IMPEACHMENT
A process that is used to charge, try, and remove
public officials for misconduct while in office.
Impeachment is a fundamental constitu-
tional power belonging to Congress. This safe-
guard against corruption can be initiated against
federal officeholders from the lowest cabinet
member, all the way up to the president and the
chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Besides
providing the authority for impeachment, the
U.S. Constitution details the methods to be
used. The two-stage process begins in the House
of Representatives with a public inquiry into
allegations. It culminates, if necessary, with a
trial in the Senate. State constitutions model
impeachment processes for state officials on this
approach. At both the federal and state levels,
impeachment is rare: From the passage of the
Constitution to the mid-1990s, only 50
impeachment proceedings were initiated, and
only a third of these went as far as a trial in the
Senate. The reluctance of lawmakers to use this
power is a measure of its gravity; it is generally
only invoked by evidence of criminality or sub-
stantial abuse of power.
The roots of impeachment date to ancient Athens. Its place in the U.S. Constitution was
secured by the influence of English COMMON LAW on the Framers of the Constitution. Originally, any English subject, politician, or ruler could institute impeachment charges in Parlia-
ment. By the fourteenth century, this power
became the exclusive domain of the House of
Commons and the House of Lords. In 1776, the
American colonies included much of the Eng-
lish tradition in state constitutions, but the del-
egates of the Constitutional Convention hotly
debated how best to embody it in the federal
Constitution. Their most contentious question
was over the offenses that should be considered
impeachable.
The result of the Framers’ debate was a
compromise: They borrowed language from
English common law but adapted the grounds
of impeachment. These grounds are specified
in Article II, Section 4: “The President, Vice
President and all civil Officers of the United
States, shall be removed from Office on
Impeachment for, and Conviction of, TREA-
SON, BRIBERY, or other High Crimes and Mis-
demeanors.” The choice of the phrase “High
Crimes and Misdemeanors” left the exact
definition of impeachable offenses open to
interpretation by Congress. It has invited con-
siderable debate, but it is generally read to
mean both indictable offenses and other seri-
ous noncriminal misconduct. The latter has
included corruption, dereliction of constitu-
tional duty, and violation of limitations on the
power of an office. Under the Constitution,
federal judges are held to the most exacting
standard: They may remain on the bench only
