Impeachment

Impeach = means to accuse and put on trial (not remove) IT DOES NOT MEAN REMOVE!!!!!! Can be impeached for following– Treason, Bribery and High Crimes or Misdemeanors. The only punishment for impeachment is removal of office!!! There are no criminal or civil charges in an impeachment, it’s only to determine removal from office.

How does it work? According to the Constitution – Congress is given the power to impeach- Step 1 – The House of Representatives votes to impeach.A majority needed to send to hearing = 218/435. House writes Articles of Impeachment (reasons) Step 2- Senate conducts a trial/hearing.If Guilty, President is removed from office. If not, they remain in office.” A 2/3 vote of guilty is needed for removal = 67/100, anything less means all charges are acquitted (dropped).

Who? Two Presidents have been impeached, but not removed. 1. Andrew Johnson Bill Clinton 1998 Nixon faced impeachment, but resigned

Impeachment – Removal - Resignation Impeached = accused, put on “trial” to see if any violations occurred Removed = if found “Guilty” on grounds of impeachment articles, the person MUST be removed from that office! Resigned = to willingly leave office before your term has expired.

Andrew Johnson Took office in 1865 following Abraham Lincoln’s assassination Johnson and Radical Republicans in Congress disagreed on EVERYTHING and constantly fought over how to handle the South. Constant bickering led to many problems – like Johnson vetoing bills & Congress overriding them

Johnson’s Trial One of the primary reasons he was impeached was because he fired a cabinet member, Edwin Stanton the Secretary of War, without the consent of the Senate – Violated the Tenure of Office Act. Tenure of Office Act – said cabinet members cannot be fired w/o consent His argument was that Lincoln did not renew Stanton’s job in 1865 after the election, so therefore Stanton did not fall under the act.

Johnson The House voted to impeach Johnson in 1868 on Eleven Impeachment Articles (accusations). Accused him on 11 different items Found NOT GUILTY, but only by ONE vote for one charge!!!!!!

Bill Clinton Took office in 1993 Former Governor of Arkansas Might have been involved in illegal land deal while Governor (Whitewater)– he will go to regular court Kenneth Starr begins investigation into Clinton’s involvement At same time Clinton was in federal court with Paula Jones, Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinsky—this is not WHY he was impeached!

Bill Clinton Continued In addition to the Whitewater scandal, accusations that he might have abused his Power as President House voted to impeach on four accusations 1.Perjury during Kenneth Starr’s Whitewater investigations. 2.Perjury during Paula Jones case 3.Obstruction of Justice during Paula Jones case 4.Abuse of Power

The Trial The Senate began hearings in 1998 Perjury = lying under Oath Obstruction of Justice = knowingly withholding evidence On all impeachment articles Clinton was found “Not Guilty” and completed his term as President.

Richard Nixon Took office in 1969 and won his 2 nd term that began in 1973 A series of accusations arose in 1973 that Nixon’s administration had tried to sabotage the Democrats in the 1972 elections. Republicans were accused of breaking into the Democratic Headquarters at Watergate Hotel – This is where we get the name Watergate Scandal Two leading journalists took this story and ran with it (Bernstein and Woodward) with the help of their secret informant “Deep Throat” who revealed info about Nixon’s involvement.

Nixon House voted to impeached Nixon on High Crimes for Obstruction in 1974 In August of 1974, Nixon resigned from Office of the President- succeeding him Gerald Ford. To date, Richard Nixon is the only person to resign from Office of the President.