7. What Is Impeachment?
The House of Representatives ... shall have the sole Power of Impeachment (Article I,
Section 2, Clause 5).
The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that
Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is
tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the
Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office,
and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United
States; but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial,
Judgment and Punishment, according to Law (Article I, Section 3, Clauses 6 and 7).
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 (Article II, Section 4).
9. The Process, Part I: Impeachment
6 House
committees
investigate
Findings
deemed
sufficient
Findings
deemed
insufficient
House holds
a floor vote
Simple majority
votes to
impeach
Less than a
majority votes to
impeach
TRUMP IMPEACHED
AND ONWARD TO
PART II
TRUMP REMAINS IN
OFFICE
10. The Process, Part II: Removal from Office
Articles of
impeachment move
to Senate, which
then holds a trial
After the trial,
Senate holds a floor
vote to remove the
President
Two thirds of
Senate or more
vote to convict
Less than two
thirds vote to
convict
TRUMP REMOVED
FROM OFFICE
TRUMP REMAINS IN
OFFICE
11. “High Crimes and
Misdemeanors”
the power of impeachment and removal is
necessary for those times when the
Executive "rendered himself obnoxious,"
and the Constitution should provide for the
"regular punishment of the Executive when
his conduct should deserve it, and for his
honorable acquittal when he should be
unjustly accused."
"...impeachment... [is] indispensable" to
defend the community against "the
incapacity, negligence or perfidy of the
chief Magistrate." With a single executive,
unlike a legislature whose collective nature
provided security, "loss of capacity or
corruption [is] more within the compass of
probable events, and either of them might
be fatal to the Republic."[6]
Benjamin
Franklin
James Madison
12. “those offenses which proceed
from the misconduct of public
men, or, in other words, from the
abuse or violation of some public
trust. They are of a nature which
may with peculiar propriety be
denominated POLITICAL, as they
relate chiefly to injuries done
immediately to the society itself.”
