Judge J. Michael Luttig, formerly of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Professor Keith Whittington of Princeton join host Jeffrey Rosen to consider how to interpret the constitutional text and historical precedent surrounding the question of whether the Senate can hold President Trump’s impeachment trial now that he’s left office.
Judge Luttig explains why he thinks that the president cannot be tried and convicted by the Senate after he has already left office, and why only the Supreme Court can answer the question of whether Congress can hold an impeachment trial for a former president. Professor Whittington details his view that a former president can be tried and convicted, and that it’s a purely political question up to the Senate to ultimately decide.
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TRANSCRIPT
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PARTICIPANTS
Judge J. Michael Luttig was just named counselor and special advisor to The Coca-Cola Company and its board of directors. He previously served 15 years as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Prior to that, he served as assistant attorney general and counselor to the attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice, and was assistant counsel to President Reagan.
Keith E. Whittington is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University. He is the author of Repugnant Laws: Judicial Review of Acts of Congress from the Founding to the Present which won the Thomas M. Cooley Book Prize and Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech among other works. He blogs at the Volokh Conspiracy.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
This episode was produced by Jackie McDermott and engineered by Greg Scheckler and Kevin Kilbourne. Research was provided by Lana Ulrich and Alexandra "Mac" Taylor.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- J. Michael Luttig, The Washington Post, "No, President Trump Can't Pardon Himself"
- Keith E. Whittington, Lawfare, "Can a Former President Be Impeached and Convicted?"
- Jed Shugerman, Shugerblog, "An Originalist Case for Impeaching Ex-Presidents: Mason, Randolph, and Gouverneur Morris"
- Scott Bomboy, Constitution Daily, "The Second Trump Impeachment: What Happens Next?"
- H.Res.24 - Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States
This episode was produced by Jackie McDermott and engineered by Greg Scheckler. Research was provided by Alexandra "Mac" Taylor, Jackie McDermott, and Lana Ulrich.
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