Fact Check: What Really Happens if the President of the United States, Donald Trump, is Impeached and Removed from Office?



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EXPLANATOR: President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial is underway. But what does that really mean for your future beyond the Oval Office?

Lawmakers have formally brought one indictment against the inciting president for “inciting insurrection” following deadly riots on Capitol Hill last week. Several people died as a result, including a Capitol police officer. A vote in the House will take place in the middle of the week, determining the fate of the president.

No president of the United States has faced impeachment twice.

A cheep has been circulating alleging that Trump will lose a variety of benefits: his presidential pension, travel allowance, Secret Service details, and ability to run again for office, if charged.

President Donald Trump is facing impeachment once again.  He is the only president in US history to face legal process twice.

Brynn Anderson / AP

President Donald Trump is facing impeachment once again. He is the only president in US history to face legal process twice.

READ MORE:
* Donald Trump’s latest foreign policy moves, which designate terrorism.
* House rushed to indict Trump for ‘insurrection’ on Capitol Hill
* Donald Trump will award New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick the Presidential Medal of Freedom
* Rappers Lil Wayne, Kodak Black reportedly included on Trump’s clemency consideration list

That is not entirely accurate. This is what will happen if Trump is indicted.

What is the accusation?

A sitting president, vice president, and any civil servant can be charged with various crimes, including treason, bribery, or other serious crimes and misdemeanors.

Trump faces a charge of “incitement to insurrection.”

The president was indicted by the House in 2019 for attempting to use the United States’ relationship with Ukraine for personal political gain. He was later found not guilty by the Senate.

He is one of only three presidents who have been charged: Bill Clinton was found not guilty in 1999 and Andrew Johnson in 1868. No president has been found guilty by the Senate or removed from office.

Once an impeachment process moves to the Senate, it is treated as a legal trial. Senators consider evidence, listen to witness statements, and then vote to acquit or convict. To be found guilty, two-thirds of the members must be present.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is pushing for Trump to be impeached.  If the House approves it, it will go to the Senate.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is pushing for Trump to be impeached. If the House approves it, it will go to the Senate.

Post-presidency pension

Former presidents receive a significant pension after leaving office. According to GoBankingRatesPresidents Jimmy Carter, George W Bush and Bill Clinton receive annual pensions of $ 205,700 (NZ $ 286,878.48). Barack Obama reportedly receives $ 207,800. Trump will receive a similar amount.

The value of the pension is determined by the Law of the former president, generally it is equivalent to the salary of a head of an executive department. It is paid for the rest of the life of the former president, but if he occupies a designated or elected position in the Federal Government or under his command, the pension stops.

If Trump is only impeached by the House and is not impeached and removed by the Senate, he will still receive his pension.

If the Senate votes to convict and remove him from office, he will lose him.

Secret service detail

There is no clear and concise rule as to whether the Secret Service detail for life will stand for a former president who has been removed from office.

Two laws, the Former Presidents Act and the Former Presidents Protection Act, introduced by Obama in 2013, do not line up. The first says that any president removed by the Senate is not considered a “past president” and, therefore, will not receive the benefits. The latter, however, authorizes Secret Service protection for the remainder of the former president’s life without defining the “former president.”

It remains up to the air whether Trump will lose this privilege if he is removed.

It is unclear whether Donald Trump will lose his secret service for life if the Senate removes him from office.

Andrew Harnik / AP

It is unclear whether Donald Trump will lose his secret service for life if the Senate removes him from office.

Returning to the White House

Banning Trump from running again for office does not happen automatically if he is charged, convicted and removed from office. Requires an additional vote in the Senate.

You need a majority of the senators to pass the ban. However, the water is a bit murky as the Constitution does not specifically address the disqualification of a president. Rather, it speaks of disqualifying someone from “any position of honor, trust or profit.”

According to Ross Garber, a political investigation and prosecution attorney who spoke with ABC7, the question of whether the presidency fits into this category remains unanswered.

If this happens, it would be another first for the United States, as no president has been disqualified.

Travel expenses

There are rumors that former presidents receive a $ 1 million travel allowance when they leave office. This is incorrect, according to ABC7.

Those who receive the Secret Service detail for life do not have access to an additional travel kit.



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