Outcome in Oath Keepers Trial Could Hold Lessons for Coming Jan. 6 Cases Against Trump Administration Officials
After the House Judiciary Committee last week voted to move forward with the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, the nation will hear from a series of witnesses on Monday, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton, Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
The outcome could hold lessons for the coming impeachment cases against Trump administration officials.
According to the Associated Press, committee chair Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York indicated during questioning at the committee that when the House votes to impeach, the process will be “racy.” Nadler said, “My experience is that if we are impeaching a president, we move on quickly and we make sure that we make the right decision.”
The House will only become more racy after the House votes on the articles of impeachment.
When considering the process for the impeachment of Trump, you have to first decide whether impeachment is justified by what the Trump administration has already done, or by what the Trump administration may do in the future. Let’s look at the two options.
If you believe that the president is guilty of wrongdoing, you remove him from office and remove him from the White House. If you feel that the president is innocent of wrongdoing — and if you want to protect the president and his legacy, of course — then you consider whether he should be removed from office and what the removal decision should be.
Now, let’s consider the process for doing that. The House will proceed with a hearing. That will include witness testimony, as well as opening statements and closed-door hearings. Before the formal vote on impeachment, the House will vote on the articles of impeachment. Each House member has the right to offer a “guilty or not guilty” argument on the ground for impeaching the president.
The argument can be based on criminal conduct, or obstruction of justice, or other grounds. In this case, the argument will be based on criminal conduct. If the House votes to impeach the president on the basis of criminal conduct, that would mean the House voted to impeach the president on the ground that he abused his authority or violated his oath of office. This is where the “racy” argument makes sense.
If the House votes to impeach the president on the basis of criminal conduct, that
