Impeachment: How does it work and will Donald Trump be removed from office?

The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump began Tuesday in the US Senate, marking the third time in the nation’s history that a sitting president faces possible removal from office.

What does impeachment actually mean?

The term “impeachment” is sometimes conflated with one of its possible outcomes – a sitting official’s removal from office. However, impeachment refers to the process of determining whether or not an official should be removed from office, not the act itself, and is the sole method for removal of a President found in the US Constitution. Presidents can be removed from office if they’re convicted of conviction, treason, bribery or “other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Mr Trump was impeached by the US House of Representatives – one half of the federal government’s legislative branch – on 18 December. The trial that began Tuesday in the US Senate – the other half of the legislative branch – will determine if Mr Trump is removed from office.

How does it work?

Removing a President from office requires substantial support from both parts of the US legislative branch. The process begins in the House of Representatives, as one of the House’s main functions is to provide oversight to the federal government. If the House levies charges against the President – or other federal officials – the House can then introduce an impeachment resolution. The resolution is voted on like any other and requires a simple majority of votes in the House to pass.

Once the resolution has passed, the Committee on the Judiciary – which oversees the activities of the US executive branch - determines whether or not to pursue impeachment. If they decide to move forward, the House appoints a number of members to act as prosecutors – called “managers” – in the eventual impeachment trial. Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif, Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., Val Demings, D-Fla., Sylvia Garcia, D-TX, and Jason Crow, D-Col., will serve as the impeachment managers in the trial of Mr Trump.

Once in the Senate, the rules dictating how a trial proceeds become less specific. The Constitution requires the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court – currently John Roberts – preside over the trial of a president, and that senators swear an oath administered by the judge that they will be impartial in the judgement. Otherwise, the only other clearly defined trial rule laid out by the Constitution is that an official can only be removed from office with a two-thirds majority vote by the Senate.

The rest of the trial’s rules – like how long debates are allowed to last – are determined by the Senate.

What does the Constitution say?

The Constitution surprisingly doesn’t offer much insight on impeachment, and what it does offer is often vague. The concept is outlined in the first two articles of the Constitution, and only in four places total.

The roles of the US Legislative Branch are outlined in Article 1 in Sections 2 and 3, establishing the House as the body that can carry out impeachment, and the Senate as the trial venue.

In Article 2, Section 2, the Constitution establishes the president’s power to pardon crimes “except in cases of impeachment.”

Easily the most debated – and quoted – constitutional reference to impeachment is found in Article 2, Section 4, which reads as follows:

“The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

What are “high crimes and misdemeanors?” That’s a question that has been debated by members of Congress and constitutional lawyers since the Constitution was adopted.

Gerald Ford famously suggested in 1970 that the definition was “whatever a majority of the House of Representatives consider it to be at a given moment in history.”

Whether that definition is a cynical reading or an accurate one remains the subject of debate. Either way, the task of determining whether or not Mr Trump has committed a “high crime or misdemeanor” will fall to the Republican-controlled Senate.

Will he be removed?

It is extremely unlikely that Mr Trump will be removed from office. The Constitution calls for a 2/3rds majority vote – 67 senators – to remove an official from office. In order to reach that number, 20 Republican senators would have to vote in favour of removal.

What happens next?

The impeachment trial in the Senate began Tuesday with a face-off between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over trial rules. Mr McConnell will push for rules that will speed the trial along – limiting the time witnesses have to testify – in an effort to end the trial quickly. Mr Schumer urged senators to reject the rules, suggesting Mr McConnell was trying to “cover up” evidence to help ensure Mr Trump remains in office.