Don’t Confuse the Rules of a Criminal Trial with Those of Impeachment, Former Prosecutor Says

With public hearings finally beginning before the Intelligence Committee in the House of Representatives, expect the ongoing battle between Democrats and Republicans over the impeachment’s legal process to ratchet up. These processes and protections matter, and notions of due process and the right to question witnesses are important, but when it comes to impeachment, it misses the point. When you closely examine impeachment through the lens of the criminal justice system, it is clear how different it really is. While the Constitution calls for the House of Representatives to vote articles of impeachment, which is akin to an indictment, to be followed by a Senate trial, which is presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and during which witnesses are called to testify, in truth the impeachment process bears only a passing resemblance to an actual trial.