Frank O. Bowman, III is a Floyd R. Gibson Missouri Endowed Professor of Law and an expert on the impeachment of the president and other federal officers. In his recent book, High Crimes and Misdemeanors: A History of Impeachment for the Age of Trump (Cambridge University Press), Professor Bowman offers unprecedented clarity to the question of impeachment, tracing its roots to medieval England through its adoption in the Constitution and 250 years of the American experience. By examining the human and political history of those who have faced impeachment, Bowman demonstrates that the Framers intended impeachment to be a flexible tool, adaptable to the needs of any age. Written in a lively, engaging style, the book combines a deep historical and constitutional analysis of the impeachment clauses, a coherent theory of when impeachment should be used to protect constitutional order against presidential misconduct, and a comprehensive presentation of the case for and against the impeachment of President Trump. It is an indispensable work for the present moment.
Professor Bowman has been writing about the presidential impeachment process on his blog, “Impeachable Offenses.” Various media outlets have reached out to him for his expertise on the process.
On Air:
February 15, 2021, The Big Q: Public Interest Media at The University of Auckland (New Zealand), Scholars’ Circle: What is the future of impeachment as a constitutional tool?
February 12, 2021, ABC News Perspective, podcast
February 10, 2021, World Radio, The World And Everything In It
February 9, 2021, WUSA9, VERIFY: Who are the impeachment managers and what do they do?
February 8, 2021, KCBS Radio, Second impeachment trial of former President Trump to begin Tuesday
February 5, 2021, The Special Report with Areva Martin, FB.com/ArevaMartin, segment begins at 45:00 mark.
February 3, 2021, BBC World News
January 29, 2021, Regional News Network (WRNN-TV), Republicans Say Trump Impeachment Is Unconstitutional – Democrats Want To Hold Him Accountable
January 29, 2021, Marist Poll Podcast, Poll Hub: Impeachment Round Two
January 29, 2021, Legal Talk Network, Impeachment & Twinkies
January 26, 2021, France 24, Trump impeachment trial: he is charged with incitement of insurrection
January 25, 2021, BBC World News
January 24, 2021, WGN NewsNation Now, Growing number of GOP senators oppose impeachment trial
January 23, 2021, CBC Montreal News (beginning around the 16:00 mark)
January 18, 2021, NPR.org, Can The Senate Try An Ex-President?
January 17, 2021, CNN.com, The Senate gets to call the shots for Trump’s impeachment trial
January 16, 2021, Bloomberg.com, History Backs Trump Impeachment Trial After Term Ends (podcast)
January 13, 2021, PBS, Bowman Analysis on PBS
January 13, 2021, KING-TV, VERIFY: Impeachment does not undo a president’s pardons
January 12, 2021, Bloomberg.com, The Second Impeachment of President Donald Trump (podcast)
January 11, 2021, WGN NewsNation Now, House may vote to impeach President Trump for ‘incitement of insurrection’ on Wednesday
January 11, 2021, ABC News Radio (Australia)
January 11, 2021, ABC Network TV (Australia)
January 11, 2021, UNews-Univision in English
January 11, 2021, ABC Radio National (Australia), RN Breakfast with Fran Kelly, Democrats move forward with impeachment
January 9, 2021, BBC World News
February 23, 2020, Occupy The Airwaves. Impeachment Senate Trial & The Assault On Legal System
February 10, 2020, France24, Frank O. Bowman III on the end of Trump impeachment trial.
February 6, 2020, ABC Radio News (Australia), PM with Linda Mottram, Trump impeachment decision risks normalising unacceptable behaviour: Frank O. Bowman
February 5, 2020, CTV News, Trump Found Not Guilty on Impeachment Charges
February 3, 2020, Bloomberg podcast, Final Stages of the Impeachment Trial of Trump
February 1, 2020, BBC World News. Trump Impeachment Trial and Trump Impeachment Trial
January 24, 2020, Diane Rehm podcast, Why The Senate Trial Matters (Even If No Minds Are Changed)
January 22, 2020, ABC Radio National (Australia), RN Breakfast with Cathy Van Extel, Impeachment trial against Trump begins
January 21, 2020, KFTK- 97.1 FM Radio (St. Louis), The mechanics of impeachment are left up to the Senate, says U of Missouri Law School professor
January 15, 2020, CSPAN Washington Journal, Frank Bowman Previews the Senate Impeachment Trial
January 5, 2020, Occupy The Airwaves, Impeachment With Newman & Miller
December 18, KMIZ-TV, Local expert speaks on next steps of impeachment process
December 18, Canadian Broadcasting Company’s “The Current,” Professor Bowman’s segment is at 16:00.
December 17, CTV News
December 10, The Public Morality
December 4, PBS NewsHour, Two impeachment experts analyze the House Judiciary Committee’s case against Trump
December 4, PBS, The Impeachment Hearings, Professor Bowman provided commentary throughout the broadcast.
