united-states impeachment
Can senators meet in secret to discuss impeaching the president or do all such discussions need to be done in public?
<p>Can senators meet in secret to discuss impeaching the president or do all such discussions need to be done in public? I am wondering if meeting in secret to discuss impeaching the president can be considered treason. Is it the case or is the law much more flexible when it comes to what a senator or government official can do in private? Assume this is in the United States.</p>

<p>Anyone can meet with anyone to discuss impeaching POTUS – it happens all the time. Senators are not under any special First Amendment disability that prohibits them from talking on that topic. &quot;Meeting to discuss&quot; sometimes &quot;convening a session to officially debate an action&quot;. The House impeaches, the Senate convicts, so Senators do not debate or &quot;discuss&quot; a motion to impeach. There are (were) private discussions regarding procedure, and it is reasonable to assume, regarding the substance of the charges. The Senate is allowed to set its own rules, so if the Senate wants to conduct an impeachment behind closed doors, it can.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2381" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Treason</a> is if one,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or
adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the
United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What you describe is politics, which is legal.</p>

<p>There are some places (CA) that have “sunshine” laws that limit non-public discussions of certain governmental bodies.That does not apply at a federal level. Senators are constantly talking with each other off of the Senate floor.</p>
<p>The constitution lays out some legal, peaceful and democratic ways to make changes in who governs us.</p>
<p>By the way, treason is hard to commit. It requires working with a country with which we have a war. There are other laws against trying to hurt the government, like sedition.</p>
