Is Trump impeached yet? Nancy Pelosi’s delay leaves president’s lawyers wondering
- US House Speaker is temporarily withholding articles of impeachment from Senate to pressure Republicans to conduct ‘fair trial’
- Poll shows less than half of Americans support Trump’s removal from office
Lawyers close to US President Donald Trump are exploring whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to temporarily withhold articles of impeachment from the Senate could mean that the president has not actually been impeached.
The legal argument, according to a person familiar with the legal review, is that if Trump has been officially impeached, the US Senate should already have jurisdiction.
Backers of the theory would argue that the clause of the US Constitution that gives the Senate “the sole Power to try all Impeachments” indicates that the impeachment is not formalised until the House reported the charges to the upper chamber.
The case is largely a rhetorical one, but could provide the White House and Senate Republicans leverage as lawmakers debate when and how to conduct a trial on charges that the president abused his power to solicit an investigation into political rival Joe Biden, and obstructed the congressional investigation into the matter.
Democrats are facing an uphill task, with less than half of all Americans saying Trump should be removed from office following his impeachment, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.