There are a lot of questions swirling around about impeachment. The lack of a solid civics education in this country has left a lot of Americans to wonder what is impeachment, what is it for, what does it do, and will it remove the president from office.
What is an impeachment inquiry?
An impeachment inquiry is when evidence is gathered, and hearings are held to find out if there has been enough wrongdoing for an office holder, in this case, the president, to be impeached. There is no constitutional requirement for an impeachment inquiry, nor is there a requirement to hold a vote to approve an impeachment inquiry.
Where in the Constitution is impeachment mentioned?
“The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.” —Article I, Section 2, Clause 5
“The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.” —Article, Section 3, Clause 6
“Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.” —Article, Section 3, Clause 7
When the House of Representatives votes to impeach, will the president be removed from office?
No, once impeached the process moves over to the Senate where there will be a trial. To remove him from office the Senate must vote to convict with a two-thirds majority.
Will the president go to jail if the Senate convicts him?
No, the penalty is that he will be removed from office. Once convicted, the Senate has the option to punish the individual by barring him from holding a federal office in the future, at this time this only requires a simple majority. After impeachment, he can be tried in a court of law for any crimes committed.
Who becomes president if the the president is impeached and convicted?
If his vice president is not impeached, then the vice president would become president, if the vice president were impeached at the same time, then the speaker of the House would become president.
Can the new president pardon the president who has just been impeached and convicted?
No. Per the U.S. Constitution pardons cannot be in given in the case of impeachment.
“The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” —Article II, Section 2, Clause 1
What are high crimes and misdemeanors?
It can really be anything Congress wants it to be, per Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution impeachment is for, “...Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” High crimes and misdemeanors is not defined in the Constitution, however, it can cover a lot of ground as shown below.
The charge of high crimes and misdemeanors covers allegations of misconduct by officials, such as dishonesty, negligence, perjury of oath, abuse of authority, bribery, intimidation, misuse of public funds or assets, failure to supervise, dereliction of duty, unbecoming conduct, refusal to obey a lawful order, chronic intoxication, or tax evasion. Offenses by officials also include ordinary crimes, but perhaps with different standards of proof and punishment than for non-officials, on the grounds that more is expected of officials by their oaths of office. Indeed the offense may not even be a breach of criminal statute.
What is this phony emoluments thing I keep hearing about? Is that a high crime and misdemeanor?
The emoluments clause in the Constitution is very real, and has likely been violated by the current president, and Congress could consider it to be a high crime and misdemeanor.
“No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” —Article I, Section 9, Clause 8.
With the president maintaining control of his properties, and promoting them for use for the G7, and foreign governments trying to gain favor by staying in his properties, he is violating the emoluments clause.
Isn’t impeachment just a political ploy to smear the president?
The framers of our Constitution knew that at some point an elected official or federal appointee would need to be removed from office. There are cases where it has been used as a political weapon, President Clinton’s impeachment for example. The New Yorker recently ran a piece on the history of impeachment and how it came into being:
Impeachment is a terrible power because it was forged to counter a terrible power: the despot who deems himself to be above the law. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention included impeachment in the Constitution as a consequence of their knowledge of history, a study they believed to be a prerequisite for holding a position in government. From their study of English history, they learned what might be called the law of knavery: there aren’t any good ways to get rid of a bad king. Really, there were only three ways and they were all horrible: civil war, revolution, or assassination. England had already endured the first and America the second, and no one could endorse the third.
Can’t we just wait until the next election to vote a bad president out?
No, impeachment holds two purposes: one, punishment for abusing political office, and two a warning to anyone who may want to abuse political office. It is the duty of Congress as a co-equal branch of government to ensure that the executive branch is not corrupt—and the current administration is about as corrupt as they come.