Can A President Actually Be Impeached for Treason?

[Ziggurat]

That is probably true. I remember when Sen. Larry "Wide Stance" Craig (R-ID) was arrested for his airport restroom escapades and it came out that had he identified himself as a US Senator on official business, the cop would have been unable to detain him (he pled guilty on the spot hoping to save himself from the embarrassment, which of course didn't work).

Your memory is not quite right. The relevant section of the Contitution is Article I section 6:

"They [Congress] shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place."

So they can be arrested for certain crimes at any time, and for any crimes when not in session or traveling to or from session. The purpose of this section is not to give Congress any actual immunities, but to prevent the executive from arresting members on minor charges which then get dropped in order to keep opposition members from voting on a close bill. That's an abuse that the Crown of England actually engaged in quite a few times way back when with Parliament.

 

[hgc]

A president can be impeached for anything. There is no path for appeal of the validity of an impeachment charges in the House. The results of the Senate trial also have no path for appeal. It's a strictly political process, entirely controlled by the Congress.

 

[BenBurch]

Sure, but he can also pardon himself. But a pardon doesn't get you out of impeachment.

First, self-pardon has never been court tested. When it came time for Bush to leave office I asked my lawyer friend if Bush could do that since it appeared that treatment of the Gitmo detainees was probably unlawful, and his opinion was that it was unlikely that a President could pardon himself.

ETA: And second nope, it sure doesn't. Impeachment can be for any reason the Congress decides to impeach for, even if trivial or imaginary.

 

[Beerina]

Sure, but he can also pardon himself. But a pardon doesn't get you out of impeachment.

That would also be the first, and last time a president pardoned himself. An amendment forbidding such would no doubt quickly follow.

 

[Ziggurat]

That would also be the first, and last time a president pardoned himself. An amendment forbidding such would no doubt quickly follow.

Probably. And there are other reasons a president might want to avoid doing something like that even if he was guilty of a crime. For example, lifetime Secret Service protection isn't constitutionally mandated. If a president pardoned himself, in addition to impeaching him, Congress could strip him of this benefit. And that could have... negative consequences for a president who just pardoned himself.

 

[INRM]

Ziggurat

Yes and yes.

Isn't there something wrong with a President being able to pardon himself for a crime he committed? Doesn't that just throw a monkey wrench into the whole rule of law thing?

That's part of why impeachment is specifically exempted from pardons (ie, a pardon doesn't exempt anyone from impeachment).

Yeah, but all you gotta do is resign and have your VP pardon you and you'll never answer for anything you do


No matter how I die, it was murder

 

[Gazpacho]

Thank you, Joe.

A lot of people who post on this forum don't know WTF they are talking about.
The OP is one such.

If only the OP would admit his ignorance and ask for opinions from the resident know-it-alls...

oh, right.

 

[eeyore1954]

Reminds me of a "discussion" I had with a CT loon who insisted the President was above the law and could not be arrested for any crime whatsoever, state or federal. Literally, Obama could carjack someone, drive to the liquor store, punch out the clerk, down a 5th and no one could arrest him.

Hasn't he done that already?