A Republican senator noted Sunday that he did not believe it was constitutional for the Senate to pursue a former conviction. President Trump
Donald TrumpNYT: Rep. Perry played a role in Trump’s alleged plan to oust AG Arizona action GOP censors top state Republicans McCain, Flake and Ducey Biden and British Prime Minister discuss NATO and multilateralism during the call on an article of judicial indictment accusing him of inciting insurrection.
His. Mike Rounds
Mike RoundsSunday shows preview: All eyes on the Biden administration to combat the chaos of the coronavirus in the Senate threatens to slow down Biden’s agenda. MONTH (RS.D.) told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he believed the Constitution only allowed Congress to indict current presidents, so it was debated whether Trump had committed a contested crime with his incitement to the crowd. violent that surpassed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 a “questionable point.”
“For starters, I think it’s a debatable point,” Rounds said. “Because, I think right now Donald Trump is no longer the president, he’s a former president.”
“Article 1 … specific point[s] indicates that you can charge the president and does not indicate that you can charge someone who is not in office. So I think it’s a debatable point and I think they would have a hard time getting it in the Senate, ”he continued.
Rounds went on to say that the Senate should move on to other issues and pointed to the confirmation of candidates in President Biden’s cabinet as an area where the Republican Party should move on to working with Democrats.
His statements echoed those of other Republican Party senators, such as Tom Cotton
Tom Bryant CottonSunday shows preview: all eyes on Biden administration to deal with coronavirus Senate approves resignation of Biden Pentagon candidate House approves Biden Pentagon candidate resignation MORE (Ark.) They have argued that the removal of a former president is unconstitutional, an argument that Democrats disagree with.
“The Senate has no constitutional authority to conduct impeachment proceedings against a former president,” Cotton said in a statement last week. “The founders designed the impeachment process as a way to remove charges from public office, not an investigation against private citizens.”