The rule of law is a cornerstone of American democracy and is integral to the Constitution. It stands for the principles that no person is beneath the laws’ protections. No person is above the laws’ requirements. And the laws apply equally to all people. That is the theory of the rule of law.
In practice, as the power of the federal government has grown almost exponentially since 1789 and the power of the presidency has grown with it, presidents have claimed immunity from the need to comply with the law while in office. They have also claimed immunity from the consequences of the failure to comply with the law.
That immunity claim is predicated upon the belief that if the president committed a criminal offense and was charged and prosecuted while in office, the diversion of his energies to his defense would interfere substantially with his ability to do his job, which could jeopardize national security.
President Trump is hoping to turn the dubious distinction of impeachment into a rallying cry in his reelection bid.
Halfway across the world from Washington, D.C., where President Trump on Wednesday became just the third president in U.S. history to be impeached, Trump’s counterpart in the Kremlin made clear that he has the American president’s back.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said on Thursday that she would name managers to take the impeachment of president Donald Trump to the Senate after Republicans set the ground rules for a trial.
Tumbling toward impeachment, Richard Nixon recognized the reality of collapsing political support and became the only American president to quit the office. A generation later, when the House voted to impeach Bill Clinton, the president oscillated between apologies for his Oval Office behavior and fervent pleas for Americans to turn away from “the politics of personal destruction.”
The president, in a disjointed appearance in Michigan, went after political enemies, touted accomplishments and complained about dim light bulbs.