Folks PLEASE! STOP attacking the Dems for not impeaching TODAY

[StarfishSaver]

196. It's unresolved in the courts, but I don't think a court would ever rule that an ex-president could

be impeached, convicted and disqualified.

What would have stopped a Republican Congress from impeaching and disqualifying a Democratic president from any federal office a after he left office? Or even maybe more likely, from impeaching and disqualifying a former Cabinet member whose political career they want to destroy (Pete Buttigieg)?

The more I think about it, the more I believe that Congress could actually impeach a former president, since impeachment is a political and legislative act that has no legal import beyond serving as a prerequisite for conviction and removal. And I guess the Senate could go ahead and hold a trial and convict them if they wanted - again, that has no legal meaning. But they couldn't impose any penalty since they can't be removed from office and I doubt they would have the power to ban a former official from ever serving again since they no longer have any jurisdiction over them (I also believe the language of the Constitution requires the disqualification to be done in conjunction with removal and can't be done independently unless done along with a removal). I believe that would have to be done while they're still in office, or not at all.