IMPEACHMENT IN THE UNITED STATES: LAW OR POLITICS?

Abstract

This article argues that impeachment is not a precise rule or set of rules that describe what could be criminal behavior by a President and that these rules can be unveiled using traditional constitutional interpretative technique. Rather, it proposes understanding impeachment as an issue that demonstrates a battle over dominant economic, cultural and political ideology. In order to achieve this goal, the article starts out by presenting mainstream ideas about impeachment. Then it provides a brief description of two previous experiences with impeachment in the United States, Nixon and Clinton. Finally, the text proposes a different reading of the debate using Critical Legal Studies and describing radical conservative ideas embodied in president Trump