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John Cornyn has said the “ former Democratic presidents ” could be impeached if the Senate goes ahead with Donald Trump’s trial.
One of the most influential Republicans in the US Senate has warned that “former Democratic presidents” could face indictment if the Senate goes ahead with an impeachment lawsuit against former President Donald Trump.
Trump was dismissed in the US House of Representatives this month for “inciting insurgency” after some of its supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 as Congress convened to certify President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
While some Republicans in the Senate, where an impeachment trial is expected to begin in February, have criticized Trump’s actions, several say they are opposed to continuing the process after Trump leaves.
“If it’s a good idea to impeach and try former presidents, what about former Democratic presidents when Republicans get a majority in 2022?” John Cornyn, a 19-year Senate veteran, said in a tweet on Saturday to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“Think about it and do what’s best for the country,” Cornyn wrote.
No, you need unanimous consent. But you already knew that. BTW, if it’s a good idea to impeach and try former presidents, what about former Democratic presidents when Republicans get a majority in 2022? Think about it and let’s do what’s best for the country. https://t.co/cCkumapbWY
– Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) 23 January 2021
Trump is the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice and the first to be tried after leaving office.
Some scholars have supported that conducting an impeachment trial after a president has left office is unconstitutional, while others say it is permissible as long as the process begins before a president has left office.
More controversial is the question of whether the impeachment process could begin en bloc after the departure of a president.
Cornyn’s statement comes as federal authorities continue to arrest those involved in the January 6 riot that left five dead.
Senior Senate Republican Mitch McConnell has laid the blame for the violence at Trump’s feet, claiming the mob had been “provoked” and “fed on lies” by the former president.
In a possible further complication of Trump’s case, at least five people arrested in the riot suggested they were taking Trump’s orders when they stormed the Capitol, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.
“I feel like I’m following my president. I was following what we were called to do. He asked us to fly there. He asked us to be there, ”Jenna Ryan, a Texas real estate agent who posted a photo of herself flashing a sign on Twitter, told a Dallas-Fort Worth television station. peace next to a broken window in the Capitol.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported on Saturday that federal law enforcement was privately debating not to indict some of the rioters in hopes of preventing a deluge of business from flooding the local courthouse. .
While talks are in their early stages, some federal officials have suggested not indicting those in the group of about 800 who entered the Capitol building but did not commit any crime beyond that, like vandalism or violence, the newspaper reported.
The Justice Department, which has already charged more than 135 people in the incident, has publicly pledged to identify and stubbornly arrest anyone who stormed the building.
Federal officials arrested Garrett Miller of Texas, 34, on Friday for storming the Capitol and posting threatening tweets, including one that simply read “AOC murder,” a reference to Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
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