Impeachment

Impeachment is accusation of a public officer for official misconduct, such as treason, bribery, violation of laws, dishonor­able methods, which are clearly defined, and "other high crimes and misdemeanors", about which there has been much dispute. So-called ‘strict constructionists’ insist that the phrase covers only offences indictable under common law, while ‘broad constructionists’, starting with some of the writers of the Consti­tution, take a more political view. It is the method provided for getting rid of officials who cannot be dismissed: presidents, vice-presidents and "all civil officers of the United States".

The impeachment charge is brought by a majority vote of the State or Federal House of Representatives and is tried and determined by the State or Federal Senate, a two-thirds vote being necessary for conviction. The penalty is removal from of­fice and inability to hold any governmental position.

Contrary to popular conception, impeachment is not a removal from office. Impeachment is an indictment on charges of trea­son, bribery, or other crimes or misdemeanors, and is followed by a trial. The President, Vice-President and all civil officers of the United States may be impeached, but cannot be removed from office unless convicted.

The House of Representatives has the sole power of impeach­ment.

The Senate has the sole power to try all impeachments. For conviction, a two-thirds concurrence of the senators present is necessary.

Once the House has voted an impeachment, it then selects members to present the case before the Senate (managers). The Constitution requires that the Chief Justice of the United States shall preside at impeachment proceedings against the President of the United States; in all other cases, the Presiding Officer of the Senate, whether the Vice-President or a President pro tempore, presides. A vote of two-thirds of the senators present is required for a verdict of guilty, which results in removal from office. Disqualification from holding "any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States" may follow and requires only a majority vote.

Some 50 impeachments have been started in the House over the last two centuries, but only 12 have reached the Senate. At­tempts were made to impeach President Tyler in 1843, Vice-President Colfax in 1873 and President Hoover — on charges of usurping legislative powers. All were defeated in the House. In fact there have been only four convictions, and these were all of federal judges. (Federal judges are appointed for life, subject to good behavior, and can be removed only by impeachment pro­ceedings.) The last trial took place in 1936 when a judge was re­moved, although not disqualified from federal service.

Of the impeachments that reached the Senate only one involv­ed a President, Andrew Johnson, who succeeded after the as­sassination of Lincoln. This was a notably political trial. John­son was a Southern Democrat who fought against secession. The Northern Republicans, who controlled Congress, wanted to treat the defeated states as a conquered and occupied terri­tory, wanted to keep the South disenfranchised. President John­son, following Lincoln's policy, wanted to bring the Southern states back into the Union. The House started impeachment pro­ceedings against him three times. Twice the attempts to impeach him were turned down by the House. But then Johnson gave them their opportunity by dismissing the Secretary of War, who sym­pathized with the Radicals. This was a violation of the Tenure of Office Act. (According to that act he could remove no one in the Cabinet who had been appointed by Lincoln, without the approval of the Senate.). On March 5, 1868, his case went on trial before the Senate. There were eleven charges against him, but it all came down to the three articles accusing Johnson of break­ing the law by defying the Tenure of Office Act. It was an elev­en-and-a-half-week trial, the House's seven managers pitted against the President's five attorneys. Three votes were taken. Each time the Radicals came within one vote of securing the two-thirds needed for a vote of guilty, and Johnson was acquit­ted. (All but one of the votes for conviction came from Republicans, while only five Republicans voted with the Democrats for acquittal.). In 1974, impeachment articles against Pres. Richard Nixon in connection with the Watergate scandal were voted by the House Judiciary Committee; he resigned Aug. 9, before the full House could vote on impeaching him. In 1998, Pres. Bill Clinton was impeached by the House in connection with covering up a relationship with a former White House intern Monica Lewinsky; he was tried in the Senate in 1999 and acquitted.