Vermont Democratic Senator and Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)
On Monday (25), U.S. Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, confirmed that he will replace Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to preside over the impeachment trial of former President Trump on Feb. 8. Leahy’s new role has raised concerns about the fairness of the trial.
“How does a senator preside like a judge and serve as a juror at the same Time?” Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Monday.
“This reflects a fundamental flaw in how we operate.” Cornyn said, “We’re designing as we go, not following the Constitution.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, said there is only one constitutional process regarding impeachment, that of a sitting president, and it should only be presided over by the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
“If the chief justice doesn’t preside, then I think it’s an illegal hearing, and that clearly indicates that it’s really unconstitutional to impeach someone who is not the president.” Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, also dissented from impeachment.
Leahy, 80, has served in the Senate since 1975, representing Vermont. On Jan. 6, Leahy issued a statement in response to the Capitol incident, saying Trump “promotes delusional conspiracy theories and encourages crime.
A legal scholar said that as a prominent Democrat and public critic of Trump, Leahy was given the power to preside over Trump’s impeachment trial, raising questions about the fairness of the trial.
“Senator Leahy is a member of a party that would clearly benefit if Trump is unable to run for president in 2024, as he has suggested.” said John Banzhaf, a professor at George Washington University (Wash.) Law School.
Leahy did not even invite Justice Roberts to oversee the trial, arguing that the constitutionally mandated requirement that the chief justice preside over impeachment trials applies to sitting presidents, not former ones.
Last week, several Democrats also asked Roberts to preside over the trial.
A portion of Republican lawmakers are currently working to seek to have Trump’s impeachment trial overturned before it is held, as they have determined that an impeachment trial against a former president is itself unconstitutional.
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