US Rep Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Speaker of the House, stated on Thursday that he would consider expunging one or both of former President Trump’s impeachments as the Republican-led House of Representatives seeks to reverse some of the most scandalous and historic government corruption that occurred during the last seven years under Democratic control.
“In December 2019, the House impeached President Donald Trump on two counts of abuse of power and obstruction of justice. Trump had withheld almost $400 million in congressionally-approved military aid to Ukraine, unless the country agreed to investigate Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s business dealings in the country,” according to Government Track Insider, who reported on the situation, adding:
The Senate acquitted Trump on both counts in February 2020, allowing him to continue in office for the balance of his term. (Republicans controlled the chamber at the time.) In other words, the impeachments in the House amounted to little more than a slap on the wrist for Trump, who suffered no substantive repercussions as a result.
It was nonetheless considered a partial win by the Democrats. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA12) stated, “Whatever happens, he will be impeached forever.”
Others felt differently. “Should they expunge the impeachment in the House? They should because it was a hoax,” Trump said.
What the resolution does:
A new House resolution would overturn and delete Trump’s impeachment accusations for 2019 retroactively.
Would that even be permissible? Nothing in the Constitution prohibits Congress from reversing an impeachment, but neither Andrew Johnson nor Bill Clinton, the last two presidents impeached by the House, had their charges dropped. The Senate formally rescinded their 1834 condemnation of President Andrew Jackson in 1837, however, creating a precedent that may be contested.
Rep. Markwayne Mullin proposed the revised proposal on March 29 as H.Res. 1010 in the House (R-OK2).
Supporters believe that the impeachment was improper to begin with and that it is never too late to do the right thing.
“This impeachment was an unimaginable abuse of our Constitution,” Rep. Mullin said in a press release. “Democrats in Congress put politics over country and threw all democracy out the window to unseat our president. This is exactly what our Founding Fathers warned against. While we cannot undo history, we can make it right. This resolution will bring credibility back to the impeachment process and ensure this manipulation never happens again.”
(As you can probably guess, Rep. Mullin voted against both impeachment counts at the time.)
“I would understand why members would want to bring that forward,” McCarthy said in response to a question at a press conference on Thursday, before listing off several other key priorities for House Republicans.
“But I understand why individuals want to do it, and we’d look at it,” he added.
More on this story via The Republic Brief:
The Hill reported on more details:
In the last Congress, a group of more than 30 House Republicans led by Rep. Markwayne Mullin (Okla.) put forward a resolution to expunge Trump’s impeachment in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The resolution was supported by the fourth-ranking Republican in the House, Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (N.Y.). CONTINUE READING…