{"id":19473,"date":"2020-01-30T09:35:26","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T09:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=19473"},"modified":"2020-01-31T15:41:20","modified_gmt":"2020-01-31T15:41:20","slug":"limiting-senate-inquiry-ignores-founders-intent-for-impeachment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/limiting-senate-inquiry-ignores-founders-intent-for-impeachment\/","title":{"rendered":"Limiting Senate inquiry ignores Founders’ intent for impeachment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clark D. Cunningham<\/a>, Georgia State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Senators will soon decide whether to dismiss the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump without hearing any witnesses. In making this decision, I believe they should consider words spoken at the Constitutional Convention, when the Founders decided that an impeachment process was needed to provide a \u201cregular examination,\u201d to quote Benjamin Franklin.<\/p>\n

A critical debate took place on July 20, 1787, which resulted in adding the impeachment clause to the U.S. Constitution. Franklin, the oldest and probably wisest delegate at the Constitutional Convention, said that when the president falls under suspicion, a \u201cregular and peaceable inquiry<\/a>\u201d is needed.<\/p>\n

In my work as a law professor<\/a> studying original texts<\/a> about the U.S. Constitution, I\u2019ve read statements made at the Constitutional Convention that demonstrate the Founders viewed impeachment as a regular practice, with three purposes:<\/p>\n