Making Sense of the Impeachment

In the news, there are talks of the impeachment everywhere. It might be hard for some to understand, especially those who do not usually take the time to keep up with politics. In this article will be all the information needed to understand the basics of impeachment.

To begin the process of impeachment, a complaint must first be filed. This can come from wherever, an individual citizen or House of Representatives member, or even the President themselves! This complaint must request an investigation be open, and it goes to the House of Representatives.

If the charges have merits, it goes to the House for a full vote to either approve or disprove of the Articles. A simple majority is needed to send it to the Senate. If it does not pass, the Articles are defeated and terminated.

Once in the Senate, the process becomes like a jury trial. The evidence is presented by both defendant and prosecutor to determine the guilt of the defendant. The Senators are the jury, in this case. A two-thirds majority vote is needed in order to have a decision passed. If less than two-thirds of the Senators present do not agree on the accused’s guilt, then the accused is cleared of charges.

If two-thirds or more of Senators present determine that the accused is guilty, there are two choices they have to make. They can either remove them from office, or remove them from office AND prohibit them from holding office positions in the future.

So where are we now?

I’m sure you’ve heard of the whistleblower, whether you know what they claimed or not. They alerted the press about the phone calls President Trump made to Ukraine. The claim was President Trump withheld military funding until Ukraine could provide information on former Vice President Joe Biden, his current 2020 political competitor.

The inquiry was passed in the House, sending it to the Senate. The trials are complicated to follow, and frankly mostly based on hearsay. The Ukraine phone calls happened, but we cannot say for sure what was said in them. A subpoena is in place, which is a request to view all documents in a certain office or offices.

What happens if he is impeached? Past removal from office, the Republican party has to find a new candidate to promote for the upcoming election. It puts the Democratic party at an advantage in the race, and they will likely take the election.

If the articles are defeated, President Trump will be able to go back to business. I cannot pretend to have the foresight to predict how it will influence the election. Most likely, it will be a significant dent in the democratic polls.

In my personal opinion, I don’t think the Senate will pass the articles due to the Republican majority. I cannot say if I am happy about that or not, as I have conflicted feelings.

Many seniors, the class of 2020, will be of age to vote in the upcoming election. It will be important to stay updated on the candidates to know who to vote for. This is your future in the making, and this is your voice that is being represented in your vote.