The SC just might have a say on whether you can have a trial of a President already out of office since the purpose of impeachment is to immediately remove a President that is a threat. What threat is an Ex President other than he might run again and if they do try him and can't convict him, they can't stop him from running again.
Originally Posted by HedonistForever
So by your logic a president could resign to avoid impeachment and then run again because there is no way to hold him/her accountable. I’m not sure that was intended by the founders since they included the possible punishment of precluding a subsequent run. That would have no meaning as any president could side step the process.
My suspicion is that you can’t impeach a non-President but you can have a trial and convict one.
Think about the situation taken to it’s ridiculous conclusion. President A totally ignores the laws of congress, budgets etc. they hold an impeachment hearing in an election year. He wins the election and the senate trial begins. He resigns. The senate can’t convict him. He then gets sworn in for his next term.
The non-president bypassing the conviction or trial is folly. The SC may have to decide it but there’s nothing to suggest that it’s logical.