ALLENTOWN, Pa. (WLVT) - Now that impeachment is in the hands of the Senate, the discussion in Washington is all about the rules of the trial. PBS39 talked to an expert at Muhlenberg College for insight on this historic moment in American politics.
“Impeachment is fundamentally a political process,” said Lanethea Mathews-Schultz, Department Chair and Professor of Political Science at Muhlenberg College. “It's not a legal process.”
“There are no sort of pre-established procedures, or rules about how impeachment will be run.” said Mathews-Schultz. “The Senate has to devise its own rules, and so the Senate Majority has the advantage in deciding what those rules are going to be.”
The minority party in the Senate, the democrats, are just as concerned about the rules that will govern the trial as the republicans are.
“Anyone that [has] ever played a game knows that the rules of the game can decide who wins and who loses,” said Mathews-Schultz. “So the rules of the game are really important. It's not just partisan bickering...There are are substantive outcomes that are connected to what the rules of the game will be.”
House impeachment managers and President Trump’s defense team were given three days, instead of two, to make their arguments.
“I think one valuable thing that we can get out of this is to use it as an educated moment and to recognize that what is going on is not just battles between Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer, but it is communication,” said Mathews-Schultz “The cultivation of public support and communication with the American people.”
Some of Muhlenberg’s political science students weighed in on what it means to watch this historic moment for America play out in front of their eyes.
“I think impeachment is important, just as a mechanism of checking the executive [branch] regardless of who's being impeached,” said Joey Goret, a senior at Muhlenberg. “Now whether you think it's legitimate or not, is mostly viewed through a partisan lens.”
Big things are happening, [it] is very important," said sophomore Madeline Dill.
You can listen to the impeachment trial live on WLVR News 91.3 FM or watch on WORLD channel.