November 23, BBC Radio podcast, High Crimes and Misdemeanours: US Presidential Impeachment
November 21, Mic.com, What happens if Trump gets impeached?
November 19, BeFM, Busan, South Korea: The House impeachment hearing
November 19, KMBC, Kansas City: MU professor writes book on impeachment history
November 12, CNN: Public Hearings in Impeachment Inquiry Kick Off Tomorrow
November 6, NewsTalk 97.1 FM: Impeachment Expert: Trump impeachment is unique
November 1, SkyNews
October 30, KFPA: Understanding Trump Impeachment Inquiry through the History of Impeachment
October 27, WRNN-TV – Richard French Live: History, Rules of Impeachment from Founders and Constitution
October 20, C-SPAN: Frank Bowman on the History of Impeachment.
October 18 Lawyer2Lawyer podcast episode: Inside Impeachment.
On October 10, WGN Radio’s Legal Face-Off program talked with Professor Bowman about whether Trump’s actions meet the historical standard for impeachment. His interview starts at the 11:00 mark.
On October 8, Professor Bowman appeared on Background Briefing with Ian Masters – Impeaching Trump Will Help Restore the Constitution’s Balance of Power.
On October 7, KBIA interviewed Professor Bowman for its program, Intersection. In the 30-minute piece, A Conversation About Impeachment, Past and Present, he talks about the history and legal context of impeachment and what it means to impeach a U.S. president.
On October 7, the Wall Street Journal Interviewed Professor Bowman for a video that breaks down the history and meaning behind “high crimes and misdemeanors”.
On October 3, What Merits Impeachment? aired on KRWG Public Media.
On September 30, Professor Bowman joined Connecticut Public Radio for an in-depth look at impeachment and to help answer listeners’ questions about the process.
September 29, an 8-minute radio interview on the BBC Newshour. Professor Bowman starts at the 45:00 mark, discussing the history of impeachment, with an explanation on how impeachment was used first in Britain in the 14th century.
September 25, radio interview with WTOP in Washington, DC. Also on WURD in Philadelphia on Reality Check with Charles Ellison.
On September 24, Professor Bowman was interviewed on KMIZ-ABC 17 News about how long the impeachment inquiry could take in the U.S. House of Representatives.
On August 19, Professor Bowman talked about his book and the case for and against the impeachment of President Trump on The Pell Center and PBS’s Story in the Public Square.
On July 6, he was interviewed on Dahlia Lithwick’s program Amicus about impeachment, its history and meaning, and whether it’s meant to be so hard. On July 14 he was interviewed and the book was reviewed by CNN in The surprising history of impeachment and what it means for Trump.
Professor Bowman was a panelist on CGTN America (a Chinese government-funded network) about the Mueller Report on April 18, “The Heat: Mueller report released Pt 2.” On April 23, he was interviewed on Ken Rudin’s Political Junkie (Professor Bowman’s interview begins at the 12:00 minute). On May 9, Canadian CTVNews interviewed Professor Bowman about the House Judiciary Committee fighting Willam Barr for the report.
On KY3 TV in Springfield, Mo., Bowman explains that, after the House of Representatives approves the Articles of Impeachment, the case then gets handed over to seven judges, from either the state circuit or appellate courts, who are nominated by the Senate. Five of those seven would then have to agree to find the governor guilty and remove him from office.
In Print/Online:
The Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 17, 2021, Four impeachments, zero removals: Sign of cracks in Constitution?
Reuters, Feb. 17, 2021, Explainer: The legal questions left unanswered by Trump’s impeachment trial
National Journal, Feb. 13, 2021, In acquitting Trump, Senate keeps shrinking the impeachment process
The New York Times, Feb. 12, 2021, Fact Check: Trump’s Lawyers Repeated Inaccurate Claims in Impeachment Trial
The Washington Post, Feb. 12, 2021, Doodles and giggles: Some senators spend impeachment trial in distraction
USA Today, Feb. 10, 2021, They rioted at the Capitol for Trump. Now, many of those arrested say it’s his fault.
LA Times, Feb. 10, 2021, (picked up by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) When acquittal looks certain, what does victory look like for Democrats in impeachment trial?
The Hill, Feb. 9, 2021, Legality of impeaching Trump takes center stage
The Atlantic, Feb. 8, 2021, Freedom of Speech Doesn’t Mean What Trump’s Lawyers Want It to Mean
Medium, Feb. 8, 2021, All Your Paranoid Impeachment Questions, Answered. Again.
Newsweek, Feb. 8, 2021, Will Kamala Harris, Patrick Leahy Have a Vote in Trump’s Impeachment Trial?
