Previous instances of presidential impeachment have each had contexts unique to their own political moments. These considerations have mattered as much as the alleged "high crimes and misdemeanors."
"The RNC and Republicans on Capitol Hill know they are poised for a great election year and what's the biggest thing that could be a hurdle to that? Donald Trump," says one longtime GOP consultant.
Vindman accuses Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Guiliani and others of conspiring to intimidate and then punish him for testifying in the former president's 2019 impeachment case.
Plaskett, a House manager in former President Trump's Senate trial, defends the decision not to call witnesses. "As all Americans believed at that moment, the evidence was overwhelming," she says.
Democrats did not gain enough Republican support to convict former President Donald Trump of inciting insurrection, but sevenGOP senators did break with their own party. See the vote breakdown.
Trump's defense used roughly three of their 16 hours to push back on House impeachment managers' case that Trump should be convicted for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In 2017, several House Democrats stood and objected to the certification of then President-elect Trump's electoral victory. Then-Vice President Biden was presiding.
Impeachment managers argued that not taking action against former President Donald Trump jeopardizes the country's standing in the eyes of the global community.