Does impeachment and conviction prevent a president from 2nd term? Fact Check

Amid current political events at the beginning of 2021, rumours are circulating through social media that claim a US president that is either impeached twice or impeached and then convicted is consequently unable to run for president for a second term, or hold office ever again.

FALSE

The rumours are spreading amid the news that the US House of Representatives is gearing towards impeaching President Trump for a historical second time in the aftermath of the riots at the Capitol Building.

Do either a second impeachment or an impeachment and subsequent conviction automatically mean that a president can no longer rerun for president? No. Such a disqualification, as per the US constitution, would require an additional vote by the US Senate or, perhaps less likely, a successful execution of the 14th Amendment.

It is Article II Section 4 of the US Constitution that asserts that a president shall be removed from office if they are both impeached by the US House of Representatives and subsequently convicted by the US Senate.

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.

However this section does not make the assertion that any president that is impeached and convicted cannot hold future office. It also makes no differentiation between how many times a president is impeached and whether multiple impeachments could affect holding future office.

However, Article I Section 3 of the US Constitution does outline further measures the US Senate can take against an impeached and convicted president (again, the number of impeachments is irrelevant here.)

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:

As such, this section states that cases of impeachment can involve Senate votes that result in removal from office (as per Article II Section 4 mentioned above) but also votes to prevent someone from holding office in the future. This section of the US Constitution also prevents impeachment proceedings turning into criminal court proceedings (though does not preclude the possibility of criminal proceedings happening as a separate activity.)

Sponsored Content. Continued below...

As such, once a president is impeached, and then convicted by the Senate, the Senate can hold an additional vote to determine whether a person can hold office again in the future. While the constitution clearly asserts a two-thirds majority is needed to convict a president, it does not outline that same requirement when discussing disqualifying a person from future office, creating ambiguity. However, precedent currently determines that a simple majority in the US Senate is needed for this disqualification vote to succeed.

It is worth noting that many constitutional scholars claim the 14 Amendment could also prevent a president from holding future office if such a Senate vote does not occur or fails. The 14th Amendment claims someone who has taken an oath to defend the United States who has subsequently engaged in insurrection is ineligible for office. Such an argument, if ever used, seems destined to end up in the US courts to adjudicate.

Either way, the claim that an impeachment and conviction of a president alone prevents them from holding future office is false.

And the claim that two impeachments would prevent a president from holding office is also false. The US Constitution makes no differentiation between the number of impeachments a president receives.