re: Leahy, not Roberts, to preside over impeachment trial

quote:

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if he was the president when impeached, Robert’s MUST preside over it. And he has refused.

So they aren’t following proper procedure and the whole thing should be tossed.

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No. set aside preconceptions and read the words. Look at the tenses. He WAS President when impeached by the House. Procedurally (only), no problem there. He will no longer be President when tried by the Senate. Roberts need not preside. No procedural problem there.

The only question is whether the trial may proceed after the accused leaves office. As to a former POTUS, that IS an open question, but analogous precedent from the 1800s suggests that the answer is “yes.”