Law & Crime, Feb. 4, 2021, Trump Defense Lawyer Responds to Democratic Request for Former President to Testify Under Oath During Impeachment Tribunal
The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 4, 2021, Trump Dismisses House Impeachment Managers’ Request That He Testify
Independent (UK), Feb. 3, 2021, Insiders say Trump’s second Senate impeachment trial is going to be unprecedented and ugly
Washington Examiner, Feb. 3, 2021, Trump allies urge him to turn impeachment trial into political brawl
Law & Crime, Feb. 2, 2021, Legal Experts Rubbish ‘Quite Bad,’ ‘Very Poor’ Idea of Secret Impeachment Trial Vote in U.S. Senate: ‘Democracy Is About Transparency’
Washington Examiner, Feb. 1, 2021, Bannon urging Trump to push stolen election claims during Senate impeachment trial
Courthouse News Service, Feb. 1, 2021, Trump’s Impeachment Defense Raises Flags for Legal Experts
The Telegraph (UK), Jan. 31, 2021, Donald Trump’s legal team in disarray after he parts ways with lead impeachment lawyers
The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 30, 2021, Patrick Leahy Takes Gavel in Second Trump Impeachment Trial
LA Times, Jan. 29, 2021, With lessons from a year ago, Democrats prepare a different kind of impeachment trial
Law & Crime, Jan. 28, 2021, Constitutional Law Scholar: Trump’s Blanket Refusal to Comply with Subpoenas Is ‘Without Precedent or Legal Justification’
Bangor Daily News, Jan. 26, 2021, Susan Collins isn’t saying how she will vote on impeaching Trump unlike most senators
Law360.com, Jan. 25, 2021, Roberts Avoids Presiding At Trump’s 2nd Impeachment Trial
CNN.com, Jan. 25, 2021, House delivers impeachment article to Senate, triggering only 4th impeachment trial of a president in US history
APNews, Jan. 23, 2021, Supporters’ words may haunt Trump at impeachment trial
The Guardian, Jan. 22, 2021, Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial rests in the hands of Republican senators
Roll Call, Jan. 19, 2021, Senators will judge Trump as victims of mob’s attack
The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 17, 2021, Senate GOP Set to Argue Out-of-Office Trump Can’t be Convicted in Impeachment
Bloomberg.com, Jan. 14, 2021, Trump Impeachment Trial After Term Ends Is Backed by History
APNews, Jan. 14, 2021, EXPLAINER: Barring Trump from holding office again
The House Impeachment Report, Jan. 2021, Materials in Support of H. Res. 24, Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for High Crimes and Misdemeanors, Report by the Majority Staff of the House Committee on the Judiciary
The New York Times, Jan. 13, 2021, A Preordained Coda to a Presidency
Washington Examiner, Jan. 12, 2021, Biden braces as first 100 days likely to be hampered by Trump impeachment
Law360.com, Jan. 12, 2021, As House Impeaches, Sens. And Scholars Debate Trial Timing
El Mercurio, Santiago de Chile, Jan. 11, 2021, Democrats confirm Trump impeachment and call on Pence to force President’s removal (in Spanish)
Politifact, Jan. 11, 2021, The second Trump impeachment: Questions and answers
Zing News (Vietnam), Jan. 9, 2021, It’s very difficult to deprive Trump of power, even now
The Washington Post, Jan. 8, 2021, Trump can and must be prosecuted
Law.com|The National Law Journal, Jan. 8, 2021, Past Impeachment Attorneys Say New Articles Against Trump Should Be Seriously Considered
The Boston Globe, Jan. 7, 2021, Legal experts say Capitol mob’s actions fit the definition of sedition
The Japan Times, Jan. 7, 2021, Can Trump be removed from office before his term ends on Jan. 20?
Law & Crime, Jan. 4, 2021, As Democrats Make Criminal Referral to FBI Over Trump’s Georgia Phone Call, Some Legal Experts Toss Cold Water: ‘Trump Tower Debate All Over Again’
Law & Crime, Feb. 27, 2020, Legal Scholars: Argument That Trump Can’t Pardon Roger Stone Is Wrong
Idaho Statesman, Feb. 16, 2020, Crapo must not have read that book closely enough
Association of American Publishers, Feb. 12, 2020, Association of American Publishers Announces Finalists for 2020 Prose Awards
San Francisco Chronicle, Feb. 9, 2020, Trump, after surviving impeachment, could face charges if he loses election
The Independent, Feb. 6, 2020, Trump thinks his impeachment acquittal got him totally off the hook. But he’s wrong
Cheddar.com, Feb. 6, 2020, Post Impeachment: Some Experts Approach With Optimism, Others With Fatalism
NBCNews.com, Feb. 5, 2020, Meet The Press Blog: Republicans rest on Trump legal team’s arguments for acquittal votes
Reuters, Feb. 5, 2020, ‘Wishful thinking’: Chief justice no savior for liberals at Trump trial
Inside Higher Ed, Feb. 3, 2020, ‘The Dersh’ Stands Alone
The New York Times, Jan. 31, 2020, Prof. Bowman authored an open letter to the Senate addressing constitutional arguments made by the President. The letter was signed by nearly 300 law professors and legal historians, including some of the marquee names in the American academy. It can be downloaded from a link in this NY Times story, Scholars tell the Senate that Trump team’s legal arguments are wrong.
