Letters to the Editor | Dec. 3, 2023

If Republicans seek to impeach President Joe Biden, we must recognize the devastating consequences of the precedent it would set. No president (or any other official subject to impeachment) has ever been impeached for conduct that occurred prior to his taking office. Biden would be the first. More importantly, nothing in the history underlying the impeachment clause suggests that the framers contemplated that a president’s conduct prior to election would support impeachment. It reflected their solution to prevent any effort to create a monarchy (or authoritarian) under the guise of a presidency.

Legal experts agree. Alan Dershowitz, a law professor at Harvard Law School, came out against moving forward with formal impeachment proceedings. He argued on Fox News that “because the allegations from Republicans revolve around activity from when Biden was vice president and not in his current position in the Oval Office, that precludes him from being impeached.” Since then, the oversight committee has gone even further and is now heavily focused on President Biden’s conduct in 2017-2018, when he was a private citizen.

Just ponder the ramifications for Donald Trump. For example, if Trump were elected in 2025 and Democrats won control of the House any time during his tenure, Trump would be subject to impeachment for his conduct prior to January 2025, and his considerable history of legal problems would provide a treasure trove of impeachment possibilities, including the conduct underlying his four indictments. For better or worse, impeachment is a political process that is not subject to the rigid standards applicable to normal civil or criminal proceedings, e.g., rules of evidence, guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, appeals, etc. Even if Trump “pardoned” himself, impeachment would not be foreclosed because the Constitution explicitly states that a pardon does not apply to impeachments.

Thus, if Republicans are successful in impeaching Biden for his conduct prior to his election, we are facing an endless quest by the party out of power misusing impeachments to vilify and destroy the sitting president without any possibility of conviction. The consequences for our country would be catastrophic.

Gary Leadbetter, Schwenksville

It is beyond my comprehension how the New Jersey Education Association and Gov. Phil Murphy could claim that “it is a good day” for New Jersey students by eliminating the requirement for prospective teachers to pass the basic skills test known as the Praxis Core. This reduces the standards for all prospective teachers and does not benefit the children of New Jersey. This is what happens when one party controls the state.

Andy Anderson, Glassboro, ajanderson2747@comcast.net

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