2020 Investigating Impeachment: Context, Congress, and the Constitution

"Our founding fathers gave the American people the right to elect their presidents and Congress the right to impeach and remove presidents from office. History shows that presidential impeachments are always divisive, but our democracy is better served if citizens understand its constitutional roots and the first-hand lessons from past impeachment processes."

Former Congressman Chet Edwards,
W. R. Poage Distinguished Chair for Public Service

Alan Steelman U.S. Congressman under Nixon Chet Edwards U.S. Congressman under Clinton Rory Ryan Professor Baylor Law Stephen Sloan Professor of History & Director, Institute for Oral History

Join former Congressmen Alan Steelman (R-TX, 1973-1976) and Chet Edwards (D-TX, 1991-2011), Baylor Law Professor Rory Ryan, and Baylor Professor of History Stephen Sloan for a panel discussion that explores the impeachment proceedings of Presidents Nixon and Clinton as a means to illuminate the impeachment of current President Donald Trump.

Investigating Impeachment: Context, Congress, and the Constitution
Thursday, February 6, 2020
3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Cashion Academic Center, Fifth Floor

A Q&A session and reception will follow

Steelman was a freshman congressman in 1973 when President Richard Nixon was suspected of participating in the Watergate scandal and ultimately resigned prior to being impeached. Edwards was a leading House democrat in 1998 when President Bill Clinton became only the second U.S. president to be impeached. Baylor Law Professor Rory Ryan is an expert in the areas of federal jurisdiction, appeals, and complex litigation. He has tried cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Texas Supreme Court, state and federal appellate courts, and trial courts. Dr. Stephen Sloan will moderate the panel discussion. He serves as professor of American History and director of the Institute for Oral History at Baylor University.

The panelists will share from their experiences of the impeachment proceedings of former presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, federal process, and Constitutional law to provide context that will help comprehend the ongoing national conversation about the impeachment of President Donald Trump. A Q&A session and reception will follow the panel conversation.

For more information about Investigating Impeachment, please contact Mary Goolsby, Director of the W. R. Poage Legislative Library at Mary_Goolsby@baylor.edu or call (254) 710-6735. For media inquiries, contact Carl Flynn, Director of Marketing and Communications for Information Technology and University Libraries at Carl_Flynn@baylor.edu or call (254) 710-7620.