The law is just blind, not stupid. Impeachment is not a criminal proceeding. Impeachment cannot punish as in imprisonment. I would however like to see some legal scholarship applied to treason in time of war by a president which would likely be sequenced as an impeachment, removal from office, indictment on treason charges, trial and conviction followed by execution if so ordered.
The constitution give the senate power to remove him from office and possibly bar him from serving again. That's ALL the senate can do. However, the constitution leaves the convicted person open for civil charges and trial, not by congress but by the civil courts.
It's been held that person convicted after impeachment can't appeal. However, that's not really been tested. If congress violates the constitution, the SCOTUS is supposed to rule their actions invalid and in the past they've done so many times. Why wouldn't that hold here?
