Letters for George: Impeachment: What's the Story?

Dear George,

Whispers of impeachment are flitting in the wind. This is one of those currently significant topics that I decided I should know more about. Thanks to the internet, that’s easy to do. Here are my questions and its answers.

Love,

Dave

What exactly is “impeachment”?

Impeachment is defined as “the formal process of bringing charges against a high-ranking government official, in a bid to remove him or her from office.” (7) [note: #’s in parentheses refer to sources at end.] Impeachment does not refer to removal from office, but rather to bringing charges which may or may not subsequently result in removal. In the U.S., the President, Vice President, judges, legislators, cabinet members, governors, and all other federal and state civil officials may be subjected to impeachment. (7, 10)

What are the grounds for impeachment?

The Constitution lists “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” as justification for impeachment. The wording of “high crimes and misdemeanors” is quite vague. Many question, for example, whether Bill Clinton’s lies about Monica Lewinsky were a “low” crime or a “high” crime. (1)

How is the presidential impeachment process carried out?

Impeachment and subsequent removal from office are a two-step process. The impeachment process begins in the U.S. House of Representatives. Any member of the House can suggest initiating impeachment proceedings. It’s then up to the Speaker of the House (currently Nancy Pelosi) to determine whether or not to proceed with an impeachment inquiry. If there is a decision to proceed, the Speaker decides if the House Judiciary Committee handles the impeachment inquiry or if a separate special committee should be formed. In either case, a simple majority committee vote in favor of approving an article or articles of impeachment is sufficient to proceed to a vote by the full House. A majority vote (i.e., at least 218 out of 435 members) means that that House has impeached the president. (1)

Has the House begun impeachment hearings?

The House leadership agreed in July 2019 to begin impeachment proceedings without a formal vote. Judiciary Committee chair Jerrold Nadler stated on both CNN MSNBC that such proceedings had begun and that an impeachment hearing would begin in September. He reiterated on Sept. 9 that his committee’s actions are an “impeachment inquiry,” but he did not refer to it as formal. (4, 21)

What is the Senate’s role?

If the House impeaches the president (or other federal official), the Senate then conducts the impeachment trial. The chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over the trial. While a simple majority is needed in the House, a two-thirds majority (67 of 100 members) in favor of conviction is needed in the Senate. If the Senate votes to convict, the president is removed from office. If the Senate fails to convict, the president will have been impeached but not removed. (1, 15)

What punishments are associated with conviction?

Removal from office is the sole punishment in presidential impeachment. However, a president can face later criminal charges, subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment. (1)

How common is impeachment?

Impeachment is rare at the federal level. The House of Representatives has initiated impeachment proceedings only 64 times since 1789. The House voted to pass articles of impeachment in only 19 cases, and only 8 of these resulted in removal from office (all federal judges). (22)

How many U.S. presidents have been impeached?

Only two. Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868 by the House and was one vote shy of being convicted by the Senate. The charges had to do with his firing of his secretary of war (violating a tenure act that required congressional authorization). Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998 for perjury and obstruction of justice due to his cover-up of his affair with Monica Lewinsky, but the Senate was 22 votes away from conviction. No U.S. president has ever been removed from office by an impeachment (although Richard Nixon resigned before the House voted). (6)

Besides Johnson and Clinton, what other U.S. presidents have faced the possibility of impeachment proceedings?

There have been calls for impeachment of most U.S. presidents. In addition to Johnson and Clinton, eleven other presidents have had resolutions introduced in the House to initiate impeachment proceedings. These were: John Tyler (1842; for vetoing a tariff (bill without congressional authorization); James Buchanan (1860; for corruption); Ulysses S. Grant (1876; for corruption and various scandals); Herbert Hoover (1932; for 26 offenses); Harry S. Truman (1951; for abuse of power in firing General Douglas MacArthur); Richard M. Nixon (1973; for obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress in connection with the Watergate coverup); Ronald Reagan (1987; for his alleged role in the Iran-Contra affair); George H.W. Bush (1991; for starting the Gulf War); George W. Bush (2008; for starting the war in Iraq based on false information); Barack Obama (2012; for the CIA drone program in Afghanistan and Pakistan); and Donald Trump (2017; foreign emoluments, collusion with Russia, obstruction of justice, and “associating the Presidency with White Nationalism, Neo-Nazism and Hatred”). (6, 21, 24)

Can the Supreme Court reverse a Senate decision to remove a president?

Trump has said that he would turn to the Supreme Court for help if he were impeached. However, the Senate’s decision is final, and there is no appeals process. (14, 23)

Can a president be removed from office any way other than impeachment?

The 25th amendment empowers the vice president to take over as acting president in the case of the “inability (of the president) to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” It’s not clear who decides this, and the 25th amendment is mainly applied when the president is temporarily incapacitated, e.g., during surgery. (11) Various sources have suggested that high-level officials in the Trump administration have discussed the possibility of the 25th amendment being invoked against Trump. (18)

What are reasons to impeach President Trump?

The Washington Post recently concluded that there are ample grounds for Trump’s impeachment. They list seven potential articles: (1) obstruction of justice (e.g., attempting to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller); (1) failure to defend America from foreign election interference (e.g, welcoming Russian intervention in the 2016 election); (3) attempts to investigate and prosecute his political opponents (e.g., asking the Justice Department to investigate Hillary Clinton); (4) failure to produce papers and testimony as directed by Congress (e.g., tax returns); (5) violation of federal campaign finance laws (e.g., payments to porn star Stormy Daniels); (6) misuse of emergency powers to spend funds on a Mexican border wall; (7) violation of the emoluments clauses (e.g., benefiting from business dealings with foreign and state governments). The Post concluded: “Trump has committed more criminal and unconstitutional conduct than any previous president in U.S. history.” (20)

Who would be president if Trump were removed from office?

