Google Gemini was used to research this piece. This Essay was posted on 10/6/2025.
MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell once described the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynahan’s views on impeachment, and it makes sense. Senator Moynahan commented that the Senate can convict a sitting President for virtually any reason, even a trivial one, because an impeachment verdict can’t be appealed in a court of law. The Senate has the final say on the verdict.
I am not sure whether Constitutional Law expert Laurence Tribe would agree with Moynahan that a President can be impeached for any trivial matter, but he asserts that an impeachment issue doesn’t need to be a crime. Why is this important?
In Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, Republicans claimed that the charges did not show how Trump committed a crime, which they say is a requirement of an impeachment trial. In Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, Republicans were more concerned that Trump was no longer in office and said that the courts would handle any criminality. Republicans hide behind the false notion that a charge of impeachment must meet a standard of criminality and miss the point entirely.
Congress must determine if Trump is acting in a way that harms the US. For example, his tariff policies are ruining our economy, his immigration policy is damaging our workforce. And his careless attacks on Venezuelan citizens could lead us into an unnecessary war. The level of criminality of these acts is the least important element when it comes to impeachment.
As long as Donald Trump hides behind Republicans, and Republicans hide behind a Constitutional myth that there must be a criminal act before convicting a President of impeachment, stopping Trump will take more than good intentions. It will take a massive resistance from the public.
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