Skip to content

A Primer on Impeachment

In late September, Speaker of the House, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), announced a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Impeachment is when a legislative body levels charges against a government official. Similar to an indictment, it is the first step in the process of removing a government official from office because they have committed particularly offensive crimes, such as treason or bribery.

President Trump is accused of trying to solicit personal favors by threatening to withhold foreign aid to Ukraine. This was brought to attention through a whistleblower complaint from an Intelligence Community employee.

Only two previous Presidents have ever been impeached. President Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868, but was acquitted in the Senate. President Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998, and was also acquitted in the Senate. Articles of impeachment were approved against President Richard Nixon in 1974 following the Watergate Scandal, although he resigned before the full House could vote to impeach him. No prior President has ever been removed from office as a direct result of impeachment.

The last government official to be impeached, found guilty, and removed from office was Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr. Formerly a Judge in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Porteous was found guilty of perjury by the Senate in 2010 and was removed from office.

For Congress to impeach the President, here are the steps of impeachment, in a nutshell.

  • First, the House opens an inquiry. Power of impeachment rests with the House of Representatives, and is enshrined in Article II, Section II of the United States Constitution.
    • One area of contention in this inquiry has been voting. Under statute, the House is not required to follow any specific procedure to conduct an impeachment inquiry. In the past, a vote in the committee was required to issue subpoenas. Now, as a result of rule changes which occurred 2015, Democratic Committee Chairpersons have unilateral subpoena power (as the majority party). A vote would give Republicans the potential to seek unilateral subpoena power for the Ranking Members of the Committees (Republicans), allowing them to call their own witnesses and potentially change the direction of the inquiry. Speaker Pelosi asserts that the House Committee Chairpersons have all the necessary tools to conduct an inquiry, making a vote redundant.
  • Next, various House committees investigate. The Committees may seek evidence through calling witnesses, issuing subpoenas, and reviewing records. They will determine whether impeachable offenses occurred. The current inquiry is centered in the House Intelligence Committee, due to the nature of the whistleblower complaint, however multiple committees, including the House Oversight and Government Reform and House Judiciary Committee, are involved in the investigation.
    • In this inquiry, the White House has instructed the Department of State not to turn over evidence to House investigators, and has forbidden Department of State employees from testifying before the House. State Department employees are ultimately lead by President Trump, creating a sticky legal dilemma. The House Committees would have to initiate legal action in a federal court to obtain evidence.
  • Afterwards, the House Judiciary Committee reviews the findings. This is done after the various Committees have reviewed their evidence. The Judiciary Committee may recommend the entire House vote on articles of impeachment. To impeach a President, the entire House of Representatives must vote by simple majority. Voting is an involved process in and of itself, as the House must agree on voting method, when to vote, etc.
  • Impeaching a President doesn’t mean they are removed from office. The Senate must hold a trial overseen by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The current Chief Justice is John Roberts. A trial can be lengthy because the Senate will need to establish procedures, review evidence, and actually agree to hold a vote. The President would then be removed if 2/3 of Senators vote in favor of removal. In this Congress, a 2/3 vote would require 12 Republican Senators, and all Democratic Senators, to vote in favor of impeachment.

Currently, the House and Senate are controlled by opposing parties. As a result, it is unlikely the Democratic-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate would both reach the same conclusion. The inquiry has also become highly partisan, with each side accusing the other of corruption and abuse of power. However, not all evidence has been reviewed or made publicly available. As of October 8th, the White House is refusing to cooperate with the inquiry. It is unclear what will happen next, but it is important to keep in mind impeachment is an extremely difficult and lengthy process.

Edit: This post originally stated that President Richard Nixon was impeached. While the House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment, Nixon resigned before there was a vote in the House to adopt the articles. The post has been updated to reflect this.

Edit: This post originally stated that President Andrew Jackson was impeached instead of President Andrew Johnson. 

DACA Goes to the Supreme Court

Many higher education organizations, including APLU, filed an amicus brief in the US Supreme Court, supporting University of California in Regents of the University of California v Dept of Homeland Security. The University of California argues the repeal of DACA  has violated the rights of the University and its’ students. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has already found the termination of DACA to be unlawful, however the Supreme Court has the final verdict. Universities around the country are concerned that without comprehensive immigration reform, repealing DACA will unduly harm hundreds of thousands of students who have made their home in the United States. UW continues to monitor the case, working closely with our nationwide colleagues.

You can read the full brief here.

UW President Cauce has been very vocal in support of DACA students, and you can find her updates here.

White House to Unveil New Immigration Plan

In a speech later today at the White House, President Trump is expected unveil a new immigration plan, one that is expected to be opposed by those on the left and the right.  The biggest part of the proposal is a move to a “merit-based” immigration system, one that moves away from the family-based immigration system currently in place.

At the same time, the proposal does not address the issues around DACA and “Dreamers” nor does it call for an overall decrease in the number of immigrants coming to the country.

Read more about the expected announcement here and here.

 

Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings to Start Day After Labor Day

Even as the Senate continues to work through FY2019 spending bills this week, a process that has been noticeable in its bipartisanship so far, the partisan fights are expected to return in full force the day after Labor Day, when the Judiciary Committee is scheduled to start the confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court nomination.  The hearings are expected to take multiple days and the goal of the Senate Republican leadership is to get the nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, confirmed before the November elections.

 

Brett Kavanaugh Nominated for Seat on Supreme Court

Last night, President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to replace Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court. The nominee currently serves on the D.C. Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Kavanaugh was a clerk for Kennedy and previously worked in the George W. Bush White House.

Read more about the nomination here and here in the Washington Post and here in Politico.

The confirmation process is expected to consume a significant amount of time and energy in the Senate for the rest of the summer and a part of the fall.