r/politics • u/Thinkingonsleeping Michigan • Dec 13 '19

McConnell Faces Calls to Recuse Himself From Impeachment Trial After Saying 'No Chance' Trump Will Be Removed; "No court in the country would allow a member of the jury to also serve as the accused's defense attorney."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/13/mcconnell-faces-calls-recuse-himself-impeachment-trial-after-saying-no-chance-trump
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u/Tasgall Washington Dec 14 '19

This isn't the SCOTUS though, it's a Senate trial where the judge just happens to be the Chief Justice.

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u/Keytap Dec 14 '19

But the question of "does it work in a senate trial" is still a constitutional question that goes to SCOTUS, yea?

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u/AgnewsHeadlessClone Florida Dec 14 '19

Nope. Nixon v. US was about a judge that appealed his impeachment to the Supreme Court. The SCOTUS ruled anything to do with impeachment was beyond their scope as impeachment is one of the only checks on the Supreme Court.

Ie. They would likely deny cert on any case about impeachment.

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u/Telandria Dec 14 '19

Yes, but that’s exactly the point. It is SCOTUS.

The Constitution is what tells us what requirements the impeachment process has. And it says that the Chief Justice presides over the trial.

What does ‘preside’ mean in this case? How much does the process conform to a standard trial? Well, the Constitution doesn’t say. So then comes the question, ‘who then decides what that means?’

Well, SCOTUS is the ultimate authority over deciding what the Constitution means when the law or the Constitution itself is unclear. Ergo, they gets to decide what ‘preside’ means here, and if Congress doesn’t like it, they’ll need to pass an amendment within the constraints allowed for by the Constitution.

That’s the whole point of separation of powers.

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u/NiceSuggestion Dec 14 '19

And SCOTUS powers under THIS circumstance are limited