Impeachment of a President: How the Process Works

Donald Trump impeachment, Will Trump be impeached

A handful of Democrats have talked about impeaching President Trump. But impeachment proceedings are far from imminent. (Getty)

By Jacob Neiheisel, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

Editor’s Note: Impeachment is a predominantly legislative process currently followed in several dozen countries, including Brazil, South Korea and the Philippines. “Impeach” has roots in the Latin word for being caught. It allows members of the legislature to indict, or charge, an official with criminal activity. The official will be removed from office only if convicted. The Conversation

Jacob Neiheisel, an assistant professor at the University at Buffalo, SUNY answers five questions about how impeachment works in the United States.

1. What Sort of Crime Can Lead to Impeachment?

The U.S. Constitution states that the president, as well as the “Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States” can be removed from office, after being both impeached and convicted, for “Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Treason and bribery are straightforward, but what exactly constitutes a “High Crime” or “Misdemeanor” has always been open to interpretation. Although not the formal reason, scholars argue Andrew Johnson, the first American president to be impeached, was targeted because of his “soft” approach to states of the former Confederacy during Reconstruction. The official reason was his violation of the Tenure of Office Act – which was later declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Articles of impeachment were brought against Bill Clinton for perjury (lying under oath) and obstruction of justice, but there is little doubt that there were also partisan motivations behind the charges.

Even Alexander Hamilton expected the process of impeachment to be overtly political. President Gerald Ford put the matter bluntly when he described an impeachable offense as “Whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.”

2. How Does the Process Work?

Removing a president – or other federal officer – from office happens in stages.

The process begins with a vote on one or more articles of impeachment by the House Judiciary Committee. If approved, the articles of impeachment are brought to a vote in the full House.

After impeachment, the case is referred to the Senate for trial. The trial runs much as it would in a criminal case, and witnesses can be called on either side. A supermajority, or two-thirds, of the Senate then has to vote to convict and remove the individual in question from office.

Although two presidents, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, have been impeached by the House, both avoided being removed from office by the Senate.


3. Republicans Have a Majority in the House and the Senate. Does That Essentially Make Trump Bulletproof?

More or less.

Although it is possible that Republican members of Congress could join with Democrats in calling for Trump’s removal, as we saw happen in the run-up to Nixon’s resignation over the Watergate scandal, today’s polarized political environment makes such an occurrence unlikely absent clear and convincing evidence of major wrongdoing. While Nixon’s impeachment was likely inevitable, with Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress in 1974, today Republican defections from Trump would be essential to any movement toward impeachment.

Currently, there are 238 Republican House members. That means 23 Republicans would have to join with all of the Democrats in the House to impeach Trump. The articles of impeachment against Trump might look remarkably similar to those levied against Nixon and Clinton. That is, Trump would likely face impeachment on the grounds that he obstructed justice should the allegations in fired FBI Director James Comey’s memo prove too troubling to ignore.

4. Can Officers Other Than the President Be Impeached?


5. If the President is Removed, Who Takes Over? What Would Happen if the Vice President Was Also Implicated in the President’s Crime?





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The process of salvaging a country after Trump has gotten through with is A LOT LONGER, and MUCH MORE COMPLICATED! And frankly!… IMPEACHMENT is the LEAST of his worries!
Please!… no emails!

up yours

The Democrats are paid by the Muslim Brotherhood !
Democrats have vowed to destroy this country !
The Democrats want open borders to allow immigrants to be a burden on the middle class .
The Muslim King Obama has giving a billion in cash too terrorist organizations that want to kill Americans.


The Republicans are paid by the oil companies/big business!
Republicans are destroying this country!
The Republicans have done nothing to secure our borders, can’t even get the travel ban passed.
The muppet trump has wasted way to much money playing golf and ignoring health care therefore killing americans.


You aren’t even an American, JOHN MAYOR. Your opinions on these matters are misguided.

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