Rand Paul Looks to Test Constitutionality of Trump Impeachment Trial

In a matter of just two weeks, President Trump will again be tried in the Senate after being impeached in the House of Representatives.  He’s the first President to ever earn the dubious honor of being impeached twice, with his second impeachment stemming from what the Democrats are calling an “incitement to insurrection” back on January 6th at the Capitol.

And while it is beginning to look unlikely that Trump will be easily convicted, (and possibly barred from holding office on account of it), there is still quite a bit of damage that could occur during a long and feisty Senate trial.

Rand Paul is looking to avoid all of that by simply having the impeachment trial tossed for being unconstitutional.

Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday afternoon is expected to force a vote on whether the Senate impeachment trial of former President Trump is unconstitutional now that he is out of office.

Paul, R-Ky., told reporters he will make a point of order alleging that the trial is contrary to the Constitution — an argument that multiple Republican senators have made. That will force a vote on the point of order, requiring senators to go on-the-record about whether they believe the trial is constitutional.

“I think there will be enough support on it to show there’s no chance they can impeach the president,” Paul told reporters Tuesday. “If 34 people support my resolution that this is an unconstitutional proceeding it shows they don’t have the votes and we’re basically wasting our time.”

He added in floor remarks later: “If we are about to try to impeach a president, where is the chief justice? If the accused is no longer president, where is the constitutional power to impeach him?”

Paul was also indignant in regard to the actual article of impeachment against Trump, believing that the President was speaking “figuratively” when addressing the crowd in DC on that fateful day.