In the wake of recent political scandals and then with our discussion of Nixon during class, it seems like impeachment keeps coming up. It's always talked about it-- some illusive action involving taking an official out of power, but then it's more of a process than an simple action or something. I decided it was finally time to learn exactly what impeachment really entailed, and hopefully this clears things up.
What is Impeachment:
Unlike what is normally assumed, impeachment does not remove an official from office but instead is just the first step in the process of removing him or her. It is the formal charging of a highly ranked government official ("The President, the Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States") reserved only for those who have committed "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors," since it is undoing an action that was based on the democratic processes that brought them to power. Although the matter being discussed or the grounds for impeachment may revolve around criminal offenses, the impeachment process only seeks to remove someone from office so does not have any criminal implication.
How Does it Happen:
For simplicity's sake, it is said that Congress has the power to decide what offense lies within those outlined in the Constitution to be impeachable. The process has two steps. First, for someone to be considered "impeached," the House must pass the articles of impeachment by a majority. Next, two thirds of the Senate must decide to convict the individual which would remove him or her from office. If this greater majority is not achieved, the individual is acquitted and there are no repercussions. For impeaching the President, the Chief Justice of the United States presides over proceedings in the Senate. The Senate can also then decide whether or not they want to allow the convicted person to be allowed to hold office again whether it be an elected or appointed position.
Only three presidents have ever gone through impeachment proceedings with Johnson (1868) and Clinton (1999) both being impeached and later acquitted, and Nixon resigning before being impeached. The House has, in total, only ever passed the articles of impeachment 19 times, recently the impeachment of the democratic governor of Illinois in 2009 for corruption and abuse of power and the impeachment and removal of a federal judge in Louisiana in 2010.
Thanks Corrine for clearing up the meaning of impeachment. It is interesting that impeachment has only happened 19 times because I feel that its easy for someone in office to commit "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." With so many officials in America, it seems easy for this to happen.
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting that most people think of Nixon as being removed from office by way of impeachment while he only went through the first part of the impeachment process. His decision to resign from the Presidency was a good decision for the well being of the US because the country was going through lots of hardships at the time and an impeachment would have pushed these problems over the top.
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