ONLY “CIVIL OFFICERS OF THE UNITED STATES” ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO IMPEACHMENT. YOU’RE NOT ONE OF THOSE UNTIL YOU’RE SWORN IN. Law professor: Trump can be impeached for fraud and racketeering before he even takes office.

I think this is bad reporting — really, a bad headline — by Raw Story, though. Prof. Peterson seems to be saying that Trump can be impeached for conduct that took place before he took office, which is a very different thing from saying that Trump can be impeached before he takes office. The article (aside from the headline) says this: “Professor Christopher L. Peterson has found that should Trump win the election in November, he would be vulnerable to impeachment even before he takes office, thanks to fraud and racketeering lawsuits related to the Trump University case.”

That can be read two ways: (1) Trump can be impeached as soon as he’s elected and before he takes office, which is pretty clearly wrong; (2) Trump’s pre-election conduct makes him vulnerable to impeachment, regardless of anything he does in office. I think Peterson’s actually arguing the second, but the headline makes it seem like he’s arguing the first. My guess is that the headline was written by someone other than the reporter, and the headline-writer didn’t quite grasp the story. Or, you know, they were just out for clicks.

Of course, Trump’s not the only nominee vulnerable to impeachment (after being sworn in) for conduct that took place before the election. . . .