|
 According
to Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution
of the United States, "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
I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States grants the House
of Representatives the "the sole power of impeachment."
Although
the Constitution does not elaborate on impeachment procedures, the established
House practice is to begin with a resolution authorizing the Judiciary
Committee to investigate the charges brought forth.
The House
Judiciary Committee then holds hearings and investigates the charges.
 If
the Judiciary Committee's findings support the charges, it issues an
impeachment resolution, which include Articles of Impeachment, to the
full House. If the committee believes impeachment is unwarranted, it
issues such a resolution to the full House.
The resolution
then goes to House floor for consideration. If the House adopts any
one of the Articles of Impeachment by a simple majority vote, the official
is considered impeached and the matter goes to the Senate for trial.
Article
I, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution states: "The Senate shall have
the sole power to try all impeachments."
A fixed
number of House members act as "managers", or prosecutors, at the Senate
trial. These managers are chosen either by the Speaker of the House
or by ballot. Traditionally, an odd number of managers, between 5-11,
have been selected. They include members from both parties who voted
for impeachment.
The impeached
official's lawyers will present his/her defense. He/she has the right
to testify and cross-examine witnesses, as in any criminal proceeding.
The full
Senate will act as the jury.
If the trial
involves the President of the United States, the Constitution states
that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside over the trial.
At the trial's
conclusion, the Senate meets in a closed session to discuss a verdict.
Each Senator is allowed 15 minutes of debate.
 The
Senate then votes in open session on each Article of Impeachment. A
two-thirds vote is required for conviction. If convicted, the Senate
may hold a separate vote to remove the impeached official from office.
Such a vote is unnecessary for the Constitution states the federal officials
shall be removed from office upon impeachment and conviction. If no
article is approved by two-thirds of the vote, the official is acquitted.
The Senate
may also vote to disqualify the convicted official from holding future
federal office. This is decided by a majority vote.
Debate over
the meaning of this phrase has existed since the framing of the Constitution.
Ultimately, Congress decides what constitutes "high crimes and misdemeanors".
In 1970, Rep. Gerald Ford, R-Michigan, succinctly summarized this point
when he stated: "An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the
House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history."
|
