“The Senate under its rules and precedents cannot start and conclude a fair trial before the president leaves office next week,” Republican Senator Tom Cotton explained in a statement released on Wednesday. “Under these circumstances, the Senate lacks constitutional authority to conduct impeachment proceedings against a former president”
“The House has passed an article of impeachment against the president, but the Senate under its rules and precedents cannot start and conclude a fair trial before the president leaves office next week,” continued Cotton.
“The Founders designed the impeachment process as a way to remove officeholders from public office—not an inquest against private citizens. The Constitution presupposes an office from which an impeached officeholder can be removed.”
My statement on senate impeachment proceedings:https://t.co/F8q0VaQyWR
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) January 14, 2021
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