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Your impeachment questions, answered
House Democrats said they are hoping to possibly impeach Trump by Thanksgiving. If they succeed, the Senate will then conduct a trial to determine if he will be removed from office.
How long does the impeachment process take?
Legally, there is no time limit on the impeachment process. This is in contrast to the criminal justice process, which limits the amount of time that can pass between the commission of a crime and indictment (the “statute of limitations”) and the time between indictment and trial (“speedy trial” rules).
Practically and politically, however, Congress knows the clock is ticking. The current Congress sits until January 2021, so any impeachment proceedings must and certainly will conclude by then (although the next Congress can resume any pending inquiry if it sees fit). And, of course, a presidential election looms in November 2020.
As the election draws closer, impeachment proceedings will become increasingly contentious and politically fraught. House leaders understand the need to move quickly here. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff have both vowed to move “expeditiously,” and the House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler has declared “full speed ahead.”
The Bill Clinton impeachment timeline provides a useful guide:
- The House opened an official impeachment inquiry in October 1998.
- The House impeached Clinton in December 1998.
- The Senate then held Clinton’s trial, which resulted in acquittal, in January and February 1999.
It seems realistic for Congress now to replicate the fairly quick pace of proceedings in the Clinton case.
But right now Congress is on an even tighter political timeline: In the Clinton case, the next presidential election (in November 2000) was just under two years away, whereas now the next presidential election (in November 2020) is just under one year away. Time will be of the essence for Democrats.
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