What is our safeguard against corruption performed by federal officeholders? It is impeachment. Impeachment is the Constitutional power given to the House of Representatives to remove a federal officeholder from office. “Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution says, ‘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’." (Longley). The power of impeachment has historical significance as only four times in our history has Congress had serious discussions of impeachment. Due to the requirement of a ruling vote from the House of Representatives and the Senate, there are issues and complications …show more content…
The Senate will first meet in a private session to debate the verdict and then an open session to vote on that verdict. For the verdict to result in a conviction a 2/3 vote is required. With the conviction of the accusation, the President will be impeached and removed from the office. Once impeached, the Vice President gains presidency, which may allow for the problems behind the Presidents impeachment to carry forward. The two-step process of impeachment does not always lead to a desirable outcome. What are actions of treason, bribery or high crime misdemeanors worthy of impeachment? “To decide the meaning of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors,’ we might start by looking at the intention of the people who wrote the Constitution. There are two principal sources for gauging their intent: the notes (mostly taken by James Madison) from the debates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787; and the Federalist Papers, a group of essays (mostly by Madison and Alexander Hamilton) written in support of ratification of the Constitution” (Alan Hirsch). Basically, impeachment is not linked to criminal law and the test for impeachment is not satisfied by all crimes, but a criminal action is required. The attempt to impeach has been initiated several times throughout the history of the United States, but in only a few instances has it led to a full impeachment. “The House has initiated impeachment proceedings more than 60
If the President is suspected of unlawful acts, he can be impeached, or tried by the Senate for misusing his power. The Senate has the sole power to try all impeachments. If he is found guilty, he can be punished but his sentence can be no more than being thrown out of office and being forbidden to hold any government office. Furthermore, if the President wants to spend money, his request must pass through Congress, since it has control over spending. Lastly, Congress can re-pass a bill that was vetoed by the President. Congress also has checks and balances against itself. The President can veto a bill from Congress, and although Congress can override a veto, obtaining a two-thirds vote to do so is very difficult. Public speeches by the President may also concern the public with an issue, putting pressure on Congress to act upon it. The Judicial branch exerts control over the other two by deciding whether or not actions made by the President or Congress, i.e., laws are constitutional.
The House of Representatives has the sole power of impeachment, and the Senate has the sole power to try impeachments. All bills and joint resolutions must pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate and must be signed by the
The President may not declare war, but he may deploy soldiers. He may require in writing the opinions of any of the heads of state departments as it relates to their respective offices. The President also has the power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the U.S., except in cases of impeachment. The President also has the power to make treaties with foreign powers provided the Senate has consented by a two-thirds majority. He may also appoint ambassadors, ministers, consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and other officers with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President also has the power to fill vacancies in the Senate temporarily. On extraordinary occasions, the President may convene or temporarily adjourn either or both legislative houses in the interest of resolving disputes. The President is also charged with meeting with ambassadors and other public representatives. The President can also be impeached for treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors. With the presidential powers now outlined, let us explore the opposing opinions of each presidential power(Colonies of Nations, 549-553).
The house of representatives has the authority to impeach both the president or vice president, if they unjust, or if he or she breaks a law of room
The president is given seven major roles with many rules and restrictions in place. If he does not follow these rules he can be tried for impeachment. Impeachment was set up by the founders in the case that an unfit president was elected. The constitution states, “The president, vice president and all civil officers of the united states, shall be removed from on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” (Doc A). This states the ways a president can be charged for impeachment.
his wife Johnson improved his reading and learned writing and arithmetic. In 1829 Johnson ram
‘’Congress confirms or rejects the president 's appointments and can remove the president from office in exceptional circumstances president can be impeached.’’
Corruption has no place in our government, period. The American people have a right to hold their elected officials to high ethical standards, and when their elected officials fail to meet such standards, the people have a responsibility to hold them accountable. In addition to standing for election every two years, Congress has ethics committee procedures it can utilize to censure or otherwise reprimand members who violate the rules. Members of Congress have to abide by the same laws as everyone else, and when laws are broken, they should be held accountable.
Congress retains a number of special powers. It can act as a judicial body to impeach and try a president or other civil officer for misconduct. For example, the House of Representatives impeaches the official and Senate does a trial. Congress is also empowered to create and use administrative agencies and boards, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to determine facts and to enforce its
Walter Nixon was impeached in 1990. He has no relation to the former president Nixon, but was still an official who was caught doing things they were not supposed to. While he was a U.S. federal judge he was caught committing perjury. The reason for him committing this was for one of his business partners’ son’s had been caught with drugs and was facing charges for it. This trial was going to take case in a state court, but he used his power to talk to a prosecutor, who was a friend of his, and they dropped the case. This wasn’t the perjury he had committed though, the perjury happened when he was talking to the FBI and DOJ and denied any involvement with what he had done. After being sentenced to 5 years in prison, he refused to resign and
February 24 1868, Andrew Johnson is impeached. His impeachment was a direct consequence of his ‘high crimes and misdemeanors.’ Andrew Johnson fired and appointed a new secretary of war without first getting the legislature’s approval. After firing Edwin M. Stanton, Johnson had violated the
During Richard Nixon’s Presidency in 1972, five people broke into the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in Washington D.C., these five burglars were trying to find secret documents and tried to wiretap phones. The five were all connected to Nixon’s campaign, raising some flags about him being involved, somehow ordering them to do this. After suspicions grew, and he found out about him getting impeached, he resigned as President, leaving Gerald Ford as the 38th president of the US. Gerald Ford did something that would ruin his image, he gave Richard Nixon pardon for all the wrongdoings that he’s ever done while in office. Was he right for doing this?
This assignment asks us to compare and contrast the impeachment proceedings of Presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and William Clinton, while identifying the ethical dilemmas presented by each. In addition, students are to categorize the ethical violations of each President by severity and discuss whether the actions by the Senate were politically motivated or ethical.
President cannot be removed because of Congress’s lack of confidence; the impeachment process for removal is more difficult; and the President cannot disband Congress (Shepherd) the president and Congress “are not dependent upon one another for survival” (Shepherd, 2010:3) And therefore “the legislature with its closer roots to specific and narrow constituencies tends to dominate the agenda setting role; however, there is competition between the president and the legislature to set and drive the legislative agenda, so weak party discipline and mutual independence between the executive and legislative branches is the norm (Shepherd,
Throughout the years, many scholars and politicians have perceived the legalistic interpretation of impeachment, as a legal process, due to the legal proceedings that take place. The legal proceeding of impeachment includes the House of Representatives (draws the charges towards the president and makes the decision of incitement), the Senate (takes an oath to become the jury at the hearing and decides on whether or not to convict), and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (who acts as a judge during the hearing). During the process, the legal teams are trying to make the argument of