What does it take to impeach a President? | Explainer
Q. Does there need to be a crime to impeach a President?
A. Impeachment is a political process governed by the U.S. Constitution. Article II of the Constitution grants the power of impeachment to the House of Representatives, and the power to try impeachments and remove the President to the U.S. Senate. According to the Constitution, the president can be impeached and removed for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
There is little that is definitive about impeachment and most of those instructions involve process, not standards. The House begins the process by investigating and then, if warranted, impeaching the President. It then goes to the Senate where members of the House present the evidence for the trial. The Constitution requires an oath for Senators who are sitting as the jury and that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will preside over the trial. Conviction requires two-thirds of the Senators who are present. The proceedings themselves are governed by the rules adopted by a majority of the Senate.
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The criteria for impeachment and conviction are in practice subjective. The interpretation of "high crimes and misdemeanors" falls under Congress's discretion, allowing them to determine what justifies impeachment and conviction. As I’ve observed before, the best guide as to what conduct rises to this level is probably from the founders themselves. At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, James Madison argued for impeachment as the remedy for "incapacity, negligence or perfidy," which was understood to mean deceitfulness or untrustworthiness.
The rarity of impeachment cases contributes to the dearth of domestic precedents guiding this process. Notably, Donald Trump marked only the third President in U.S. history to be impeached, following Bill Clinton in 1998 and Andrew Johnson in 1868, all of whom were acquitted by the Senate. Achieving a two-thirds majority in the Senate for conviction remains challenging, often necessitating members of the President's party to vote for conviction. No President was ever removed from office through this process, though Richard Nixon might have been had he not resigned.
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So why bother? An impeachment inquiry has some clear political benefits. With an important election year approaching, coverage of the inquiry will allow those opposing the president to highlight and reinforce their allegations for much of the campaign season. The inquiry also gives the House more authority to ask for and obtain documents and testimony and have subpoenas enforced by the federal courts.
The criteria for impeachment and defining high crimes and misdemeanors remain within Congress's discretion, not necessarily requiring proof of a violation of a criminal statute. All that is truly needed is political will and sufficient votes. The chief restraint on member of Congress from arbitrarily sanctioning or removing Presidents lies in their commitment to our Constitutional system and their respect for the voters. As is often the case, Americans can show their support or opposition for the actions of the Congress at the ballot box.
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Kevin Wagner is a noted constitutional scholar and political science professor at Florida Atlantic University. The answers provided do not necessarily represent the views of the university. If you have a question about how American government and politics work, email him at kwagne15@fau.edu or reach him on Twitter/X @kevinwagnerphd.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How impeachment of a president works and who makes the rules
