Here's a primer on impeachment
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 5 years, 8 months AGO
Impeachment talk may be heating up in Congress, but if history is anything to go by, the odds are low.
To date, not one American president has been removed from office this way. Only three sitting presidents have faced impeachment proceedings. Two — Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton — were impeached but acquitted. Richard Nixon resigned to avoid being impeached.
That rarity is a good thing. A president duly elected by the people should be difficult to remove from office.
According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll in April, 56 percent of Americans currently oppose impeachment, although 58 percent said they believe the president lied or obstructed justice, as alleged by the Mueller report.
Whether that’s enough to impeach is up to Congress. Here’s a primer on the process.
What is impeachment?
It’s a Constitutional grant of power to Congress to remove a president or other civil government officer for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Is an impeachable offense a crime?
Not necessarily. A president can certainly be impeached based upon a crime (e.g. Nixon’s alleged treason and illegal wiretaps), but some impeachable offenses — such as obstruction of justice — may, or may not, rise to that level. Impeachable obstruction was a basis for Clinton’s and Nixon’s impeachment charges. Other examples of impeachment charges are contempt of Congress and abuse of power.
What’s the process?
First, the House — the body authorized by the Constitution to impeach — would vote on one or more articles of impeachment, laying out the charges. If one article gets a majority vote, the president would be impeached — which essentially means being indicted (but this isn’t a court proceeding).
Next, the Senate would hold a “trial” overseen by the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
A group of House Representatives called “managers” act as prosecutors. The Senate serves as a jury.
If at least two-thirds of the Senate find the president guilty, he’d be removed from office, and the vice president becomes the next president.
Are there rules?
There aren’t rules per se, so the Senate sets them. The Constitution simply defines impeachment and removal, leaving the details to lawmakers to sort out.
The 25th Amendment
Impeachment isn’t the only way a president can be removed. The 25th Amendment provides another way, but it’s meant to deal with a president who becomes too disabled to carry out the duties of the office. If the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet tell Congress the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” the vice president immediately becomes the acting president. The president can contest that finding, but if two-thirds of the House and Senate agree with the Cabinet’s position, the president is removed.
For more information: https://bit.ly/2XWoQDp
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Sholeh Patrick, JD, is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Email sholeh@cdapress.com.