This Essay draws on recent studies of the federal impeachment power and the issues swirling around the presidency of Donald Trump to consider the law and politics of impeachments. The impeachment process is inescapably political, but that does not mean that there are no constitutional rules, standards, and considerations that can and will shape how the politics unfurl. The most challenging constitutional questions surrounding the impeachment power relate to the scope of impeachable offenses. It is possible to rule out some interpretations of the constitutional language of “high crimes and misdemeanors,” but the standard for impeachable offenses that we are left with will still require contestable political judgment to apply in any particular case. Knowing whether a given act could be regarded as an impeachable offense is only the first step in determining whether an individual should be impeached and ultimately convicted and removed from office.
