Share this page!

Teri Kanefield Profile picture
Twitter logo
14 Jan, 7 tweets, 3 min read
No, sorry. This is a common misunderstanding.

The clause says the president has power to "grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the U.S. except in Cases of Impeachment."

All constitutional scholars I'm familiar with say this means a pardon can't undo an impeachment.
There's really no debate among scholars I'm familiar with about this.

It makes sense, particularly given the rationale for including the pardon power in the first place.

Impeachment is not a criminal matter. Involved is only the right to hold public office and trust.
So no pardon can undo Trump's impeachment. If the Senate convicts, no pardon can undo that.


The original Tweet says Trump can't pardon anyone involved in the insurrection because that's the crime he was impeached for.

I'm saying that is incorrect.
Yes. The remedy is that he can be prosecuted for criminal pardons (such as pardons in exchange for silence).

If he pardons all of his co-conspirators then he is left as the only one facing prosecution and punishment.
Fun?

If you want authority in the form of law professors, here is
@jedshug
quoting Brian Kalt (Kalt: expertfile.com/experts/brian.……)

See: …

I know people are arguing to the contrary, but unfortunately, the contrary view is not backed up by scholarship.
It also doesn't mean, "No pardon for people who committed crimes that are the subject of an impeachment."

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Teri Kanefield

Teri Kanefield Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @Teri_Kanefield

Teri Kanefield Profile picture
16 Jan
I see two possibilities ahead for the Republican Party.

#1: The party hardens as a right-wing white nationalist party and shrinks in size.

#2: Moderates conservatives retake the party. This, however, creates what political scientists call the "conservative dilemma."

1/
The conservative dilemma, in a nutshell is this: Conservatives tend to represent the wealth and powerful corporations, therefore the policies they advocate are not appealing to the majority of people.

In other words, they will have trouble winning elections.

2/
In the years since 1954, the Republican Party, while calling itself conservative, solved the conservative dilemma by bringing white nationalists and KKK types into the party, coddling them for their votes while trying to keep them on the sidelines.

3/
Read 16 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
14 Jan
The problem facing the House Managers (prosecutors):

How to win a conviction when some of the jurors (and judges) are at least partly responsible for the crime?

The answer: they must win first in the Court of Public Opinion, which is where Senate Trials are mostly conducted.
Senate trials are a political-legal hybrid.

They're partly a legal proceeding. It's called a trial, and the authority comes from the Constitution.

But the judges and jurors are elected officials and therefore answer to their constituents.

The framers did this on purpose. . .
. . . they considered giving the trial to the Supreme Court, but instead gave it to Congress. Because the president was elected, they wanted to make sure any conviction had popular support.

Nah 👇Roberts will just be a potted plant again.
Read 4 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
14 Jan
Here's my thoughts about McConnell stalling.

If McConnell did hold a trial immediately, I doubt it would result in Trump being removed much sooner. Trials take time. Clinton's lasted a month, and Trump's term ends on Wednesday at noon (Seems like years away, right?)

1/
The underlying crime in this case is complicated and will take time to present. (Of course, Clinton's trial was filled with annoying Republican grandstanding about how shocked they were--shocked, I tell you--at Clinton's immoral behavior.

2/
These are different kinds of proceedings.

Even if you could conclude the trial in a week, you wouldn't actually be removing Trump any earlier than the end of his term.

Moreover, rushing a trial seems silly. We need all the evidence presented.

3/
Read 11 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
12 Jan
(Thread) Over the Cliff Notes: Impeachment #2

Let’s start with the Article of Impeachment itself: whdh.com/wp-content/upl…

The charge: Incitement of Insurrection.

Spoiler: This is a slam-dunk in the impeach-and-convict department, and will create a moment of truth for the GOP.
1/ The basics:

🔹Impeachment requires a majority vote in the House. 

🔹Impeachment is followed by a Senate Trial.

🔹Conviction requires 2/3 of the Senate.

After conviction, preventing Trump from holding office again requires a simple majority vote.
2/ This is not a criminal trial.

The Constitution specifically says that a criminal trial may be appropriate AFTER impeachment and removal.

Defendants in a criminal trial have special protections because they stand to lose their liberty, property, or even their life. Image
Read 15 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
11 Jan
The Authority Figure Defense

My latest for the Washington Post with @reichellaw

washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/0…

The Public Authority Defense will make it harder for the Trumps, Giuliani, and pals to squirm out of facing consequences.

1/
Here’s how the defense works. If the chief of police tells you that you could ignore “no parking” sign, you could evoke the Public Authority Defense.

You could point your finger at the authority figure who invited you to commit the illegal act.
washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/0…

2/
The spotlight then turns to the authority figure: Did the chief of police have the authority to waive the parking restriction?

If not, was it reasonable for you to believe that he did?

See where this is going?
washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/0…

3/
Read 10 tweets
Teri Kanefield Profile picture
10 Jan
A few things to notice here.

The best Trump can get right now for a spokesperson offering his talking points is Jim Jordan.

One of the faulty talking points is that "impeachment is for a sitting president," so, if the trial can't take place until. . .

1/
. . . after the 20th, there are "constitutional issues."

One possible punishment allowed by the Constitution after a finding of guilt in the impeachment trial is that the president can never again hold office.

2/
By Jim Jordan's reasoning, Congress cannot take steps to prevent a president from running again for office if he leads an armed rebellion against the government during his final days in office (before a trial can take place).

Wrong. 🛎️🛎️🛎️ (and silly)

3/
Read 6 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @Teri_Kanefield has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @Teri_Kanefield!

Read all threads by @Teri_Kanefield