Vice President Mike Pence would fill out the remainder of Trump’s term until Jan. 20, 2021. If Pence were also impeached, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, would become president. (11)

What Democratic presidential candidates have expressed support for impeachment proceedings?

As of August 1, 2019, thirteen Democratic presidential candidates (including 4 former candidates) had publicly come out in favor of beginning an impeachment inquiry against Trump: Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Corey Booker, Joe Biden, John Hickenlooper, Kirsten Gillibrand, Julian Castro, Beto O’Rourke, Tim Ryan, Seth Moulton, Eric Swalwell, Amy Klobuchar, and Jay Inslee. In addition, 137 of 235 House Democrats support an impeachment inquiry. (3, 5, 12, 17)

How many Republican House members have supported an impeachment inquiry?

One current Representative, Justin Amash of Michigan, called for impeachment in May 2019 on the grounds of obstruction of justice. He has since left the Republican party and declared himself an Independent. (21)

What does Fox News have to say about impeachment?

According to Sean Hannity, there is no justification at all for Trump’s impeachment. Hannity claims the Democrats’ efforts are based on “three years of lies.” The left-wing Democratic majority is disinterested in passing legislation that will help the country. Their sole focus: “Destroying Donald Trump and everybody that supports him.” (9)

What has been the Speaker of the House’s stance?

Nancy Pelosi initially resisted calls for impeachment, although in May 2019 she said that Trump’s obstruction of justice and refusal to honor congressional subpoenas might make an impeachment investigation necessary. (21) Recently (Sept. 12) she said: “I support what is happening in the Judiciary Committee (regarding their impeachment inquiry), because that enables them to do their process of interrogation and investigation.” (13)

What do public opinion polls say?

Recent polls show divided opinions. A NBC/WSJ poll in March 2019 found that 17% viewed evidence as sufficient to begin impeachment hearings, 32% favored continued investigation, and 48% opposed impeachment. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in March found that 45% favored impeachment and 42% opposed impeachment. Fox News released a poll in June 2019 showing 50% of registered voters supporting impeachment, with 48% in opposition. (21)

A Hill-HarrisX poll conducted shortly after Robert Mueller testified before Congress in late July found support for beginning impeachment proceedings by 67% of Democrats, 17% of Republicans, and 34% of Independents. (11a)

Why do some Democrats prefer not to pursue impeachment?

Most Democratic congresspersons from red-leaning districts that voted for Trump over Clinton have not endorsed impeachment, saying that their constituents are interested in other issues. Some Democrats believe that trying to remove Trump from the presidency would be too divisive and could trigger a dangerous backlash among his supporters. Removing Trump via the ballot box in 2020 is seen by many as a more feasible option. There is virtually no possibility that Trump’s impeachment by the House (if it did occur) would result in his removal from office by the Republican-majority Senate. (16)

What does Donald Trump say about his potential impeachment?

In Jan. 2019 Trump tweeted: “How do you impeach a president who has won perhaps the greatest election of all time, done nothing wrong (no Collusion with Russia, it was the Dems that Colluded), had the most successful first two years of any president, and is the most popular Republican in party history 93%.” On Dec. 11 Trump told Reuters: “I’m not concerned, no. I think that the people would revolt if that happened.” Various commentators have suggested that Trump actually wants to be impeached in order to boost attention and increase his electoral advantage. (1, 21).

END-NOTE (this author’s opinion): I think there are many credible arguments that Donald Trump is unqualified and is unfit for the office of president. On the other hand, many of the charges — e.g., ignorance, lying and distortion, self-delusion, arrogance, terrible appointments, faulty policies, climate change-denial, even sexism and White Nationalism — don’t fall under rubrics like treason or high crimes and misdemeanors. To the best of my knowledge, no prominent figures from the political left or the right have suggested that impeachment will succeed in removing Trump from office. Continued investigation seems essential, but, voting Trump out in the 2020 election looks like the most workable option to me.

SOURCES:

(1) abcnews.go.com, Meghan Keneally, “How the impeachment process works,” Jan. 29, 2019;

(2) bbc.com, Anthony Zurcher, “Donald Trump impeachment debate”, June 8, 2109;

(3) businessinsider.com, Grace Panetta, “Democrats who want to begin an impeachment inquiry against Trump,” Aug. 1, 2019;

(4) cbsnews.com, Grace Segers, “House Democratic leaders divided on how to describe impeachment inquiry,” Sept. 11, 2019;

(5) fortune.com, Erin Corbett, “To Impeach Trump or Not,” July 30, 2019;

(6) historyextra.com, “A brief history of presidential impeachment,” July 15, 2019;

(7) investopedia.com, Will Kenton, “Impeachment”, May 9, 2018;

(8) theglobepost.com, Alex Graf, “Trump’s Criminality is Blatantly Clear. The Time to Impeach is Now,” July 2, 2019;

(9) hannity.com, Hannity staff, “Hannity: Democrats Still Pushing Impeachment After ‘Three Years of Lies’”, Sept. 10, 2019;

(10) litigation.findlaw.com, “Who Can be Impeached?”, n.d.;

(11) newsweek.com, Asher Stockton, “GOP Support for Impeachment Nearly Doubles”, Aug. 2, 2019;