When Bill Clinton was impeached, he did not have to recuse himself from his duties as president. Neither did Donald Trump, who got impeached twice. In South Korea, when President Park Geun-hye was impeached, she had to step down from her duties as president per Korean law. Now, in Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton has been impeached for reasons of bribery and cronyism. Interestingly, as if this were Korea, Paxton must step down (link might be paywalled; here's an un-paywalled source) during the impeachment process:
The 121–23 vote triggers Paxton’s immediate suspension from office pending the outcome of a trial in the state Senate and empowers Gov. Greg Abbott to appoint someone else as Texas’s top lawyer in the interim.
I guess the rule about stepping down when impeached varies according to the office.
Blogger dropped this the first time I tried it... So here is time 2...
ReplyDeleteAs you figured out, the laws vary by the Constitution of the state in question. Most states require that an official that has been impeached be suspended from duties during the period of their trial after being impeached. It is my recollection, but I am too lazy to google, that here in VA the official is suspended from their duties pending the outcome of their trial in the state Senate. I also seem to recall that this clause was added to many state Constitutions during the waves of "progressive reforms" of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.
I wonder why Blogger hates you so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info.