The Impeachment as part of the American political

The Impeachment as part of the American political life The impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton in 1999

Plan • Impeachment: origins • U. S. Constitution, Article II, section 4 • Who can be impeached • On impeachment cases in general • Presidential impeachment procedure • Presidential impeachment cases : ü President Andrew Johnson ü Richard Nixon ü Bill Clinton • Vice Presidents who became Presidents

Origins • Impeachment comes from the British constitutional history (14 th century) as a way for parliament to hold the king’s ministers accountable for their public actions • Impeachment varies from civil or criminal courts in that it strictly involves the “misconduct of public men, or in other words from the abuse or violation of some public trust

“The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. ” — U. S. Constitution, Article II, section 4

High crimes and misdemeanors • • • perjury of oath abuse of authority bribery Intimidation misuse of assets failure to supervise dereliction of duty conduct unbecoming refusal to obey a lawful order Ordinary crimes (felony)

Removing an official from office requires 2 steps 1. A formal accusation, or impeachment, by the House of Representatives 2. A trial and conviction by the Senate.

Who can be impeached? Federal level - Parliament can impeach: • President • Vice President • Civil officers (anyone who is appointed to office by the President): cabinet members and federal judges State level - State legislatures can impeach: • state officials, including governors

Impeachment cases in general • House of Representatives initiated impeachment proceedings only 62 times since 1789 • Actual impeachments of 19 federal officers have taken place: § 15 federal judges § 2 Presidents § 1 Cabinet secretary § 1 U. S. Senator.

Presidential impeachment process 1) Impeachment resolutions made by members of the House of Representatives are turned over to the House Judiciary Committee which decides whether the resolution and its allegations of wrongdoing by the President merits a referral to the full House for a vote on launching a formal impeachment inquiry. 2) The entire House of Representatives votes for or against a formal impeachment inquiry, needing only a simple majority for approval. 3) If approved, the House Judiciary Committee conducts an investigation to determine if there is enough evidence to warrant articles of impeachment against the President. The Committee then drafts articles of impeachment pertaining to specific charges supported by the evidence. The Committee votes on each article of impeachment, deciding whether to refer each article to the full House for a vote. 4) If the House Judiciary Committee refers one or more articles of impeachment, the entire House of Representatives votes on whether the article(s) merit a trial in the Senate, needing only a simple majority for approval.

5) If the full House approves at least one article of impeachment, the President is technically impeached and the matter is referred to the U. S. Senate. The House then appoints members of Congress to act as managers (prosecutors). 6) The trial of the President is held in the Senate with the Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court presiding. The President can be represented by anyone he chooses. He may appear personally or leave his defense in the hands of his lawyers. 7) The entire Senate may conduct the trial or it may be delegated to a special committee which would report all the evidence to the full Senate. 8) The actual trial is conducted in a courtroom-like proceeding including examination and cross-examination of witnesses. During questioning, Senators remain silent, directing all questions in writing to the Chief Justice. 9) After hearing all of the evidence and closing arguments, the Senate deliberates behind closed doors then votes in open session on whether to convict or acquit the President. The vote to convict must be by a two thirds majority, or 67 Senators. If this occurs, the President is removed from office and is succeeded by the Vice President. The Senate's verdict is final and there is no right of appeal.

Presidential impeachment cases • 1868 against President Andrew Johnson for his removal of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in violation of the Tenure of Office Act • 1974 against President Richard Nixon for the Watergate cover up • 1998 -99 against President Bill Clinton for concealing an extramarital affair

Andrew Johnson 17 th U. S. President • Johnson was Abraham Lincoln's vice president during his second term and became President upon the assassination of Lincoln in April of 1865 • Accusation: violating the Tenure of Office Act • Outcome: trial concluded with Johnson's acquittal

Richard Nixon 37 th U. S. President • serving from 1969 to 1974 when Nixon became the only U. S. president to resign the office because of the Watergate scandal. • The term Watergate has come to encompass an array of secret and often illegal activities undertaken by members of the Nixon administration. Those activities included "dirty tricks, " or bugging the offices of political opponents and the harassment of activist groups and political figures. The activities were brought to light after five men were caught breaking into Democratic party headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D. C. on June 17, 1972

William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton 42 nd U. S. President • • President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 Lewinsky scandal Accusation: perjury and obstruction of justice The Senate later voted to acquit Clinton on both charges and served his complete term of office.

Vice President John Tyler Millard Fillmore Andrew Johnson Chester A. Arthur Became President Days as President Harrison died of 1, 430 pneumonia in 1842 Taylor died in 1850 969 from illness Lincoln assassinated 1, 419 in 1865 Garfield was 1, 262 assassinated in 1881 Mc. Kinley was Theodore Roosevelt assassinated in 1901 1, 267 Calvin Coolidge Harding died of a heart attack in 1923 580 Harry S. Truman Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1945 1, 379 Lyndon B. Johnson Kennedy assassinated in 1963 425 Gerald R. Ford Nixon resigned in 1974 895 Re-election Didn't run for President Lost nomination. Failed to win the nominationin 1868 Was not nominated Elected to a full term. Did not run in 1908. Was defeated in 1912 Elected to a full term. Did not run for a second term. Elected to a full term but did not run again. Elected to a full term but didn't seek reelection in 1968 Lost election to Jimmy Carter in 1976

Questions 1. Which article of the Constitution allows to impeach an official? 2. Which legislative body has a sole power to impeach an official? And which one has the sole power to court an official? 3. Name the 2 steps needed to remove an official from office 4. Name the Presidents who faced impeachment 5. Describe the Watergate scandal case briefly

References • http: //www. historyplace. com/unitedstates/impeachments/ • http: //www. classroomhelp. com/lessons/Presidents/vicepresid ents. html • http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Bill_Clinton#Impeachment • http: //history. house. gov/Institution/Origins. Development/Impeachment/ • http: //www. infoplease. com/spot/impeach. htmlhttp: //en. wiki pedia. org/wiki/Impeachment_in_the_United_States