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Impeachment of the President

Impeachment of the President. What is Impeachment?. It is a process authorized by the Constitution, to bring charges against, and remove, certain officials of the federal government for misconduct while in office. . Who has the Authority in the Impeachment Process?.

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Impeachment of the President

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  1. Impeachment of the President

  2. What is Impeachment? • It is a process authorized by the Constitution, to bring charges against, and remove, certain officials of the federal government for misconduct while in office.

  3. Who has the Authority in the Impeachment Process? • The Role of the House of Representatives Art. I, Section 2: “The house of Representatives…shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.” • The Role of the Senate: Art I, Section 4: “The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments….When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside…”

  4. Who Can Be Impeached? • Article II, Section 4: • “The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on Impeachment for, and conviction of…” (emphasis added) • This means that judges and other appointed officials can be removed from office through impeachment. • Doesn’t include Senators and Representatives as the Senate and House deal with misconduct from their own members.

  5. What Grounds are there for Impeachment? • The Constitutional text: • Article II, Section 4 states that officials shall be removed for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” • The major question is the meaning of “high crimes and misdemeanors”

  6. Grounds for Impeachment • Is “Criminality” required? • To a modern person, “high crimes and misdemeanors” suggests criminality • But there is a problem with a “modern” interpretation: misdemeanor is a term used for relatively minor crimes • Couldn’t there be such an abuse of power of an office that is not technically a crime? Would confining impeachment to “crimes” be too restrictive a definition?

  7. Grounds, Cont. • Historical Understanding • Impeachment was a device borrowed from English Government • The term “High crimes and misdemeanors” was used in Parliamentary impeachments for over 400 years • From examining Parliamentary impeachments, the term seems to mean such things as misapplication of funds, abuse of official power, neglect of duty, corruption and betrayal of trust

  8. Grounds cont • Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England • Defines impeachable offences as “mal-administration of such high officers, as are in public trust and employment”

  9. Grounds cont • The Framers: • Comments by the framers in the convention notes suggest that they understood it to be a remedy for misconduct in office, breaches of trust, failure to discharge the responsibilities of his office. • Clearly was comprehended as something beyond criminal • But no clear definition of exactly what is enough to be impeachable

  10. Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution: • “[High crimes and misdemeanors] has a more enlarged operation, and reaches, what are aptly termed political offences, growing out of personal misconduct or gross neglect, or usurpation, or habitual disregard of the public interests, various in their character, and so indefinable in their actual involutions, that it is almost impossible to provide systematically for them by positive law”

  11. Grounds cont • Summary: In short, there is no fixed definition of what is an impeachable offence. It is essentially a political decision that is resorted to when there is a belief that some gross misconduct in office has taken place.

  12. How is the Impeachment Trial Conducted? • The Senate establishes the guidelines as to how the trial is conducted • Art I Sect 3 says the Chief Justice presides if the President is on trial • Art I Sect 3 requires the Senators to be sworn • Art I Sect 3 requires 2/3 of the Senate to vote to convict

  13. Punishment for Conviction • Art I Sect 3: “Judgement in Cases of Impeachment shall extend not further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office ….but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgement and Punishment, according to Law

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