USA Today, Jan. 31, 2020, Chief Justice John Roberts emerges as potential wild card in Trump’s Senate impeachment trial
Newsweek, Jan. 31, 2020, Is Chief Justice Roberts the Tiebreaker if the Senate Ties 50-50 on Whether to Call Impeachment Witnesses?
WRAL.com|PolitiFact, Jan. 31, 2020, Fact check: Facebook post says Trump can run for president 2 more times
PolitiFact, Jan. 31, 2020, PolitiFact answers the Senate’s impeachment questions
Courthouse News Service, Jan. 30, 2020, Chief Justice Puts Kibosh on GOP Effort to ID Whisteblower
Business Insider, Jan. 28, 2020, Legal experts call on Chief Justice John Roberts to subpoena John Bolton and other witnesses to testify in Trump’s impeachment trial
Law.com|The National Law Journal, Jan. 28, 2020, Would Roberts Need to Recuse in Any Trump Suit Challenging Bolton?
The Washington Post, Jan. 28, 2020, Senate Republicans seize on Dershowitz argument, say Trump’s actions aren’t impeachable
The Washington Post, Jan. 27, 2020, Most legal experts say crime not required for impeachment
The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 27, 2020, Legal Fight Over Bolton Testimony Would Enter Uncharted Territory
PolitiFact, Jan. 27, 2020, No, Trump cannot run two more times if the Senate does not convict him
Law.com|The National Law Journal, Jan. 27, 2020, Could Bolton Be an Impeachment Witness? Here’s What the Lawyers Have Said
The New York Times, Jan. 25, 2020, Trump’s Best Defense
The Idaho Statesman, Jan. 25, 2020, One dozed. Another studied. How Idaho senators Risch, Crapo are handling impeachment
AP News, Jan. 24, 2020, Now on Trump’s team, Dershowitz says, ‘I haven’t changed’
AP News, Jan. 24, 2020, Democrats speak to history with exhaustive impeachment case
USA Today, Jan. 22, 2020, Trump impeachment defense is dangerous. Abuses of power could crack America’s foundation.
The New York Times, Jan. 22. 2020, What if Trump Gave Alaska to Putin?
Vanity Fair, Jan. 22, 2020, Trump’s Lawyers Don’t Think He Can Be Impeached For Abuse of Power – But William Barr Did
The Columbian, Jan. 22, 2020, Crime required for impeachment? Not so, say legal experts
PunditFact/PolitiFact, Jan. 21, 2020, All the president’s pundits: Meet Trump’s TV-ready impeachment defense team
Business Insider, Jan. 21, 2020, Mitch McConnell pulled a ‘Machiavellian’ move to swing Trump’s impeachment trial in his favor
Luzerna Zeitung, Jan. 21, 2020, “The process will end with an acquittal”: Why Trump himself has nothing to fear now
The New York Times, Jan. 20, 2020, ‘Constitutional Nonsense’: Trump’s Impeachment Defense Defies Legal Consensus
AP News, Jan. 20, 2020, Trump defenders push ‘no crime’ as Democrats seek removal
Law360.com, Jan. 17, 2020, Trump Taps Starr, Dershowitz For Impeachment Defense
New York Magazine, Jan. 16, 2020, Bad news, John Roberts Will Not Wear a Striped Robe for Trump’s Impeachment Trial
The Economist, Jan. 16, 2020, The Senate’s coming test
Law360.com, Jan. 16, 2020, Roberts, Despite Limited Role, Adds Solumnity To Senate Trial
Law360.com, Jan. 15, 2020, 2 BigLaw Alums Among Reps. Prosecuting Trump In Senate
PolitiFact, Jan. 15, 2020, The Senate impeachment trial is here. So what’s next?
Quartz.com, Jan. 15, 2020, The Supreme Court chief has left clues about his views on impeachment
The Washington Post, Jan. 14, 2020, John Roberts won’t save the country from Trump
The Boston Globe, Jan. 14, 2020, Founding Fathers had a variety of ideas for the system to impeach and try a president
The New York Times, Jan. 14, 2020, Trump’s Impeachment Trial a Perilous Duty for Chief Justice
The Hill, Jan. 14, 2020, How impeachment differs from court trials
NBC.com, Jan. 13, 2020, How Chief Justice John Roberts would preside over the politically charged Trump impeachment trial
Columbia Missourian, Jan. 9, 2020, Columbia’s resident impeachment expert weighs in on the process
FiveThirtyEight, Jan. 8, 2020, What Kind Of Trial Awaits President Trump In The Senate?
