Far-right ideology characterized by distrust in predominant political figures and skepticism of government was fueled last Wednesday when President Trump egged on his supporters to mob the Capital building. The House found President Trump’s actions so grave it warranted an impeachment just a few days before he leaves office for inciting violence against the United States government.
While judicial precedence largely shapes the scope of constitutional provisions, impeachment stands uniquely alone by predominantly going unchecked by the judiciary. Meaning, regardless of previous supreme court cases that have defined incitement of violence and protected political speech, what truly identifies impeachable conduct is exclusively dependent on the discretion of Congress.
The Constitution vaguely defines impeachable offenses as “conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” The problem is, the confines of “high crimes and misdemeanors” are not formally outlined like treason and bribery are, leaving a gap of interpretation for Congress to deem a president fit or unfit.
Thus, impeachable conduct and the penalties for such behavior is determined by the climate of Congress, competing policy making interests, accountability to the public and political alliances.
The fact of the matter is, Congress can impeach a president for nearly anything—even for a haircut. Which is why the House was able to impeach Trump for his words at the rally, despite them firmly fitting the definition of protected political speech in the first amendment by judicial precedent and the Bradenburg test. And since the internal pressures of Congress and from the public were resoundingly high, Trump was impeached.
What is even more compelling, this impeachment could fundamentally change the political scene in the United States and force us to reconsider the two party system. News reports covering Washington are flooded with concerns about a rift in the Republican Party: republicans who are against impeachment and republicans who are for impeachment. Namely, Representative Liz Cheney from Wyoming is leading the opposition in the Republican Party and has openly blamed President Trump for inciting violence.
In a tweet, Representative Cheney said, “There is no question that the President formed the mob, the President incited the mob, the President addressed the mob. He lit the flame.”
Like the republicans, the Democratic Party has also been dealing with internal division since 2016, when their supporters were split between Hillary and Bernie. Neither of these scenarios are ideal, though, democrats may be comforted knowing republicans too are struggling with keeping their party united.
Impeachment is perhaps the strongest political tool in modern American politics, yet its conviction is determined exclusively by Congress. The consequences of an impeachment are far reaching, especially now, as the U.S. is stricken with intense bipartisanship and a deadly pandemic.
We need to be more careful moving forward. Perhaps the terms of impeachment need to be more closely defined and we need to be strategic in the next presidential term to not only reunite our own parties but reunite the nation.
