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Impeachment is very different from a trial that leads to a jail conviction. If you think that an impeachment might end up with President Donald Trump in jail, this is not how the process works. He also isn’t facing treason charges, so there is no chance of a “death penalty,” despite what some false rumors might say. The most that would happen is Trump being removed from office, which is in itself unlikely since numerous Republican Senators would have to vote against Trump during a trial.
No, Trump Won’t Be Facing Jail Time if He’s Impeached & He’s Not Facing any Treason Charges
Even if Trump is impeached by a vote today, he isn’t going to jail. In fact, he isn’t even going to be removed from office if he’s impeached today. A trial that would lead to jail time is a completely different process. Impeachment leads to a Senate trial, where Senators ultimately vote on whether or not Trump would be removed from office. If he doesn’t get the necessary votes for removal, then he’s considered acquitted and continues his Presidential term. But even if he is removed from office, he’s still not going to jail.
The Senate trial would also NOT be a trial for treason or any other type of trial that would lead to the death penalty. Trump is not facing treason charges and he is not facing a death penalty or any kind of jail sentence.
Two articles of impeachment have been brought up against Trump. One is abuse of power and one is obstruction of Congress. Neither involves treason.
Here’s how impeachment works.
In Bill Clinton’s case, two articles of impeachment passed by a majority House vote and two articles of impeachment failed. This made Clinton the second President officially impeached, following Andrew Johnson in 1868. For Clinton’s trial, the deliberations lasted three days and the Senate voted. Both charges failed to achieve 2/3 majority in the Senate. Clinton was acquitted.
Articles of impeachment were also brought against Richard Nixon, but he resigned before he was impeached.
According to Huffington Post, even if Nixon had been convicted and removed from office, the Constitution would also have allowed for a federal grand jury to bring criminal charges against him too. He still would have needed to go through a criminal trial as opposed to the impeachment trial, and he might not have been convicted. Since President Gerald Ford pardoned him, we’ll never know what might have happened. Ford said that he did not believe Nixon could get a fair and impartial jury and that, among other reasons, was why he pardoned him.
Ford also believed that a long and drawn-out trial would have been a nightmare for America and would have polarized people even more, History.com reported.
All that means that if Trump were impeached and removed from office, he might still face a criminal trial later that could lead to time in jail. But Vice President Mike Pence would become President if Trump were impeached, and it’s very possible that he would pardon Trump just like Ford pardoned Nixon.
So no, the current impeachment proceedings will not lead to Trump going to jail or facing any kind of treason charge or death penalty. A criminal trial is always a possibility later, but if he were impeached, he would likely receive a pardon.