The Guardian, Jan. 7, 2020, Why is Pelosi waiting to send Trump articles of impeachment to the Senate?
Medium, Jan. 6, 2020, Could John Bolton Be Called to Testify Against Trump in the House?
2019 articles about impeachment in the context of the U.S. Constitution (and the Mueller Report)
Reuters, Dec. 31, Explainer: How Trump’s impeachment trial would differ from a criminal one
USA Today, Dec. 30, Trump says he has been denied due process. But the Constitution does not afford him that.
Stars and Stripes, Dec. 21, Impeachment maelstrom draws in a chief justice who shuns politics
The New York Times, Dec. 20, A Law Professor’s Provocative Argument: Trump Has Not Yet Been Impeached
Voice of America, Dec. 19, Trump Senate Impeachment Trial Thrusts Chief Justice Into Limelight
Politico Magazine, Dec. 19, Impeachment: What’s the Verdict of History?
The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 19, Chief Justice to Enter Spotlight in Trump Impeachment Trial
PolitiFact, Dec. 18, What’s next after Trump’s impeachment?
Law.com/The National Law Journal, Dec. 18, ‘Enemy to the Rule of Law’: House Impeaches Trump, and Senate Braces for Trial
Chicago Tribune, Dec. 18, Steve Chapman Column: Amid impeachment turmoil, Trump keeps acting like a guilty man
Yahoo News, Dec. 17, Impeachment managers: What do they do, and whom will Nancy Pelosi pick?
Reuters Explainer in The New York Times, Dec. 17, How Trump’s Impeachment Trial Would Differ From a Criminal One
AP Fact Check, Dec. 15, Trump’s selective facts on Ukraine, job myths
PunditFact/Politifact, Dec. 12, Would Donald Trump be the first president impeached without a cited crime?
TIME, Dec. 10, What Are High Crimes and Misdemeanors? Here’s the History
The New York Times, Dec. 10, What Is the Impeachment Process? A Step-by-Step Guide
PolitiFact, Dec. 10, How the impeachment articles against Trump are similar to, and different from, Clinton and Nixon
The Washington Post, Dec. 6, Can former presidents be impeached?
Facebook live chat, Nov. 22: Impeachment: What’s next? with Georgetown Law Professor Victoria Nourse
WSBTV.com/AP, Nov. 20, Wisconsin’s Johnson is Trump witness, backer and maybe juror; also WHBY.com, Nov. 21, Law expert raises questions on Johnson, impeachment. Both pieces pertain to Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson.
Miami New Times, Nov. 20, Rick Scott Says Adam Schiff Runs Impeachment “Like He’s in Community China or Venezuela”
Politico.com Magazine, Nov. 16, What Was Truly Unprecedented in This Week’s Impeachment Hearings?
The Washington Post, Nov. 12, Era of Impeachments: How the Decline of trust shaped Trump’s, Nixon’s and Clinton’s Endgames
Los Angeles Times, Nov. 12: Opinion: Mick Mulvaney to Democrats: You and your subpoenas can drop dead
The Washington Post, Nov. 12, Then and Now: How Trump Impeachment Hearing Is Different
Correio Braziliense, Nov. 11, Olhos no Congresso (Eyes on Congress)
The Guardian, Nov. 9, Impeachment: how Trump’s hardball tactics put the constitution in peril
FiveThirtyEight, Nov. 4, What Rights Does Trump Have In the Impeachment Process?
The Washington Post, Nov. 2, The impeachable offense Trump may have committed — but Democras aren’t really talking about
The Guardian, Nov. 2, Experts on Trump’s conduct: ‘Plainly an abuse of power, plainly impeachable’
CNN.com, Oct. 31, The House prepares for its first impeachment vote and anxiety sets in at the National Security Council. Here’s the latest.
ValueWalk, Oct. 31, Impeachment Due Process Rights Arguments Have No Legal Basis
The Independent, Oct. 29, Since they realized insulting an army officer isn’t a good look, Republicans are changing their impeachment strategy
VICE News, Oct. 29, Democrats Vow to Keep the GOP From Turning Impeachment Into a ‘Goat Rodeo’
PunditFact/PolitiFact, Oct. 28, Fox News analyst correct: Impeachment inquiry is following rules by questioning witnesses in private
The New York Times, Oct. 26, Could Trump Serve a Second Term if Ousted? It’s Up to the Senate
International Bar Association, Oct. 24, US Presidency: Ukraine scandal trigger impeachment inquiry
Newsweek, Oct. 24, Lindsey Graham’s Trump Impeachment Resolution has ‘Absolutely No Substance’ and is a “Legally Ignorant Red Herring,’ say Constitutional Scholars
The Economist, Oct. 24, What an impeachment trial of Donald Trump might look like
Voice of America, Oct. 23, House Democrats Face Tough Choices on Impeachment Approach
The New Yorker, Oct. 21, The Invention – and Reinvention – of Impeachment
Politico, Oct. 15, Giuliani goes without a lawyer amid federal scrutiny
The New York Times, Oct. 12, Fact-Checking 5 Claims About the Impeachment Inquiry
UK Daily Mail, Oct. 9, Fox News poll finds record 51% support for impeaching Donald Trump and removing him from office
Los Angeles Times, Oct. 9, Trump’s legal strategy against impeachment is on shaky constitutional grounds, scholars say
U.S. News & World Report, Oct. 9, Explainer: Does the Impeachment Probe Violate Trump’s Civil Rights?
