Impeachment does not necessarily result in removal from office. The impeachment process was first used by the English Parliament in the 14th century. Following the British example, the U. The impeachment process actually has two stages, and the responsibility for each stage usually is separated. Impeachment is relatively rare. For example, for more than years, the U. House has impeached only 18 federal officials. In , a state Supreme Court justice became the first Pennsylvania judge to be impeached in years.
Historical Overview. Impeachment Trials. Return to Powers and Procedures. In impeachment proceedings, the House of Representatives charges an official of the federal government by approving, by majority vote, articles of impeachment. 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 , about half of Senate impeachment trials have resulted in conviction and removal from office.
In The Federalist , No. By the midth century, impeachment had fallen into disuse in England, but in the early 17th century, the excesses of the English kings prompted Parliament to revive its impeachment power.
Even as the Constitution's framers toiled in Philadelphia in , the impeachment trial of British official Warren Hastings was in progress in London and avidly followed in America. Hastings, who was eventually acquitted, was charged with oppression, bribery, and fraud as colonial administrator and first governor-general in India.
The American colonial governments and early state constitutions followed the British pattern of trial before the upper legislative body on charges brought by the lower house. Despite these precedents, a major controversy arose at the Constitutional Convention about whether the Senate should act as the court of impeachment. Opposing that role for the Senate, James Madison and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney asserted that it would make the president too dependent on the legislative branch.
They suggested, as alternative trial bodies, the Supreme Court or the chief justices of the state supreme courts. Hamilton and others argued, however, that such bodies would be too small and susceptible to corruption.
In the end, after much wrangling, the framers selected the Senate as the trial forum. To Hamilton fell the task of explaining the convention's decision. There was also considerable debate at the convention in Philadelphia over the definition of impeachable crimes.
The Virginia Plan, which set the agenda for the Convention, initially contemplated using the judicial branch. Again, though, the founders chose to follow the British example, where the House of Commons brought charges against officers and the House of Lords considered them at trial. Ultimately, the founders decided that during presidential impeachment trials, the House would manage the prosecution, while the Chief Justice would preside over the Senate during the trial.
The founders also addressed what crimes constituted grounds for impeachment. Treason and bribery were obvious choices, but George Mason of Virginia thought those crimes did not include a large number of punishable offenses against the state.
But subsequent experience demonstrated the revised phrase failed to clarify what constituted impeachable offenses. The House brings impeachment charges against federal officials as part of its oversight and investigatory responsibilities. Individual Members of the House can introduce impeachment resolutions like ordinary bills, or the House could initiate proceedings by passing a resolution authorizing an inquiry.
The Committee on the Judiciary ordinarily has jurisdiction over impeachments, but special committees investigated charges before the Judiciary Committee was created in The committee then chooses whether to pursue articles of impeachment against the accused official and report them to the full House. If the articles are adopted by simple majority vote , the House appoints Members by resolution to manage the ensuing Senate trial on its behalf.
These managers act as prosecutors in the Senate and are usually members of the Judiciary Committee. The number of managers has varied across impeachment trials but has traditionally been an odd number. The House has initiated impeachment proceedings more than 60 times but less than a third have led to full impeachments.
Just eight—all federal judges—have been convicted and removed from office by the Senate. Trump in and ], a cabinet secretary William Belknap in , and a U.
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