third year of his presidency to nevertheless get there.
The complaint filed in August 2019 sounded the alarm about a phone call Trump had with the world leader. A month ago, Trump had asked Ukraine’s new president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a phone call to “do us a favor” and conduct politically charged investigations while retaining the assistance of the U. S. military that had been approved by Congress.
One factor raised through the president involved a refuted conspiracy theory that Ukraine intervened in some way in the 2016 election. It also called for an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, then the leader in democratic presidency number one, and his son. Hunter, who held a paid position on the board of directors of The Ukrainian fuel company Burisma while he was his father’s vice president.
In early July, Trump ordered a $391 million freeze in security aid to Ukraine, which Congress had approved. The United States nevertheless released aid in September, after the complainant’s complaint, and Ukraine never opened any investigations.
Days after the news of the whistleblowers’ complaint was published, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi filed a formal political trial investigation in the Democratic-controlled House. rudy Giuliani, and under pressure that the freezing of aid undermines the national security of the United States and Ukraine.
Gordon Sondland, the U. S. ambassador to the European Union, said there is a “counterpart” that conditions security aid and a White House assembly on Trump for Zelensky.
During the course of the investigation, the White House refused to comply with the House’s subpoenas of documents and testimonies. The president insisted that his call with the Ukrainian president “perfect. “
What did the articles say about the trial?
House Democrats have opted for a lawyer: abuse of force and obstruction in Congress.
The article on abuse of force claimed that Trump had “openly and corruptly” requested Ukraine’s political investigations and conditioned official movements on his demands. political benefits,” he said.
Congressional obstruction article quoted Trump for withholding documents and ordering officials not to testify. “In violation of his constitutional duty that the legislation be faithfully enforced, Donald J. Trump has led the unprecedented, categorical and indiscriminate challenge to subpoenas issued through the House of Representatives under his sole impeachment force,” he said.
Trump’s Republican advocates have criticized articles as partisans and politicians, noting that abuse of force and obstruction in Congress are not criminal offenses, and also criticized House Democrats for rushing the procedure of waiting for courts to rule on subpoenas.
What’s the result?
On December 18, 2019, the House of Representatives accused Trump of either article. The votes were 230-197 for abuse of force and 229-198 for obstruction of Congress. At the time, those were the two vote counts in favor of the accusations.
No Republican voted for any of the articles. Two Democrats voted against the article on abuse of power, 3 voted against the obstruction article, and one (Tusli Gabbard, who also runs for president) simply voted “present” for both.
Preliminary oral arguments for the Senate trial began on January 22 and the trial ended two weeks later. Republicans controlled the Senate with 53 votes and used that force to keep the trial as short as possible.
A majority of 51 Republicans voted against authorizing subpoenas for additional documents or quoting witnesses, one of whom claimed to have been John Bolton, Bolton’s former national security director. accusation that Trump allegedly turned down the help of Ukraine’s army to pressure the government to investigate the Biden.
On February 5, the Senate acquitted Trump of both charges. The votes were 52 to 48 for abuse of force and 53 to 47 for obstruction of Congress. Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah voted to convict Trump of abuse of force. force — the first senator to vote against a president of his own party in an indictment lawsuit.
Trump held a rite in the White House the next day to celebrate his acquittal in a crude speech.
What happened?
Nine months after his acquittal, Trump gave the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, but the president refused to give in.
In the two months since the election, Trump insisted that he had won the race and spread false conspiracy theories about voter fraud. His legal team presented dozens of situations demanding the results of the election, all of which were shot in court. triggered a “Stop The Steal” motion from supporters who wrongly insisted that the election was rigged and sought to oppose the results.
On January 6, 2021, Trump organized a “Save America” rally at the National Mall, the day Congress amassed for its ceremonial vote count at polling schools confirming Trump’s victory. “fight” the results of the election, and said they “require Congress to do the right thing and count only the voters who have been legally nominated. “He suggested supporters move to the U. S. Capitol and said he would accompany them, but he didn’t approve.
