UNIT 4

IMPEACHMENT
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 Court Crimes
and Misdemeanors (Article II, Section 4).
The delegates decided rather quickly on the procedures by which a president could be
impeached (charged) by the House of Representatives. Debate occurred on the question of
who would prosecute the president – Senate, the House, or the Supreme Court. Eventually the
Framers settled on trial by Senate since the justices would be appointed by the president and
would also be involved in criminal proceedings afterwards.
In early June, Dickenson suggested that Congress be able to remove the executive if
requested by the majority of state legislatures. Madison and Wilson contended that this gave
too much power to the small states. Sherman suggested that Congress have the power to
remove the executive at its pleasure, but Madison argued that then the executive would be
nothing more than “the mere creature of the Legislature.”
A tentative agreement was reached under which the executive would be removable “on
impeachment and conviction of malpractice or neglect of duty.” But during the debate on
reeligibility, Morris noted that “the Executive shall also be impeachable. This is dangerous
part of the plan. It will hold him in such dependence that he will be no check on the
Legislature, will not be a firm guardian of the people and of the public interest. He will be the
tool of a faction, of some leading demagogue in the Legislature.” Morris suggested short
terms and reeligibility as an alternative to impeachment, believing that the executive “can do
no criminal act without coadjutors who may be punished.”
When the Committee on Detail was handed the impeachment issue, Randolph wrote that
“the House of Representatives would try and the Supreme Judiciary would convict.” The full
committee narrowed the scope of impeachment offences by replacing the “malpractice or
neglect of duty – the chiefly political offences - with Treason, Bribery, or corruption” –
offences primarily criminal in nature. The Committee on Unfinished Business later changed
the impeachment process, vesting the power to convict in the Senate. Morris, a member of the
committee, explained the impropriety of the conviction by the Supreme Court, since the Court
would try the president for criminal offences after the impeachment trial.
As the convention drew to a close the scope of impeachable offences was expanded to
include “things” political. Mason wasuncomfortable with impeachments limited to treason
and bribery and recommended extending the power of impeachment to include
“maladministration.” But Madison objected, stating that “so vague a term will be equivalent
to a tenure during pleasure of the Senate.” Mason then substituted “other high crimes and
misdemeanors against the State,” which passed the convention.
The verb “to impeach” means to charge, to accuse. The word impeachment means a
process that is used to charge, try, and remove public officials for misconduct while in office.
The Constitution gives the House the power to bring charges through articles of impeachment
and the Senate the power to try all impeachments. It takes a two-thirds majority to convict a
president of the charges. The full House votes on Judiciary Committee’s charges and then
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appoints managers (prosecuting attorneys) to argue its case in the Senate. The Senate becomes
a tribunal for the trial, with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presiding. The Chief
Justice rules on whether the evidence is admissible but can be reversed by majority vote. And,
given the seriousness of their actions, all senators are sworn to a special oath above their oath
of office: “to do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.”
The ambiguity of what constituted an impeachable offense became the focal point of
Richard Nixon’s presidency in 1973. Could a president be impeached for a crime against the
spirit of the Constitution, or was proof of a criminal offense needed? The House impeachment
hearings were carried out with great care; most of the nation’s adult population reported
having watched at least part of the proceedings during the long “Watergate Summer.” Five
articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon were considered; the first three passed the
House Judiciary Committee. They were Article I, Obstruction of Justice; Article II, Abuse of
Power, Article III, Ignoring Congressional Subpoenas; Article IV, Concealing Information
from Congress on the bombing of Combodia; and Article V, Tax Evasion and Emoluments.
NOTES TO THE TEXT:

Committee on Detail – a committee established by the Philadelphia Convention on June 23,

1787 to put down a draft text reflecting the agreements made by the Convention.
Legal proceedings – action or procedure instituted in a court of law to acquire a benefit,
interest, or right or to enforce a remedy.
Malpractice – a type of negligence in, which the professional under a duty to act, fails to
follow generally accepted professional standards, and that breach of duty is the proximate
cause of injury to a plaintiff who suffers harm.
Neglect of duty – the omission to perform a duty.
Evidence – something (including testimony, documents, and tangible objects) that tends to
prove or disprove the existence of an alleged fact.
Emolument – any advantage, profit, or gain received as a result of one’s employment or
one’s holding of office.
LANGUAGE PRACTICE AND COMPREHENSION CHECK
ACTIVE VOCABULARY
tentative, tentatively, to contend, coadjutor, treason, tenure, ambiguity, ambiguous,
obstruction, to obstruct

TASK I. a) Add the words from ACTIVE VOCABULARY to complete the sentences:
1. He was criticized for his … …………of efforts to rebuild the wartorn country.
2. Critics of the school system ……………… that not enough emphasis is laid on creativity
3. The peace talks are ……………… planned for next week.
4. There seem to be some …………… in the rules.
5. Throughout his … …………….of office the committee worked very effectively and carried
out a number of important surveys.

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6. The task would have never been fulfilled without the … help.
7. The court found him guilty of committing … and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
8. He reached some ... conclusions about the possible cause of the accident.

TASK II. a) Match the verbs with their definitions:

1) mismanage a) to take for yourself the money that you
are responsible for but that does not belong
to you
2) mislead b) to take a wrong judgment about a
person or situation
3) misjudge c) to deal with the situation or process
badly or without enough care
4) mishandle d) to behave badly and annoy and upset
the people
5) misinform e) to give someone false or incorrect
information
6) misdial f) to be wrong about what illness someone
has
7) misdiagnose g) to choose a wrong number when making
a telephone call
8) misbehave h) to make someone believe smth that is
incorrect or not true
9) misappropriate i) to manage badly