Some have been arguing that holding an impeachment trial after Trump has left office would be imprudent, but there seems to be little resistance to it on constitutional principle. Those who defend the legitimacy of such a trial rely on tortured readings of the text, impute intentions based on what is omitted or inconsistent in the text, and pay insufficient attention to what the framers said about the relevant clauses. Much is made of the precedent of Secretary of War William Belknap’s being tried after having resigned, but little attention is given to the weakness of the arguments for Congress’s authority to do so (Hinds’ Precedents, Vol. 3). A precedent may be driven by partisan impulses or based on an honest misinterpretation of the Constitution.
Also used to bolster the case is the power in a couple of early state constitutions to impeach people who have left office. These are, however, irrelevant and, if of any value, argue for the other side.
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