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I don’t think President Trump gets the best legal advice. On Thursday morning, he sent out a couple of tweets that indicate that he doesn’t understand either the Constitution or what Nancy Pelosi is attempting to do by passing two articles of impeachment and then refusing to send them immediately to the Senate.

Let’s start at the beginning. The Constitution is pretty sparse in what it has to say about the procedure for a presidential impeachment. Article I establishes the legislative branch of government and gives the House of Representatives “the sole Power of Impeachment.” It gives the Senate “the sole Power to try all Impeachments.”

For further guidance we need to look at Clauses 6 and 7.

The first part should be familiar to almost everyone. The senators take an oath (later defined by Senate rule to read: “I solemnly swear [or affirm] that in all things appertaining to the trial of ____, now pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help me God.”)

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is to preside over presidential impeachments, while this is not necessary for the trials of lesser officers. And, while impeachment only requires a majority in the House, actual conviction requires a two-thirds majority of the senators who actually show up to serve as jurors.

When sitting for that Purpose, [senators] shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

The next part is a little less well known.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

This is all the guidance we have in the Constitution on how impeachments are to be conducted. Another semi-authoritative source is Thomas Jefferson’s Manual of Parliamentary Practice for the Use of the Senate of the United States. Beyond this, all we have to go on is existing House and Senate rules and the limited precedents.

The precedents say that the House will either elect prosecutors (called “managers”) to try the case in the Senate or allow the Speaker to assign them and approve her decision through a resolution. Typically, the same resolution would serve as a notification of impeachment to the Senate.

This notification is what triggers the Senate to act. They’re constitutionally obligated to try a case referred to them by the House. Precedent says that the Senate will acknowledge receipt of the House’s referral and state when they will be prepared to receive the House managers. The actual language governing this is in a document called the The Rules of Procedure and Practice in the Senate When Sitting on Impeachment Trials.