Impeachment

What can cause a president to be Impeached?Can only happen for high crimes and

misdemeanors:1. Malfeasance

A. An illegal act2. Misfeasance

A. An illegal act which could have otherwise been done legally

What do scholars believe about ImpeachmentMost scholars place the standard as an act

against the state or the constitution

Who determines What is an impeachable offense?

The definition of an impeachable offense is left to the House

The definition is political and impeachment is as political as elections

Every impeachment has divided along party lines

The ProcessThe House Judiciary Committee acts as an

investigative body to determine if there has been an impeachable offense A. A majority of votes of the committee is required to

send the case to the full House for a vote (1) a simple majority is required to send the case to

the Senate for a trialThe senate holds a trial with the Chief Justice

presiding A. Members of the House Judiciary Committee serve as

the prosecution in the case. B. The president or judge being impeached has a

lawyer(s) to defend himself.2/3rds vote is required for removal

The Johnson ImpeachmentJohnson was charged with defying the

authority of Congress and of violating a federal law, the recently enacted Tenure of Office Act.

The real reason behind the impeachment was political.

Johnson wanted to follow the path set by Abraham Lincoln of bringing the South back into the union without punishing the South for its actions, while radical Republicans wanted to punish the South for the Civil War.

Formal notice of impeachment of President JohnsonThe formal notice of the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, at the bar of the Senate, 25th February 1868. The vote to impeach Johnson had been held in the House of Representatives on the preceding day.

Impeachment Committee of the House, 1868

Summons served on President Andrew JohnsonGeorge Brown, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate, serving the summons on President Andrew Johnson.

The Johnson ImpeachmentHis impeachment trial in the Senate lasted

from March 5 to May 26, 1868. Although presented with a summons, the

president was never forced to appear personally.

The crucial vote came on May 16 and fell one short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict him.

After his presidential term ended, Johnson returned to Tennessee and became active in state politics.

In 1874 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, but died less than five months later.

The Clinton ImpeachmentThe road to President Clinton’s impeachment

began as the extensive "Whitewater" investigation into real estate deals in Arkansas before Clinton assumed office resulted in no conclusive evidence, and Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr turned to investigations of sexual improprieties.

Under oath, President Clinton claimed not to have had a sexual relationship with White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky, and eventually admitted that he had.

The Clinton ImpeachmentA report submitted to the House on Sept. 9, 1998, under the

INDEPENDENT COUNSEL, (q.v.) statute alleged that President Bill Clinton may have committed impeachable offenses in covering up a sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

The following month the House voted to authorize its Judiciary Committee to begin a formal impeachment inquiry.

On December 19 the full House approved two articles of impeachment, accusing Clinton of perjury before a federal grand jury and obstruction of justice.

(House members defeated two other articles, one accusing Clinton of lying in a deposition in a civil case, the other charging the president with abusing his office by providing false testimony to Congress.)

Impeachment Trial of Bill ClintonIn a vote along party lines, Clinton was impeached by the House on December 19, 1998, on 2 counts: perjury before a grand jury, and obstruction of justice. President Clinton was acquitted by the Senate Feb. 12, 1999.

Bill Clinton: a case study1. Impeached for lies before a grand jury2. Does perjury for adulterous conduct rise to

an impeachable offense?