THE IMPACt oF A SECOND IMPEACHMENt ON tHE uS CONSTITUTION
PA 560 ETHICS & LEADERSHIP IN PUBLIC ADMN.
NNEKA LATUNDE-DADA SLATER G00409692 GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY
The Constitution
The United States Constitution provides that the House of Representatives "shall have the sole Power of Impeachment" (Article I, section 2) and that "the Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments... [But] no person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present" (Article I, section 3). The president, vice president, and all civil officers of the United States are subject to impeachment. The Constitution of the United States also gives Congress the authority to remove the president of the United States from office in two separate proceedings. The first one takes place in the House of Representatives, which impeaches the president by approving articles of impeachment through a simple majority vote. The second proceeding, the impeachment trial, takes place in the Senate. There, conviction on any of the articles requires a two-thirds majority vote and would result in the removal from office (if currently sitting), and possible debarment from holding future office.
History
The concept of impeachment originated in England and was adopted by many of the American colonial governments and state constitutions. As adopted by the framers, this congressional power is a fundamental component of the constitutional system of "checks and balances." Through the impeachment process, Congress charges and then tries an official of the federal government for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." The definition of "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" was not specified in the Constitution and has long been subject to debate. Also during the impeachment proceedings, the House of Representatives charges an official of the federal government by approving, by majority vote, articles of impeachment. A committee of representatives, called "managers," acts as prosecutors before the Senate. The Senate sits as a High Court of Impeachment in which senators consider evidence, hear witnesses, and vote to acquit or convict the impeached official. In the case of presidential impeachment trials, the chief justice of the United States presides. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict, and the penalty for an impeached official upon conviction is removal from office. In some cases, the Senate has also disqualified such officials from holding public offices in the future. There is no appeal. Since 1789, about half of Senate impeachment trials have resulted in conviction and removal from office. So far, three United States presidents have been impeached, although none was convicted: Andrew Johnson in 1868. Bill Clinton in 1998, and Donald Trump in 2019 and 2021. Donald Trump is the only president (and only federal officeholder) to be impeached twice. Richard Nixon resigned as a result of the Watergate Scandal in 1974, after the House Judiciary Committee passed articles of impeachment but before the House could vote to impeach.
The Transition: impact of the OGE & GAO
The change from one presidential administration to the next is a complex process