Constituents within the 13th Congressional District, which covers Norwood, got a lesson on impeachment from Congressman Adriano Espaillat, who spent more than an hour covering the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.

Espaillat, a Democrat who sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee, one of three bodies conducting the impeachment probe on Mr. Trump, outlined the process of on impeachment at a forum on Oct. 17.

“I hope that this process will be expedited but that it will be fair and that it will be one where the American people gain a level of confidence in government again,” said Espaillat.

In a 20-minute presentation, Espaillat outlined the steps to impeachment, while dispelling perceptions behind holding the inquiry behind closed doors much to the anger of Senate Republicans who are demanding greater transparency.

“If an investigation is opened a witness can come in and testify and the next witness may be intimidated if they see that the testimony that the previous witness gave now becomes public,” said Espaillat. “And so that’s why it needs to be confidential.”

Espaillat was joined by Jamal Greene, a law professor at Columbia University with a background on constitutional law. Greene mentioned that impeachment inquiries are sparked by whether a president has committed bribery, other high crimes and misdemeanors, and treason.

“Within the meaning of the Constitution there’s nothing that we know of what constitutes treason.  We’re not actively in war with many countries right now,” said Greene, adding that an impeachable offense falling under “other high crimes and misdemeanors” does not have to be criminal in nature.

“It’s very easy to think of examples of conduct by the President that would very clearly be impeachable, but would not necessarily be a crime under criminal law,” said Greene. “If I take it the President said any federal official who beats on my enemies will be pardoned should they be convicted of doing so. That’s not a crime for the President to do that. He could say that–the First Amendment gives him the right to say that if he wants to, but that would very clearly be an abuse of his office.”

Unlike prior impeachment inquiries this inquiry doesn’t have a special counsel, leaving it to the committees to carry out the impeachment. Once the Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees complete their investigation, the evidence is turned over to the Judiciary Committee to determine whether to draft articles of impeachment. A trial is then held in the Senate, which is Republican controlled. An impeachment happens when two-thirds of Senators vote in favor of impeaching.

Espaillat added the closed-door approach is akin to a grand jury convening to hear testimony that’s usually held in closed doors.

In September, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry against Mr. Trump after a whistleblower came forward to report Mr. Trump had recommended to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that his administration should investigate former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, a prospective rival in the general election, and his son Hunter in exchange for military aid.

Espaillat reminded attendees that impeaching Mr. Trump was on his mind back in November 2017, citing Mr. Trump’s suggestion to then-FBI director James Comey that he drop a case against former National Security Adviser Lt. General Mike Flynn. Though Espaillat and several other congressional members introduced a motion to draft articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump, the attempts were unsuccessful.