Presidential Impeachment Attempts

Impeachment proceedings began today for President Donald Trump with the filing of Articles of Impeachment by Representative Brad Sherman of California. The accusations include obstruction of justice (in reference to the Russia collusion investigation).

According to The Hill, Representative Sherman said that he filed the paperwork in efforts of sending a warning to the White House, and to "protect our country".

The number of impeachment attempts against US presidents is relatively low, and no US president has ever been convicted of the charges mentioned in the Articles of Impeachment.

According to Thoughtco.com, the reason so few impeachments were filed is because the burden of proof for the impeachment is so great. It would take an insurmountable amount of proof to actually impeach a president, and it has only happened twice in American history: President Andrew Johnson (#17) and President Bill Clinton (#42).

Though those two presidents were impeached, they were not convicted of their crimes, and they both went on to finish their respective terms.

Only two other presidents came close to being impeached: President John Tyler (#10) and President Richard Nixon (#37). For President Tyler, the Articles of Impeachment were never officially filed, though a resolution to look into his behavior was introduced. For President Nixon, many believe he was sure to be impeached AND convicted of his crimes, but the process didn't go that far: he resigned prior to proceedings.

What does the filing of the Articles of Impeachment mean for President Trump? One thing for certain is that this will be a stain on his Presidency. Other than that, with a Republican-controlled house (a majority vote is needed for impeachment), many believe that the filing will be for naught.

If the matter does go to the floor for a vote, though, the votes will be recorded, forcing both Republicans and Democrats to show whether they support the president.

Can you imagine being a Republican on the floor who does NOT support President Trump but must vote against impeachment to maintain favor within the party?

With our 72-hour news cycle, this news might be long forgotten before the milk in your refrigerator sours.

What about you: do you think that there is enough evidence to impeach President Trump? Do you think that it will be good for our country to pursue impeachment? Do you think we should just turn a blind eye and forget about the accusations?

Pardon me while I grab some popcorn and get comfortable.

(ThoughtCo.com, The Hill)