Impeachment Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Impeachment, often confused with actual removal from office, is the required first step in removing an elected official from office. Impeachment is not the same as removal. Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were both impeached by the House of Representatives, but the trial conducted in the Senate failed to garner enough votes, in either case, to warrant their removal.

The Founders, fearing a tyrannical leader, seriously deliberated how to remove judges or presidents who abused their powers. The Constitution states, “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.” The infrequency with which impeachment has occurred attests to its significance; clearly, only the most extreme situations warrant impeachment. Throughout the nation’s history, only two presidents have been impeached, and only one other had impeachment hearings begin. However, the judiciary has been exposed to quite a few more impeachments, and since 1936 the U.S. House of Representatives witnessed six impeachment investigations, while trials have occurred only twice in the U.S. Senate in the nation’s history. The infrequency of its occurrence can also be attributed to the ambiguity that surrounds the process.

The Constitution fails to clarify what constitutes an impeachable offense. It makes clear that treason and bribery are impeachable offenses, but what about “other high crimes and misdemeanors”? What constitutes these offenses? This is a question that still plagues constitutional scholars. Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution provides the House of Representatives with the sole authority over impeachment. It also provides the House with the ability to determine the rules of the proceedings. The official process begins once a complaint of official misconduct is given to the House. Any representative, the president, a grand jury, or a state legislature can make a request for impeachment. Once a complaint is received, there are two alternate routes by which proceedings may be initiated in the House. First, the Judicial Conference can forward the request for impeachment to the House and by doing so recommend impeachment. Second, the passage of the Independent Counsel Act provides the special prosecutor with the discretion to forward a request of consideration for impeachment to the House. Once received by the House, all impeachment requests are forwarded to the Judiciary Committee. Any resolutions seeking an impeachment investigation are then referred to the Rules Committee. After the investigation into the impeachment terminates, a vote is set for the articles of impeachment.

If the impeachment passes, the House determines which representatives will serve as House managers in presenting the articles of impeachment to the Senate. They are usually chosen in an election by a majority of the House, by resolution, or by resolution in which the Speaker of the House nominates the representatives. However, the House Judiciary Committee, with the advice of the House leadership, has also recommended House managers, who directly participate in the prosecution of the official being impeached. The Constitution vests authority of the trial with the Senate. Article I, Section 3 states, “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; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the members present.” The only punishment the Senate is authorized to render is removal from office. The Constitution states, “Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than 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 the law.”

In the past seventy years, the United States has witnessed far fewer impeachment hearings, let alone trials, than at any other time in the nation’s history. This may be the result of better-qualified officials’ holding office, greater media scrutiny’s keeping officials honest, the ease in executing disciplinary measures other than impeachment, and the lack of time the House has to get involved in such time-consuming matters.

Bibliography:

Baumgartner, Jody C., and Naoko Kada. Checking Executive Power: Presidential Impeachment in Comparative Perspective. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2003.
Gerhardt, Michael J. The Federal Impeachment Process: A Constitutional and Historical Analysis. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1996.
Nichols, John. The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders’ Cure for Royalism. New York: New Press, 2006.

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