(This op-ed was first published in The Washington Post on February 4, 2021.)

As the Senate prepares for the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, many Republican senators argue that the case should be dismissed because the Constitution does not permit the impeachment and trial of a president after leaving office. As constitutional scholars with different partisan affiliations, we both believe that is incorrect. Moreover, we reject the argument that this would open the door to impeaching past presidents or other former officials.

Trump’s impeachment by the House of Representatives, seven days before he left office, was unquestionably valid. The only question is whether, now that he is back in private life, he may be tried by the Senate.

(Continue reading the op-ed on The Washington Post’s page here.)

Michael W. McConnell is the Richard and Frances Mallery professor and director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. Ken Gormley is president of Duquesne University and a constitutional scholar.