Fifty House Democrats led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) have sponsored a bill that would form a commission to assess President Donald Trump's mental fitness for office, pursuant to the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Impeachment is a claim of malfeasance. 25th is a claim of simple incompetence. The standards of evidence in an impeachment are effectively similar to that of a criminal trial: guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The standards of evidence in a 25th amendment action are “reasonable belief”.
To impeach him for, say, threatening nuclear annihilation, prosecutors would have to prove that threat was illegally beyond his authority to issue that threat. Which would be difficult, because the president does, indeed, have the power to use nuclear weapons. Congress is free to refuse to act, or to drag their feet for months before acting.
To invoke the 25th amendment, Vance merely has to say that the president is not acting reasonably.
Yeah far easier to impeach, which requires a simple majority in the House and 2/3rds of the Senate.
The 25th Amendment is a higher bar, since it requires 2/3rds of both the House and the Senate.
Impeachment is a claim of malfeasance. 25th is a claim of simple incompetence. The standards of evidence in an impeachment are effectively similar to that of a criminal trial: guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The standards of evidence in a 25th amendment action are “reasonable belief”.
To impeach him for, say, threatening nuclear annihilation, prosecutors would have to prove that threat was illegally beyond his authority to issue that threat. Which would be difficult, because the president does, indeed, have the power to use nuclear weapons. Congress is free to refuse to act, or to drag their feet for months before acting.
To invoke the 25th amendment, Vance merely has to say that the president is not acting reasonably.