Past impeachment proceedings: 2 acquittals, 1 resignation

Despite a whistle blower letter suggesting that Donald Trump has broken the law, even if the accusations proved to be accurate, it is unlikely he will be removed from office by an impeachment.

There have only been three efforts to remove a sitting president from office in the entire history of the United States. None of them were successful.

The first was Andrew Johnson. He was the Vice President under Abraham Lincoln and so obviously become president after Lincoln’s assassination. Johnson’s impeachment in 1868 was the culmination of a bitter dispute between the president and the Republican-controlled House over Reconstruction following the Civil War.

Richard Nixon was going to be impeached but resigned when he learned of the charges from the House Judiciary Committee. The charge was obstruction of justice. 

Bill Clinton was impeached for lying in front of a grand jury about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern.

The only way an impeachment of Trump will be successful would be by winning support of large parts of the population. Most Americans are against removing President Trump from office, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday September 25, 2019.

Given the fact that a guilty verdict requires a two thirds in favor vote in the Senate it is highly unlikely Donald Trump would be removed from office. The reason? At this time most Republican senators are strong supporters of Trump. If Trump is vindicated before the November 2020 election it would give Trump an opportunity to claim evil forces were fighting to destroy his presidency and the United States.

One thought on “Past impeachment proceedings: 2 acquittals, 1 resignation

  1. I agree with most of what you wrote. Sadly if the conduct of this president is not investigated for his abuse of power for enlisting the aid of a foreign country then it opens the door for the presidents to come. This not just about trump but about the abuse of the office of president.

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