https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_in_the_United_States
Impeachment in the United States is an enumerated power of the legislature that allows formal charges to be brought against a civil officer of government for crimes alleged to have been committed. Most impeachments have concerned alleged crimes committed while in office, though there have been a few cases in which Congress has impeached and convicted officials partly for prior crimes.[1] The actual trial on such charges, and subsequent removal of an official upon conviction, is separate from the act of impeachment itself. Impeachment proceedings have been initiated against several presidents of the United States. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton are the only two presidents to have been successfully impeached by the House of Representatives, and both were later acquitted by the Senate. The impeachment process against Richard Nixon was technically unsuccessful, as Nixon resigned his office before the vote of the full House for impeachment, but successful in the broader sense of leading to Nixon's departure. To date, no U.S. President has been removed from office by impeachment and conviction.
Impeachment is analogous to indictment in regular court proceedings; trial by the other house is analogous to the trial before judge and jury in regular courts. Typically, the lower house of the legislature impeaches the official and the upper house conducts the trial.
At the federal level, Article II of the United States Constitution states in Section 4 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." The House of Representatives has the sole power of impeaching, while the United States Senate has the sole power to try all impeachments. The removal of impeached officials is automatic upon conviction in the Senate. In Nixon v. United States (1993), the Supreme Court determined that the federal judiciary cannot review such proceedings.
Impeachment can also occur at the state level: state legislatures can impeach state officials, including governors, in accordance with their respective state constitutions.
At the Philadelphia Convention, Benjamin Franklin noted that, historically, the removal of "obnoxious" chief executives had been accomplished by assassination. Franklin suggested that a proceduralized mechanism for removal—impeachment—would be preferable.[2]
Impeachment of a U.S. President[edit]
To bring articles of impeachment against a president requires a majority vote in the House of Representatives. When the case is tried by the Senate, a vote of at least 2/3 of those present is required to convict and remove the president from office.[6]
The law of presidential powers and duties is ill-defined. Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote in 1952 that there is "a poverty of really useful and unambiguous authority applicable to concrete problems of executive power as they actually present themselves."[7] Two U.S. Presidents have been impeached by the House of Representatives—Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998—both later acquitted at trials held by the Senate. While articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon were passed by the House Judiciary Committee in 1974,[8] Nixon resigned the Presidency before the impeachment resolutions could be considered by the full House.[9]
When an impeachment process involves a U.S. President, the Chief Justice of the United States is required to preside during the Senate trial.[10] In all other trials, the Vice President would preside in his capacity as President of the Senate. Although it has been suggested that a literal reading of the Constitution would designate the Vice President to preside over his or her own impeachment trial,[11] the logic of this scenario has been used as an argument against such textualism.[12]
Federal officials impeached[edit]
# Date of Impeachment Accused Office Accusation(s) Result[Note 1] References
1 July 7, 1797
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William Blount
United States Senator (Tennessee) Conspiring to assist Britain in capturing Spanish territory Senate refused to accept impeachment of a Senator by the House of Representatives, instead expelling him from the Senate on their own authority[13][Note 2] [14]
2 March 2, 1803
John Pickering
Judge (District of New Hampshire) Drunkenness and unlawful rulings Removed on March 12, 1804[13][15] [14][15]
3 March 12, 1804
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Samuel Chase
Associate Justice (Supreme Court of the United States) Political bias and arbitrary rulings, promoting a partisan political agenda on the bench [16] Acquitted on March 1, 1805 [13][15]
4 April 24, 1830
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James H. Peck
Judge (District of Missouri) Abuse of power[17] Acquitted on January 31, 1831[13][15] [14][15]
5 May 6, 1862
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West Hughes Humphreys
Judge (Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Tennessee) Supporting the Confederacy Removed and disqualified on June 26, 1862[14][13][15] [14][15]
6 February 24, 1868
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Andrew Johnson
President of the United States Violating the Tenure of Office Act Acquitted on May 26, 1868[13] [14]
7 February 28, 1873
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Mark W. Delahay
Judge (District of Kansas) Drunkenness Resigned on December 12, 1873[15][18] [15][18]
8 March 2, 1876
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William W. Belknap
United States Secretary of War Graft/corruption Acquitted after his resignation on August 1, 1876.[13] [14]
9 December 13, 1904
Charles Swayne
Judge (Northern District of Florida) Failure to live in his district, abuse of power[19] Acquitted on February 27, 1905[13][15] [14][15]
10 July 11, 1912
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Robert Wodrow Archbald
Associate Justice (United States Commerce Court)
Judge (Third Circuit Court of Appeals) Improper acceptance of gifts from litigants and attorneys Removed and disqualified on January 13, 1913[14][13][15] [14][15]
11 April 1, 1926
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George W. English
Judge (Eastern District of Illinois) Abuse of power Resigned on November 4, 1926,[14][13] proceedings dismissed on December 13, 1926[14][15] [14][15]
12 February 24, 1933
Harold Louderback
Judge (Northern District of California) Corruption Acquitted on May 24, 1933[13][15] [14][15]
13 March 2, 1936
Halsted L. Ritter
Judge (Southern District of Florida) Champerty/corruption, tax evasion, practicing law while a judge Removed on April 17, 1936[13][15] [14][15]
14 July 22, 1986
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Harry E. Claiborne
Judge (District of Nevada) Tax evasion Removed on October 9, 1986[13][15] [14][15]
15 August 3, 1988
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Alcee Hastings
Judge (Southern District of Florida) Accepting a bribe, and committing perjury during the resulting investigation Removed on October 20, 1989[13][15] [14][15]
16 May 10, 1989
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Walter Nixon
Chief Judge (Southern District of Mississippi) Perjury Removed on November 3, 1989[13][15][Note 3] [14][15]
17 December 19, 1998
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Bill Clinton
President of the United States Perjury and obstruction of justice Acquitted on February 12, 1999[13] [14]
18 June 19, 2009
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Samuel B. Kent
Judge (Southern District of Texas) Sexual assault, and obstruction of justice during the resulting investigation Resigned on June 30, 2009,[15][20] proceedings dismissed on July 22, 2009[13][15][21] [15][22]
19 March 11, 2010
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Thomas Porteous
Judge (Eastern District of Louisiana) Making false financial disclosures Removed and disqualified on December 8, 2010[13][15][23] [15][24]
Demands for impeachment[edit]
See also: Impeachment investigations of United States federal officials
While the actual impeachment of a federal public official is a rare event, demands for impeachment, especially of presidents, are common,[25][26] going back to the administration of George Washington in the mid-1790s. In fact, most of the 63 resolutions mentioned above were in response to presidential actions.
While almost all of them were for the most part frivolous and were buried as soon as they were introduced, several did have their intended effect. Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon[27] and Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas both resigned in response to the threat of impeachment hearings, and, most famously, President Richard Nixon resigned from office after the House Judiciary Committee had already reported articles of impeachment to the floor.