Where Is The Chief Justice?

By Joel Goodman —— Bio and Archives February 10, 2021

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I know that the following is obvious to many people, yet I am astounded that this one simple fact has not been put front and center – “the Chief Justice shall preside”

From the US Constitution:

Article. I. Section. 3. The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present. Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law. Article. II. Section. 4. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. Article I Section 8. No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

Not an impeachment and is merely an unconstitutional proceeding

Therefore, if the Chief Justice is not presiding, the “Impeachment” is on its face not an impeachment and is merely an unconstitutional proceeding. The Republican leaders should merely have motioned to have the Chief Justice present, and until such time he was brought to the Capitol, the Republicans should have disrupted the proceedings. If this is not an Impeachment of a President because the Chief Justice is not present, and because it is not constitutional because the President is no longer in office, it is merely a political trial and in essence any limitation of Trump’s future political activities must be considered a Bill of Attainder. I would assume that the Republicans (except for the six RINO’s who supported the impeachment) could have left the chamber and let the Senate vote 56 to 0 to convict, and then President Trump could have appealed his conviction all the way to the Supreme Court to have the vote overturned by the Court. I see no purpose in having added any credence to the Congressional Democrats’ attempts to once again demean President Trump.