As convenient as it is for Trump, this idea isn't new. In fact, it comes directly from cases of college rape.
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DUE PROCESS What is it? And, what is it not? Trump is using a definition of due process that is, roughly, this: If someone hasn't been arrested and formally charged with a crime, they can face no consequences for their actions whatsoever.
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In discussions of rape on campus, this pernicious idea first started to grow- that male students had not been given "due process" if their school believed they raped another student and forced them to leave for the safety of the other students.
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It is, and always was, an absolutely insane idea- that an institution could not investigate and punish bad behavior unless they were found guilty in a court of law. Think about how that would apply to an employee caught stealing money out of the register.
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It would be insane to force an employer to keep a thieving employee on pending the results of a criminal trial- or hire them back if for some reason they weren't found guilty in a court of law. But, in cases of campus rape, this was the "due process" certain people demanded.
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But this distortion of "due process" as meaning impunity for anyone not convicted of a crime has now seeped out into the culture. And now, the president is using it to suggest that he can't be impeached.
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So, remember: The President is not entitled to "due process" during impeachment procedures. And, students on a college campus aren't entitled to "due process" if their school decides they're a threat to the safety of other students, either.
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End of conversation
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