The Atlantic, Oct. 9, Trump’s Obstruction Letter
Boston Globe, Oct. 9, What’s next for the House Democrats now that the White House is stonewalling the impeachment inquiry?
PolitiFact, Oct. 9, Johnson, Nixon, Clinton, Trump: 9 questions about impeachment
Missourinet, Oct. 3, Missouri professor: “If what Trump did is not impeachable, nothing is”
The Guardian, Oct. 3, Getting medieval: impeachment’s roots go back to 14th-century England
UK newspaper The Independent, Oct. 2, I asked White House insiders if they thought Trump was ready for impeachment proceedings. Their replies were damning.
Tim Dickinson interviewed Professor Bowman for an Oct. 1, Rolling Stone article, The Guy Who Wrote the Book on Impeachment Says Trump Clears the Bar for Removal from Office. Also on Oct. 1, Reason Magazine: Trump, Not the Whistleblower, Has Acted Illegally.
On Sept. 29, Brent Kendall of the Wall Street Journal: Impeachment’s Role in History: Part Legal Creature, but Mostly Political.
The New York Times, Sept. 28, Impeachment Battle to Turn for First Time on a President’s Ties to a Foreign Country.
On Sept. 27, Mark Sherman of AP News talked to Professor Bowman for his piece, AP Analysis: It doesn’t take a crime to impeach a president. And Algernon D’Ammassa of the Law Cruces Sun-News talked to him for the opinion piece, What is the fundamental standard of presidential behavior?
San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 26, Impeachment is a show. Democrats’ job is ot make it a must-see.
On Sept. 24, The National Law Journal article, Democrats, After Months of Mulling Options, Have Apparently Found Legal Case for Trump’s Impeachment, Professor Bowman comments on the investigations into the Ukrainian allegations and President Trump.
In the article Can’t Impeach Trump? Go After his Cabinet., University of Baltimore Law Professor Garrett Epps references Professor Bowman’s book in a July 16 article in The Atlantic.
In Reuters, “Explainer – What does it take to remove a U.S. president from office?” Professor Bowman explains how impeachment is a political process and that Congress can look beyond criminal laws in defining “high crimes and misdemeanors.” He adds that the House and Senate “can decide on whatever burden of proof they want. There is no agreement on what the burden should be” – as there would be in a criminal court case. In May and in June he is asked about the use of executive privilege: Explainer: Can Trump use executive privilege to withhold full Mueller report? and Explainer – Can Trump use executive privilege to block congressional probes?.
In a May 22, 2019, Thomson Reuters/msn.com article, “6 things you need to know about how impeachment works,” Professor Frank O. Bowman explains the grounds for impeachment, the process, and burden of proof needed. He also explains that the Supreme Court cannot overturn articles of impeachment. Referring to America’s founders he says, “They quite plainly decided this is a political process and it is ultimately a political judgment. So when Trump suggests there is any judicial remedy for impeachment, he is just wrong.”
Law & Crime interviewed Professor Bowman on May 5 for There’s Nothing Trump Can Do to Stop Mueller from Testifying. And on CBS News, Could the Trump administration prevent Mueller from testifying before Congress? on May 8.
Professor Bowman participated in an on-line debate on Slate, “So Is Impeachment Plausible, Necessary, or Stupid?” where he and others discussed the process and whether or not Congress should pursue impeachment. Professor Bowman suggests that rather than relying solely on the Mueller investigation, “the House should be vigorously pursuing the whole spectrum. If the result is a comprehensive case for impeachment, good. Go for it. If not, meaning that sound political judgment suggests that impeachment is foredoomed, then use the investigative results to expose Trump’s flaws in advance of 2020.” He was interviewed by Vice News in Trump Is Setting an Impeachment Trap for Democrats on May 10.
Adam Liptak or The New York Times interviewed Professor Bowman for Is obstruction an Impeachable Offense? History Says Yes that appeared on April 23, 2019.
