Illinois civics experts see value in Congress pursuing Trump’s impeachment, removal with only days left in term

Illinois academics and civics scholars contend there is reason and value in Congress pursuing a second impeachment of President Donald Trump after this week’s breach of the U.S. Capitol by groups of his supporters, even with less than two weeks left in his term.

Congressional representatives in northern Illinois helped lead calls for exploring Trump’s eviction from office after Wednesday’s storming of the Capitol building, with U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who represents the state’s 16th House District, becoming the first Republican to call for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment against Trump.

The 25th Amendment, which allows for the vice president to take over if the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” would be a separate process from impeachment.

Sheila Simon, an assistant professor of law at Southern Illinois University and the state’s former lieutenant governor, said she thinks it is smart for Congress to speak publicly about potentially using either impeachment or the 25th Amendment to get rid of Trump ahead of Inauguration Day later this month, even if it results in no official action.

“It puts the president on notice,” Simon said, “particularly the 25th Amendment. That action could take place so quickly. I think a discussion of that puts the president on notice that if his behavior crosses the line that is identified by the vice president and the majority of the Cabinet, then he can be removed from office, at least in that temporary way.”

Although some might think the damage Trump could do if he remains in office over the next 11 days is minimal, Jonathan Masur, a law professor at the University of Chicago and an expert on the 25th Amendment, contends that Trump is more dangerous than ever in the coming days because he no longer has to answer to voters or anyone else.

That means keeping Trump’s removal on the table and taking steps toward it is prudent, Masur said.

“He’s like the renter who is moving out of an apartment and they know they’re not coming back, so they trash the place, or at least don’t stop someone else from trashing it,” Masur said.

Impeaching Trump or Pence using the 25th Amendment “would not be merely a political stunt,” Masur said.

Illinois experts said that despite the unlikelihood of the House approving articles of impeachment or the Senate holding a trial before Trump departs the presidency, it still is worthwhile for lawmakers to take steps that could remove him from the position and potentially bar him from ever holding federal office again.

They said Pence invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office is unexpected, and more legal questions surround that process than impeachment, partly because of the mounting resignations of Cabinet heads. A majority of Cabinet members are required, in addition to the vice president, to declare Trump unable to serve.

Additionally, an unusual number of Cabinet members have not been confirmed by the Senate for their positions, meaning there is legal gray area on whether they could sign on to a 25th Amendment declaration, said Michael Conway, an attorney and adjunct instructor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism who served as counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment of President Richard Nixon.

If one or more articles of impeachment are passed, a trial potentially could take place after Trump already has left office, the experts said. If two-thirds of the Senate votes to convict the president of the allegations, it then could decide whether to bar Trump from serving in federal office in the future. Such a vote only would require a simple majority of senators rather than the two-thirds majority required for conviction.

Even if the Senate again declined to convict Trump, a decision by the House to impeach still would be important, Conway said.

“Realistically, the impeachment would go on for months. The trial would be later this year,” Conway said. “There hasn’t been a president in our history convicted in a Senate trial. I think impeachment is more than a slap on the wrist. The historical consequences of this would be very significant.”

Although he penned an opinion in November for NBCNews.com arguing President-elect Joe Biden should pardon Trump of any charges brought against him after he’s out of office as a way to help bridge the nation’s political divide, Conway said Friday that he has since changed his mind.

After Trump and his allies’ contributions to the chaos in the Capitol building this week, Conway said Biden should avoid getting in the way of possible criminal complaints against Trump.

John Shaw, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, agreed that another impeachment of Trump would provide a crucial historical context of what the country thought of his conduct as leader of the free world, particularly his actions since the November election.

“Having passed a second round of impeachment articles would be a way to make it clear to the history books that President Trump was the worst president in American history and should be condemned by future generations of Americans as behaving far below acceptable standards,” Shaw said. “If what happened this week is not an impeachable crime, there is no such thing, and the concept is meaningless.”