Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) says that convicting a former president on an impeachment charge would set a bad precedent moving forward.
Ducey noted that “the Senate’s going to do what the Senate’s going to do” concerning the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. However, he does not believe that holding an impeachment trial of a former president will be good for the country.
“Healing may be too high a bar right now for our nation,” Ducey said during an appearance on CNN on Sunday. “Calming could be worthy work and something that we aspire to.”
He continued, “I am concerned that it sets a dangerous precedent for a former president to be impeached and convicted. But those next steps will be up to the Senate, of course, they’re going to make their case, and the president will be able to present his defense.
Watch the video below:
Gov. Doug Ducey: "I am concerned that it sets a dangerous precedent for a former president to be impeached and convicted." pic.twitter.com/KGFUXEeyWu
— The Hill (@thehill) January 31, 2021
The Senate is scheduled to begin its impeachment trial of Trump the week of February 9 to determine whether or not to convict him on the charge of “incitement of insurrection.”
On Tuesday, 45 Republican senators voted to declare the trial unconstitutional, as IJR reported.
In an op-ed in The Washington Examiner, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) alleged the impeachment effort was “nothing more than a partisan exercise designed to divide the country further.”
Paul also claimed the trial is unconstitutional.
However, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, “Some of my Republican colleagues have latched onto a fringe legal theory that the Senate does not have the constitutional power to hold a trial because Donald Trump is no longer in office.”
“This argument has been roundly debunked by constitutional scholars from the left, right, and center. It defies precedent, historic practice, and basic common sense,” he added.