NBC News reached out to Professor Bowman for its piece “Mueller didn’t charge Trump – but his report is a brutal indictment.” In the article, he says that it’s the pattern of activity by the president and not any particular violation of the criminal statute that could lead to impeachment. He also points out – in reference to President Trump’s subordinates’ refusal to follow his orders, “The fact that they refused doesn’t change the constitutional impeachment calculus at all. Still, the fact that he was so often restrained will make it easy for Republicans in Congress to wave off his otherwise impeachable behavior.”
Professor Bowman was a panelist on CGTN America (a Chinese government-funded network) about the Mueller Report on April 18, “The Heat: Mueller report released Pt 2.” On April 23, he was interviewed on Ken Rudin’s Political Junkie (Professor Bowman’s interview begins at the 12:00 minute). On May 9, Canadian CTVNews interviewed Professor Bowman about the House Judiciary Committee fighting William Barr for the report.
Articles about other possible Trump-connected legal investigations
BusinessInsider.com, May 2021, Yes, Trump Could Run for President From Prison in 2024
Slate, April 28, 2021, Feds Search Giuliani’s Home and Office
The Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 12, 2020, What does justice look like for president’s friends and foes?
In a Feb. 6, 2020, story published by Reuters, Courts are the next front in Trump’s battle over presidential powers, Professor Bowman explains that the arguments of Trump’s lawyers in the impeachment trial only apply to that trial. There are three cases involving Trump and presidential authority that will argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on March 31.
In an Oct. 7 , 2019, column in The New Yorker, A Judge Rules that Trump Isn’t Above the Law – And Neither Are His Tax Returns, Professor Bowman comments on the ability of local prosecutors to do an investigation. Once again, referencing his comments in the Sept. 19 article in The New York Times.
In the Sept. 19, 2019, New York Times article about the subpoena for President Trump’s tax returns, Trump Lawyers Argue He Cannot Be Criminally Investigated, Professor Bowman comments on state prosecutors investigating a sitting president. This Sept. 21 article on salon.com, Trump’s new argument: He’s immune from all criminal investigation in new tax return lawsuit, also references Professor Bowman’s comments in The New York Times.
2018 articles about impeachment in the context of the Missouri Constitution
Professor Bowman was quoted in two 2018 articles in the Kansas City Star about the investigation into the allegations against Governor Eric Greitens, who was indicted for felony invasion of privacy. In the March 6 article, Professor Bowman says that the Missouri Constitution does not require that the governor be proved to have violated the law for legislators to remove him from office. “The impeachment process is a self-protective mechanism to get someone who ought not be in office out of office,” Professor Bowman says. “They can impeach him and remove him regardless of whether a court has acted.”
The May 11, 2018, article, “Questions abound as lawmakers prepare to take up Greitens’ future as governor,” discusses Constitutional questions about if and when Lieutenant Mike Parson would assume the powers of the office. There is a provision in the state Constitution stating that “on the death, conviction or impeachment, or resignation of the governor, the lieutenant governor shall become governor for the remainder of the term.” In addition, a state law say that if an elected official is impeached, “he is hereby suspended from exercising his office, after he shall be notified thereof, until his acquittal.”
In a May 5, 2018, article in the Columbia Daily Tribune, “Latest Greitens report could help settle important impeachment question,” Bowman discusses the interpretation of the Missouri Constitution’s language on impeachment and whether or not the impeachable offense needs to have occurred while in office. Bowman argues that if impeachment requires an act while in office, “That would create the absurd result of an officeholder who could not be removed for crimes committed to obtain office.”
A May 15, 2018, article in the Columbia Missourian, “Dropped felony charge won’t protect Greitens from potential impeachment, expert says,” discusses how the dropped charges have no legal effect on disciplinary action. “Criminal charges and possible articles of impeachment have no relationship to each other at all,” Bowman says.
Op-Eds:
Lawfare, Feb. 3, 2021, The Constitutionality of Trying a Former President Impeached While In Office
Washington Monthly, Jan. 18, 2021, What the Founders Would Have Done with Trump, An Originalist Case for Trying, Convicting and Disqualifying a President After He or She Leaves Office
The Washington Post, Jan. 11, 2021, Congress can impeach Trump now and convict him when he’s gone (with Brian C. Kalt)
Just Security, Jan. 9, 2021, The Constitutional Case for Impeaching Donald Trump (Again)
The Atlantic, Jan. 28, 2020, Trump’s Defense Against Subpoenas Makes No Legal Sense
The Washington Post, Jan. 15, 2020, How executive privilege would throw a wrench into Seneate impeachment proceedings
SCOTUSBlog, Jan. 10, 2020, The role of the chief justice in an impeachment trial
The Atlantic, Dec. 20, 2019, The Democrats Should Transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate Without Delay
Foreign Affairs, Nov. 25, Foreign Policy Has Always Been at the Heart of Impeachment
The Washington Post, Nov. 6, An impeached and convicted Trump could still run in 2020. Here’s how to stop him.
