In class we learned about Nixon's trial for impeachment, and I wondered how exactly the process of removing a President worked, so naturally I looked it up.
Step 1: A member of the House of Representatives proposes impeachment.
Step 2: If there is a decision to proceed, the Speaker of the House appoints the House Judiciary Committee or a special committee is formed to proceed with an investigation with no time limit. They come up with Articles Impeachment for the House to vote to adopt.
Step 3: The member of the committee vote on which articles they feel they have enough evidence to present to the House. They just need a majority to present them.
Step 4: In a public hearing, they present the articles they believe there is evidence for to the House of Representatives, and the members of the House vote for which ones to adopt. In the House all they need is a majority to pass the individual charges of impeachment. If any pass, a President has been impeached, but not yet removed from office, nor legally or officially impacted.
Step 5: The Chairman of the Committee who investigated recommends some "managers" who need to be approved by a resolution of the House, but if they are, the become the prosecutors in the Impeachment trial before the Senate. In this Trial, the Supreme Court Justice is the presiding Judge while the Senate is the Jury and the President appoints his own defense attorneys.
Step 6: The trial is held and the Senate votes on each article whether they feel the President is guilty. A 2/3 majority vote is needed for the President to be removed from office.
What I found really interesting was that the only punishments a President may face from this process is being removed from office and disqualification for future holding or enjoying of any office of honor, trust, or profit under the US. Any charges would have to be taken to another trial in another court for the President to face any other punishment like jail time. This was interesting to me because the only things a president can be impeached for are treason, bribery, and any other high crimes and misdemeanors. However, the Party convicted can be held liable for this and is therefore also subject to Indictment, trial, judgement, and punishment.
Sources: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/impeachment-process-works/story?id=51202880
The US Constitution
This was an interesting blog post. It is strange that the worst thing that can occur from this is loss of office. It seems like if crimes are discovered in an investigation, they should be charged.
ReplyDeleteThis post provided greater insight into the political process which Nixon faced in his impeachment. I think a question raised in this post is how did this relaxed policy change Nixon's attitude? Did it take away from the gravity of the situation?
ReplyDeleteIt's really interesting how impeachment by itself only leads to such a minor punishment outside of removal from office despite the severe misconducts that are required to lead to impeachment. I also find it interesting that in the case of Nixon, Nixon resigned before getting impeached and was even pardoned by Ford. Both impeachment and Nixon's own decision carry their own sense of humiliation, yet both choices would yield remarkably little consequences.
ReplyDelete