The History and Scope of Impeachment

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is leading calls to impeach President Joe Biden. Irrespective of whether that’s realistic or not (spoiler alert: it isn’t) what does it really mean to impeach a president? Professor of history and classical studies at McGill University, Jason Opal, takes us back to the origins of impeachment to understand how it’s become a common tactic of American political warfare. He joins Seth Thévoz in The Bunker.

• “Since the 80s impeachment has gone from nearly unthinkable to a fairly conventional form of political warfare.” – Prof. Jason Opal
• “When it became obvious Nixon was abusing his power in office, a lot of Republican support dissolved overnight.” – Prof. Jason Opal
• “If you look at impeachments overall, I don’t think you would see a real pattern.” – Prof. Jason Opal

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Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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