Cecily Zamora
Impeachment is a process that can be used to bring charges against government officials for wrongdoing. The practice originated in England and was later used by many American colonial and state governments. The impeachment process is a unique political process that is largely unchecked by the judiciary. The House of Representatives charges an official of the federal government by approving, by a simple majority vote, articles of impeachment. The Senate then sits as a High Court of Impeachment to consider evidence, hear witnesses, and vote to acquit or convict the impeached official. The Constitution grants Congress the power to impeach federal officials, and it makes the Senate the sole court for impeachment trials.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Nature of impeachment | Remedial, not punitive |
| Who can be impeached? | The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States |
| Who can impeach? | The House of Representatives |
| Who tries impeachments? | The Senate |
| Who presides over the trial? | The Chief Justice |
| Conviction requirement | Concurrence of two-thirds of the senators present |
| Penalty for impeachment | Removal from office, disqualification from holding future office |
| Criminal liability | An impeachment proceeding does not preclude criminal liability |
| Pardon power | The President does not have the power to pardon in cases of impeachment |
| Grounds for impeachment | Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors |
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What You'll Learn
Impeachment powers granted to Congress
Impeachment is a practice of government bodies, such as tribal governments, state legislatures, and Congress. The impeachment process is a fundamental component of the system of "checks and balances". The United States Constitution grants the House of Representatives "the sole Power of Impeachment" and "the Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments".
The House of Representatives charges an official of the federal government by approving, by simple majority vote, articles of impeachment. The House Committee on the Judiciary, by majority vote, will determine whether grounds for impeachment exist. The House of Representatives sends its articles of impeachment to the Senate, which sits as a High Court of Impeachment to consider evidence, hear witnesses, and vote to acquit or convict the impeached official. A committee of representatives, called "managers", act as prosecutors before the Senate. In the case of presidential impeachment trials, the chief justice of the United States presides.
The Constitution limits the grounds of impeachment to "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors", but does not define "high crimes and misdemeanors". The scope of these crimes has been fleshed out over time through the practice of impeachments in the United States Congress. The definition of "high crimes and misdemeanors" has long been the subject of debate.
The penalty for an impeached official upon conviction is removal from office. In some cases, the Senate has also disqualified such officials from holding public offices in the future. The sanctions for an impeached and convicted individual are limited to removal from office and potentially a bar from holding future office, but an impeachment proceeding does not preclude criminal liability. The president may not grant a pardon in the impeachment case, but may in any resulting federal criminal case.
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Impeachment trial procedures
Impeachment is a process of bringing charges against a government official for wrongdoing. The Constitution grants the House of Representatives the sole power of impeachment. The House can impeach an official by approving articles of impeachment by a simple majority vote. The articles of impeachment are then sent to the Senate.
The Senate sits as a High Court of Impeachment to consider evidence, hear witnesses, and vote to acquit or convict the impeached official. A committee of representatives, called "managers," act as prosecutors before the Senate. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict, and the penalty for an impeached official upon conviction is removal from office. In some cases, the Senate has also disqualified such officials from holding public office in the future. There is no appeal.
In the case of a presidential impeachment trial, the Chief Justice of the United States presides. The President is constitutionally prevented from granting a pardon to impeached and convicted persons.
Impeachment proceedings are remedial rather than punitive in nature, and the remedy is limited to removal from office. Because the process is not punitive, a party may also be subject to criminal or civil trial, prosecution, and conviction under the law after removal from office.
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Grounds for impeachment
The grounds for impeachment are an important aspect of the impeachment process. The Constitution grants the House of Representatives the sole power to impeach federal officials, and it makes the Senate the sole court for impeachment trials. The power of impeachment can remove someone from office and disqualify them from holding future office.
The Constitution limits the grounds of impeachment to “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors”, but it does not define "high crimes and misdemeanors". The scope and meaning of "high crimes and misdemeanors" have been fleshed out over time through the practice of impeachments in the United States Congress.
The impeachment process addresses misconduct by public officials, or the abuse or violation of public trust. The grounds for impeachment can include criminal behaviour, gross criminal behaviour, gross neglect, usurpation, or habitual disregard of the public interest.
In the case of the impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the articles of impeachment accused him of willfully and systematically refusing to comply with federal immigration laws and breaching the public trust. However, the Senate ruled that these actions did not "allege conduct that rises to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor".
The grounds for impeachment are not limited to criminal behaviour, but can also include political offences. The determination of what constitutes grounds for impeachment is influenced by political interests, institutional relationships, and legislators' interaction with the public.
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Impeachment and removal from office
Impeachment is a process that can lead to the removal of an elected official from office. It is a check against the abuse of executive power. The practice of impeachment originated in England and was later used by many of the American colonial and state governments.
In the United States, impeachment is a power granted to Congress by the Constitution. The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach federal officials, and the Senate is the sole court for impeachment trials. The House of Representatives brings articles of impeachment (charges) against an official. If the House adopts the articles by a simple majority vote, the official has been impeached and the process moves to a trial in the Senate. The Senate sits as a High Court of Impeachment to consider evidence, hear witnesses, and vote to acquit or convict the impeached official. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict. If convicted, the penalty for an impeached official is removal from office and, in some cases, disqualification from holding public office in the future.
The Constitution limits the grounds of impeachment to "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors", but does not define "high crimes and misdemeanors". This has been the subject of much debate and has been fleshed out over time through the practice of impeachments in the United States. Impeachment proceedings are remedial rather than punitive in nature, and because they are not punitive, a party may also be subject to criminal or civil trial, prosecution, and conviction under the law after removal from office.
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Impeachment in state legislatures
Impeachment in the United States is the process by which a legislature may bring charges against an officeholder for misconduct, with a penalty of removal. Impeachment may also occur at the state level if the state or commonwealth has provisions for it under its constitution. Most state legislatures can impeach state officials, including the governor, in accordance with their respective state constitutions.
State legislatures can impeach state officials, including governors and judicial officers, in every state. The court for the trial of impeachments may differ from the federal model. For example, in New York, the Assembly (lower house) impeaches, and the State Senate tries the case, but the members of the seven-judge New York State Court of Appeals (the state's highest constitutional court) sit with the senators. In Nebraska, which has a unicameral legislature, after the Nebraska Legislature votes to impeach, an impeachment trial takes place before the Nebraska Supreme Court.
There have been over 130 impeachments of officials by state governments. There have been 21 impeachments of state governors, with one state governor having been impeached three times, and two state governors twice. The most recent impeachment of a state governor occurred on January 14, 2009, when the Illinois House of Representatives voted 117-1 to impeach Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges. He was subsequently removed from office and barred from holding future office by the Illinois Senate on January 29.
In addition, the legislatures of the territories of American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico have impeachment powers. Two governors of the Northern Mariana Islands territory have been impeached: Republican Benigno Fitial in 2013 (who resigned) and Republican Ralph Torres in 2022 (who was acquitted).
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Frequently asked questions
Impeachment is the process of bringing charges against a government official for wrongdoing.
The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States can be impeached. Federal judges are also subject to impeachment.
The Constitution limits grounds of impeachment to "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors". However, the scope of "high crimes and misdemeanors" is not defined and has been debated and fleshed out over time.
The impeached official will face a trial, after which they may be removed from office and disqualified from holding elected office in the future. They may also face criminal or civil trials, prosecution, and conviction.
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