Then thousands of supporters of the demonstration marched toward the US Capitol. And many crossed police lines and broke into construction to interrupt the vote count. Capitol police evacuated members of Congress as troublemakers assaulted officers, ransacked offices, and chanted the deaths of lawmakers, adding Vice President Mike. Pence, who, according to Trump, could simply nullify the election results.
Five other people died in the insurgency, adding Capitol Hill police officer Brian Sicknick, who died as a result of his injuries.
During the attack on the Capitol, Trump posted a video on Twitter saying to his followers, “We’ll have to have peace. Then go home. We love you. You’re very special. “He has argued that the elections were “. fraudulent” and he did not explicitly report any of the acts of violence.
After several hours, the troublemakers were expelled from the Capitol and Congress gathered to end the vote count, the last step in verifying Trump.
What did the articles say about the trial?
Lawmakers have accused Trump of fueling violence. Five days after the attack, the Democratic-controlled house introduced a political trial clause for inciting the insurrection.
The article condemned Trump for his comments before and for his past efforts to subvert his electoral defeat, and added a call to the Georgian secretary of state asking him to “find” votes to return the state to Trump. Triumph.
“In all this, President Trump has put the security of the United States and its government institutions at serious risk,” the article says. “It jeopardized the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the nonviolent transition of force, and jeopardized an equivalent branch. “government. ” He said Trump would be “a risk to national security, democracy and the Constitution if allowed to remain in effect,” even if he had a few days left.
The House voted 232-197 to approve the segment on January 13, a week before Trump’s completion. Ten Republicans joined all Democrats in voting, making it the highest vote for bipartisan political judgment in American history. votes in favor of a political trial article, surpassing Trump’s previous record.
The time of the indictment raised the unprecedented question of whether a former president can even face a trial in the Senate and what kind of punishment he would get if convicted. face indictment proceedings even after leaving office.
The main example above is William Belknap, President Ulysses S. ‘s secretary of war. Grant, who in 1876 resigned and burst into tears minutes before the House ruled his political trial over a bribery scandal. The Senate held a trial, where Belknap was eventually acquitted of all charges.
Since Trump has already got rid of the workplace after an election, Democrats said they could ban him from applying again, which would have required a separate vote after his conviction.
What’s the result?
The Senate trial began on February 9 and ended after just five days, a quick end to the fastest political trial procedure ever recorded. On the first day of the trial, the Senate approved 56 votes out of 44 that the trial was constitutional.
Democratic political trial officials relied heavily on video evidence for their arguments and published never-before-seen images of the capitol attack, showing how lawmakers had come to deal with a violent mob, as well as Trump videos encouraging violence by his presidency and election rallies. Trump’s defense has focused largely on challenging a former president’s trial procedure and opposed his direct link to capitol violence.
On the last day of the trial, the Senate voted to authorize witnesses and more evidence, a resolution that may have extended the trial for weeks or months, but just two hours later, law enforcement officials and Trump reached an agreement to continue. With the conclusion of the trial. A nervous official, Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado, later told CBS News’s “Face The Nation” that he believed more witnesses “would have made a difference” for top Republican senators.
In the end, the Senate acquitted Trump with a vote of 57 “guilty” instead of 43 “not guilty,” 10 fewer votes than the two-thirds majority required for the conviction. Seven Republicans voted against Trump. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. his own party, breaking another record since Trump.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell voted for Mitch McConnell’s acquittal. Trump, however, blamed him for the Capitol insurrection in a scathing speech without further delay, saying there was “no doubt” that the former president was “practical and morally responsible” to the Kentucky Republican said his vow of acquittal came from his resolution that the Senate had no constitutional basis for convicting a former president.
McConnell, however, said Trump is not immune from being punished by the country’s civil and criminal laws.
“He hasn’t done it yet, ” he said. I said, “Again. “