4.12: Impeachment
AP U. S. GOVERNMENT
Impeachment
To bring formal charges against a high ranking
official
Sometimes, however, a President can be censured
which means that they are publicly reprimanded for
inappropriate behavior – no legal consequences
◦Only Andrew Jackson has been censured (1834) for
withholding documents on defunding of Bank of the
U. S. – this was later expunged
General Information
Impeachment
Impeachment DOES NOT apply only to the President!
◦ Includes VP and Federal Judges
Impeached for serious crimes
General Information
A sitting President may be removed from office before his
term expires only by impeachment process
This process begins with the House of Representatives
Process
Impeachment is the first of two stages in a specific
process for a legislative body to remove a
government official without that official's agreement.
The second stage is conviction
Checks and Balances
Impeachment serves as a check by the legislative branch on
the executive and judicial branches
The Process
Sufficient Evidence
If there is sufficient evidence, the House drafts a bill of
impeachment, which must be approved by the majority of
its membership
Then trial in the Senate follows
Impeachment Proceedings
House Brings charges
against the President –
kind of serves as the
lawyers and presents
the evidence against
the President
(House Judiciary
Committee)
Senate – serves as the
Jury – They vote to
remove or not to
remove the President
Process
The impeachment-trial
procedure is in two steps.
(1)The House of
Representatives must first
pass "articles of
impeachment" by a simple
majority – given to them by
the House Judiciary
Committee
(2) The Senate tries the
accused. In the case of the
impeachment of a President,
the Chief Justice of the
United States presides over
the proceedings
Trial
In the trial, the Chief Justice of the U.S. acts as the judge
and the Senators as the jury
Conviction
In order to convict the accused, a two-thirds majority of the
senators present is required.
Conviction automatically removes the defendant from
office.
Following conviction, the Senate may vote to further punish
the individual by barring them from holding future federal
office
History
History
Only two American presidents have ever been
impeached – Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton
Impeachment of Bill Clinton
Impeached by the House of Representatives on
December 19, 1998
Acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999
The charges were : perjury, obstruction of justice
and abuse of power
Arose from the Monica Lewinsky scandal
Investigation
Kenneth Starr investigated Clinton’s conduct during the sexual harassment
lawsuit filed by a former Arkansas government employee Paula Jones
Starr obtained taped telephone conversation in which Lewinsky, a former
White House Intern, discussed having sex with Clinton
However, Clinton denied
Further evidence; by seizing computer hard drive and e-mail records of
Lewinsky
Starr concluded that Clinton committed perjury
The January 1998 Press Conference
After rumors of the scandal reached the news, Clinton
publicly stated: “I did not have sexual relations with that
woman, Miss Lewinsky”
In his deposition he swore: “ I have never had an affair with
her”
Months later, Clinton admitted that his relationship with
Lewinsky was “wrong” and “not appropriate”
To Convict or to Acquit
No Democratic Senators voting for conviction
Only 5 Democratic Representatives voting to impeach
The Senate acquitted Bill Clinton because it failed to reach
the two thirds of votes needed to convict the President
The Response of the Public
Polls conducted during 1998 and early 1999 showed that
only one third of Americans supported Clinton’s
impeachment or conviction
Later, when it was clear that House impeachment would not
lead to ouster of the President, half of Americans said that
they supported impeachment and 42% disapproved of the
Senate’s decision to keep him in office
Andrew Johnson
1868 President Andrew Johnson
CHARGE: Serious misconduct
◦ the most serious charge was a violation of Tenure of Office Act in
which Johnson removed the Secretary of War and replaced him
Johnson followed the impeachment process until Senate vote,
when he was acquitted by a margin of ONE vote. He completed
his term.