The precedent was unconstitutional. It just wasn't challenged at the time. The Senate made up it's own rule.
Good to know. Comforting to feel that so long as something is illegal, we don't need to worry about it. (/sarc) Then again... I once heard a congressman state, "The illegal we do immediately. The Unconstitutional takes a little longer".
Correct. The Senate has done many unconstitutional and illegal things in the past and so may try and do another one now. If not checked, they could get away with it. Obama was a prime example of someone who got away with an awful lot of unconstitutional actions. A prime example of that was the Iran Nuclear "Deal". Trump however has operated within the confines of The Constitution and has been a very transparent president. If the courts are doing their jobs, and let's face it, they haven't been, then The Senate will not get away with trying Trump after leaving office.
No, I'm saying that if you call this an insurrection then every mob action by Antifa is also an insurrection. Antifa, by their own admission wants to overthrow the government, so every action they take is an act of insurrection. If you're not going to punish them all equally, then don't expect the ones being punished to accept it graciously.
Yeh, just what the country wants in the coming days- as the "where's the fucking vaccine" sentiment will be reaching a roar people would be watching the Senate fully focused on an impeachment trial headed nowhere. As I have said twice before, this works better for Pelosi than for Biden. This is Pelosi's last hurrah and she wants to go out as the Great White Avenger. Joe, on the other hand, is just trying to get his show on the road. They are on two totally different wavelengths. She is stepping down at least as speaker after this term and she also knows that the dems are going to get slaughtered bigtime at the midterms, just as Obama did. But she could care less. She considers this impeachment stuff to be her take home trophies. Meanwhile, Joe is out there trying to cobble together votes for his commie nominees and policies. The virus will decide how much tolerance people have for their beltway bullshiite. The dems think that the virus just had it in for Trump because it came from China. Not sure the virus knows that.
Aides had to convince Trump not to go to the impeachment vote in person to defend himself https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-aides-talked-him-out-of-defending-self-impeachment-nyt-2021-1