Impeachment in the United States

In the United States, impeachment is the process by which a legislature may bring charges against an officeholder for misconduct alleged to have been committed with a penalty of removal.

This triggers a federal impeachment trial in the United States Senate, which can vote by a two-thirds majority to convict an official, removing them from office.

Because the process is not punitive, a party may also be subject to criminal or civil trial, prosecution, and conviction under the law after removal from office.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States; but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.Article II, Section 2 provides: [The President] ... shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.Article II, Section 4 provides: 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.

[5] At the opposite end of the spectrum, lesser functionaries, such as federal civil service employees, do not exercise "significant authority", and are not appointed by the president or an agency head.

[6] As a practical matter, expulsion is effected by the simpler procedures of Article I, Section 5, which provides "Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members ... Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member" (see List of United States senators expelled or censured and List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded).

In 1876, William W. Belknap was impeached by the House of Representatives hours after resigning as United States Secretary of War.

The Senate held by a 37–29 vote that it had jurisdiction to try Belknap notwithstanding his resignation, but ultimately acquitted him after trial.

[10] The two stages constitutionally required for removal are impeachment by the House of Representatives and trial by the United States Senate.

Impeachment proceedings may be requested by a member of the House of Representatives, either by presenting a list of the charges under oath or by asking for referral to the appropriate committee.

[15] The House members, who are given the collective title of managers during the trial, present the prosecution case, and the impeached official has the right to mount a defense with his or her own attorneys as well.

Senators must also take an oath or affirmation that they will perform their duties honestly and with due diligence.

The Senate trial is not an actual criminal proceeding and more closely resembles a civil service termination appeal in terms of the contemplated deprivation.

[15] These committees presided over the evidentiary phase of the trials, hearing the evidence and supervising the examination and cross-examination of witnesses.

Defendants challenged the use of these committees, claiming them to be a violation of their fair trial rights as this did not meet the constitutional requirement for their cases to be "tried by the Senate".

If there is no single charge commanding a "guilty" vote from two-thirds of the senators present, the defendant is acquitted and no punishment is imposed.

On April 17, 2024, the Senate trial for the Impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas, the Cabinet Secretary of Homeland Security, was unprecedented.

The trial proceedings ended quickly because after jurors were sworn in, the Senate dismissed the accusations by agreeing to a point of order that the articles of impeachment did not comply with the United States Constitution.

[20] The majority of the Senate ruled that the articles accusing Mayorkas of willfully and systematically refusing to comply with Federal immigration laws and breaching the public trust did not "allege conduct that rises to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor".

The Senate has used disqualification sparingly, as only three individuals (West Hughes Humphreys, Robert W. Archbald, and Thomas Porteous) have been disqualified from holding future office.

Because of an amendment to that law in 2013, a former president who has been removed from office due to impeachment and conviction is still guaranteed lifetime Secret Service protection.

[29] Impeachment and removal of governors has happened occasionally throughout the history of the United States, usually for corruption charges.

Several others, including Missouri's Eric Greitens in 2018, have resigned rather than face impeachment, when events seemed to make it inevitable.

[30] The most recent impeachment of a state governor occurred on January 14, 2009, when the Illinois House of Representatives voted 117–1 to impeach Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges;[31] he was subsequently removed from office and barred from holding future office by the Illinois Senate on January 29.

In addition, the legislatures of the territories of American Samoa,[32] Northern Mariana Islands,[33] and Puerto Rico have impeachment powers.

[41][42] The Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy's Great Law of Peace, which predates the constitution of the United States, includes what amounts to an impeachment process through which clan mothers can remove and replace a sachem for misdeeds.

[66][67] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Government.