Penn Law faculty react to formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump

On Sept. 24, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House will begin a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump over allegations that he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Penn Law faculty provided their commentary on the announcement.

panoramic view of the u.s. capitol building

Stephen B. Burbank, the David Berger Professor for the Administration of Justice, writes, “The impeachment process is integral to the architecture our founders created for the preservation of democracy.”

Cary Coglianese, the Edward B. Shils Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science and director of the Penn Program on Regulation, writes that the allegations of presidential misconduct are deeply troubling, because “they implicate the most fundamental principles of constitutional government.”

Mark Nevitt, a Sharswood Fellow, calls the impeachment “an extraordinary step that matches an extraordinary allegation against a sitting President.”

Read more at Penn Law News.