Slate, Oct. 23, 2019, House Democrats Make an About-Face on Challenging Trump’s Emoluments Violations
The Atlantic, Oct. 22, 2019, The Common Misconception About ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors’ is part of the project The Battle for the Constitution, in partnership with the National Constitution Center.
Just Security, Oct. 9, 2019, White House Letter Distorts Both Law and History on Impeachment
Just Security, Oct. 3, 2019, Trump’s Extortion of Ukraine Is an Impeachable Abuse of Power
On Sept. 25, 2019, Professor Bowman’s opinion piece, If Trump’s Ukraine call isn’t impeachable, nothing is, appeared on CNN.com.
Professor Bowman is a frequent contributor with Slate, an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the United States. He offers commentary on all things impeachable, with a plethora of articles on Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump and other “impeachable offenses.”
In a July 25, 2019 op-ed, Robert Mueller and the Battle for Truth, Bowman says, “Herein lies the terrifying danger of our present national circumstances. No democracy can function without generally accepted mechanisms for determining the truth.”
Earlier Slate op-eds discuss William Barr’s role in William Barr Is Cowering at the Prospect of a Proper Cross-Examination and What’s Really Going On in the Subpoena Fight Between William Barr and Jerry Nadler.
April 19, 2019: “The Mueller Report Is an Irrefutable Case That Trump Is Unfit for Office,” Professor Bowman says that Congress and the country must address President Trump’s fitness for office and whether he poses a danger to the integrity of the American legal system.
January 11, 2019: Is Declaring a National Emergency to Build an Unnecessary Wall an Impeachable Offense?, Professor Bowman discusses factors that could make the political path to impeachment based solely on the grounds of a national emergency declaration tricky. Though it could be considered as part of a larger pattern of impeachable conduct.
December 13, 2018: Everything Trump Did Before Entering Office That Could Justify Impeachment, Professor Bowman writes, “a successful case for the impeachment of the president must rest not on any single event, but on a pattern of behavior that fatally damages the legitimacy of the president and/or amounts to subversion of the constitutional order.”
December 8, 2018: The Reason Prosecutors Hammered Michael Cohen Despite His Cooperation With Robert Mueller, Professor Bowman examines the conflicting opinions of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel’s Office regarding the value of Cohen’s level of cooperation. According to Professor Bowman, the crux of the situation – and source of tension – falls heavily on Michael Cohen’s cooperation … or lack thereof.
November 28, 2018: Jerome Corsi and Donald Trump Are Playing With Fire, Professor Bowman writes that Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team are faced with a group of potential witnesses who do not respond to the formal rules and structure of criminal law. Recently, after negotiating a plea offer with Mueller, Jerome Corsi decided to reject the offer and leaked the document to the press (as well as President Trump’s office). Though there is no legal penalty for doing this, it runs the risk of angering prosecutors and leading to more charges being filed.
July 13, 2018: Trump’s Foreign Policy Carnage Is an Impeachable Offense summarizes the history of impeachment and concludes that Congress would be within its constitutional authority to impeach Donald Trump.
Presentations:
Feb. 23, 2021: Panelist for “ACS Arizona: The Last Impeachment of Trump.”
Jan. 13, 2021: Panelist for “A Middleton Center Conversation Series Event: Elections, Demonstrations, and Insurrections”. Video available at middletoncenter.missouri.edu/.
Jan. 17, 2020: The Western District of Missouri Historical Society Howard F. Sachs Chapter hosted Professor Bowman for “High Crimes and Misdemeanors”.
Nov. 8, 2019: University of Chicago Axelrod Institute of Politics hosted Professor Bowman for a Q & A session – “Roadmap to Impeachment”.
Oct. 17, 2019: The Georgetown Law School chapter of the American Constitution Society hosted a panel – “High Time for Impeachment? Ukraine and Other Misdemeanors” – which included Professor Bowman.
Oct. 16, 2019: The American Constitution Society at University of Wyoming hosted Professor Bowman where he talked about his book, “High Crimes and Misdemeanors: A History of Impeachment for the Age of Trump.”
Reviews:
Lawrence R. Douglas, The Times Literary Supplement, Jan. 31, 2020: When can you impeach a President?
Graham G. Dodds of Concordia University wrote a review for the Canadian Journal of Political Science. The review appears on the Cambridge University Press website, posted on September 25, 2019.
Algernon D’Ammasa of the Las Cruces Sun-News reviewed the book on July 5, 2019. The review was picked up on USA Today, New book takes sober look at impeaching presidents. On July 6, he was interviewed on Dahlia Lithwick’s program Amicus about impeachment, its history and meaning, and whether it’s meant to be so hard. On July 14 he was interviewed and the book was reviewed by CNN in The surprising history of impeachment and what it means for Trump. On September 18, Professor Bowman gave an interview to the “intellectual interview” journal Rorotoko in a cover feature.