The power of impeachment, while rare in occurrence, is solely held by Congress and is one of the most effective checks on civil officers of the United States. The United States adopted the idea of impeachment from the British Parliament, which has used the power of impeachment since the mid-14th century. Article II, Section IV of the Constitution stipulates that “The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” There is some debate as to whether or not Congressional members are impeachable, but there is even more difference of opinion as to what is considered a high crime or misdemeanor. In the video below, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) argues that the Founding Fathers intended for officials to be impeached only when the gravest crimes against the United States and Constitution, such as bribery and treason, are committed. Alexander Hamilton described impeachable offenses as those “which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust" (Hamilton 1788). Despite contentions about the meaning of certain Constitutional phrases, the process of impeachment remains important.
During the House debate of the Articles of Impeachment Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) opposes the impeachment on the grounds that the Constitution only calls for impeachment when the official commits high crimes. Many Democrats argued that the calls for impeachment of President Clinton were motivated by partisanship.
Article I states that proceedings for impeachment begin in the House of Representatives and end in a trial in the Senate. Any individual member of the House of Representatives can start the process of impeachment through resolution. Usually the resolution is referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, and then the House Committee on the Judiciary will investigate the misconduct through their officials. A simple majority vote will determine whether to continue the impeachment process or to quall it. If the House Committee on the Judiciary decides an impeachment is warranted, Articles of Impeachment are written and reported to the House; these articles define the charges against the official being impeached. The drafted articles are then reported to a full House of Representatives for the members to vote on. The House can either vote for all the articles as a whole or for each article individually, and only a simple majority vote is needed to pass. During the impeachment of then-President Bill Clinton, four Articles of Impeachment were drafted. However, only two of these articles, one dealing with perjury before a grand jury and the other with obstruction of justice, received majority votes. There is no rule on how many articles of incorporation can be drafted. For instance, President Andrew Johnson had eleven articles drafted against him and federal judge Thomas Porteous had four drafted against him. While being impeached is a serious step, the impeachment itself is analogous to an indictment. Therefore, the Senate has to convict the offender before removal from office is possible.
The House Reading Clerk reads off the names of the thirteen members of the House Judiciary Committee that would act as managers during the 1999 impeachment of former President Bill Clinton. All thirteen managers were Republicans, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-IL).
Any article that passes with a majority vote will be presented to the Senate by House “managers”, appointed members of the House that will act as prosecutors in the Senate trial. Once the Senate has received notice that managers have been appointed, then the Secretary of the Senate will inform the House that the trial is ready to begin. Article I, Section II of the Constitution obligates that the Chief Justice preside over the trial if President or Vice-President are impeached. The Senate impeachment trial is set up like any other criminal trial: the manager from the House acts as the prosecution with the Senate members acting as the jury, though Senators can also introduce questions to witnesses, managers, or counsels via the presiding officer. The official being impeached has the right to outside counsel and each side has the right to the cross-examination of witnesses. Considering that Senators belong to different political parties, they are required to take an oath that binds them to “do impartial justice, according to law.”
Strom Thurmond, President Pro-Tempore, swears in Chief Justice Rehnquist as the presiding officer. Chief Justice Rehnquist, in turn, swears in the rest of the Senate members.
Since 1980, the Senate has made the process of impeachment much simpler for its members. Impeachment Trial Committees are created, listen to the evidence, and supervise over the cross-examination. The Committee then provides the Senate with a copy of the transcript of the proceedings and testimony. The Rules of Procedure and Practice in the Senate When Sitting on Impeachment Trials state that the Committee must also “report to the Senate a statement of facts that are uncontested and a summary, with appropriate references to the record, of evidence that the parties have introduced on contested issues of fact” (Rules 1986). Once the hearing is finished, the Senate will convene in private where each senator is allowed 15 minutes of debate.
Next, the Senate will proceed to vote on each separate Article of Impeachment. A two-thirds majority is required for a conviction. If any of the articles passes with a two-thirds majority, the official is immediately removed from office and can be disqualified from holding future federal offices by a simple majority vote. Article I, Section III limits the punishment from impeachment to not extend beyond removal of office and disqualification from holding a future federal office. Thus, impeachment was crafted as a purely political punishment when an official is deemed unfit to hold a position and does not necessarily comment on the legality of the official’s actions. However, criminal and civil proceedings can be brought up in future trials.
Impeachment proceedings have been initiated 62 times since 1789, with only “two presidents, one Supreme Court justice, one senator, one cabinet officer, and fourteen federal judges” being impeached by the House (Oleszek 2007). This list does not include former President Richard Nixon, who resigned as President before impeachment proceedings could be initiated after the Watergate fiasco. Considering that Article III, Section I of the Constitution grants federal judges to hold office for life unless removed by impeachment, it is obvious why most individuals impeached have been federal judges.
Impeachment is a permanent punishment and cannot be overturned. Though a President can pardon an individual for crimes they are convicted of after impeachment, the impeachment itself cannot be pardoned. Unlike other trial proceedings, an impeachment cannot be appealed to any higher court. In theory, an individual could bring up a claim with the Supreme Court, but the Court would ready dismiss the claim as a political question; the Supreme Court has never been eager to interfere in legislative procedures and processes.
The process of impeachment, as stated in the first paragraph, makes very untimely appearances. Not many officials have been impeached, that much is true, but its significance should not be dismissed. With so formal and therefore infrequent a process, the Founding Fathers probably did not intend for impeachment to be a deterrent against officials abusing power. However, impeachment is still an incredibly vital power to ceasing any unwanted actions by elected officials and other officers, especially since judges serve life-long terms and other elected officials usually hold four year terms. The action of calling for impeachment of an official is more common and can be used to alter unwanted behavior. In fact, Michael Burgess (R-TX) has told tea party groups that Obama should be impeached, and Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Robert Wexler (D-FL) introduced an impeachment resolution for then-President George W. Bush. In conclusion, impeachment is an important Constitutional power that allows Congress to remove any unfit person from office, but it also can be used for partisan means. Therefore, while impeachment can be useful, it is also a double-edged sword that should only be used when absolutely vital.
Works cited:
Hamilton, Alexander. "The Powers of the Senate Continued." March 7, 1788.
Impeachment Debate. C-SPAN. Washington D.C. Dec 18, 1998.
Hamilton, Alexander. "The Powers of the Senate Continued." March 7, 1788.
Impeachment Debate. C-SPAN. Washington D.C. Dec 18, 1998.
Naming of Impeachment Trial Managers. C-SPAN. Washington D.C. Jan 7, 1999.
Oleszek, Walter J. Congressional Procedures and the Policy Press. Washington D.C.: CQ
Press, 2007.
Rules of Procedure and Practice in the Senate When Sitting on Impeachment Trials.
August 16, 1986. 29 November 2011.http://www.law.cornell.edu/background/impeach/senaterules.pdf
Senate Session. C-SPAN. Washington D.C. Jan 7, 1999.
