Cass R. Sunstein, Columnist

Can Ex-Presidents Be Impeached? No. Convicted? Yes.

The U.S. Constitution doesn’t give a direct answer to either question. Trump won’t like the best indirect one.

January 19, 2021 at 3:30 PM UTC

Cass R. Sunstein is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the author of “The Cost-Benefit Revolution” and a co-author of “Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness.”

Not over til it’s over.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

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Can a former president be impeached? Can he be convicted?

Those are two different constitutional questions. And President Donald Trump, impeached last week while still in office and potentially subject to conviction after departing, has obvious reason to offer a firm “no” to the second question.