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Impeachment is the process used by a legislative body to bring charges of wrongdoing against a public official. Basically, it is the indictment of an appointed or elected public officer on serious criminal charges. The legal basis for impeachment is stated in Article II, Section 4 of the United States Constitution:

"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."

The House of Representatives is the only body that can impeach federal officials. If a federal official is impeached, a trial by the Senate follows, which is where guilt and the potential removal from office is debated. It is important not to confuse impeachment with conviction. Impeachment is just a formal accusation; it is only the first step in removing a public official from office.

The idea of impeachment in the United States is usually discussed in reference to the president, although only two presidents have ever actually been impeached, compared to seventeen officials in other positions. Andrew Johnson was impeached on February 24, 1868, on charges of violating the Tenure of Office Act by removing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton from office. William ("Bill") Clinton was impeached on December 19, 1998, on charges of lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstruction of justice. Both Johnson and Clinton were acquitted in the Senate. Impeachment proceedings against Richard Nixon had made it out of committee, but he resigned from office on August 9th, 1974 before it could be debated on the House floor.

Impeachment inquiries have been attempted on a number of presidents throughout the United States' history, including John Tyler, Harry Truman, and Ronald Reagan. In fact, every elected president since 1980 has been the subject of at least one Congressional resolution that suggested impeachment inquiries.

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Kevin Stringer

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8y ago
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Jerome Pascua

Lvl 2
4y ago

Impeachment is the process used by a legislative body to bring charges of wrongdoing against a public official. Basically, it is the indictment of an appointed or elected public officer on serious criminal charges. The legal basis for impeachment is stated in Article II, Section 4 of the United States Constitution: "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." The House of Representatives is the only body that can impeach federal officials. If a federal official is impeached, a trial by the Senate follows, which is where guilt and the potential removal from office is debated. It is important not to confuse impeachment with conviction. Impeachment is just a formal accusation; it is only the first step in removing a public official from office. The idea of impeachment in the United States is usually discussed in reference to the president, although only two presidents have ever actually been impeached, compared to seventeen officials in other positions. Andrew Johnson was impeached on February 24, 1868, on charges of violating the Tenure of Office Act by removing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton from office. William ("Bill") Clinton was impeached on December 19, 1998, on charges of lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstruction of justice. Both Johnson and Clinton were acquitted in the Senate. Impeachment proceedings against Richard Nixon had made it out of committee, but he resigned from office on August 9th, 1974 before it could be debated on the House floor. Impeachment inquiries have been attempted on a number of presidents throughout the United States' history, including John Tyler, Harry Truman, and Ronald Reagan. In fact, every elected president since 1980 has been the subject of at least one Congressional resolution that suggested impeachment inquiries.

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Taylor Cocker

Lvl 2
4y ago

Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body levels charges against a government official. Impeachment does not in itself remove the official definitively from office; it is similar to an indictment in criminal law, and thus it is essentially the statement of charges against the official.

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LeavesBe

Lvl 2
4y ago

Impeachment is a kind of action done by the legislative and judiciary officials if they wanyt someone in the government be kicked out. This is a process of many person having a petition to impeach someone because of the bad thing he/she does.

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alexallan

Lvl 2
4y ago

Impeachment technically refers to a vote by the US House of Representatives to charge a high-ranking government officer with misconduct and begin the process of removing him or her from office. It’s roughly akin to a grand jury handing down an indictment in a criminal procedure. All kinds of officials can be impeached, and in practice the bulk of impeachment proceedings (15 out of 19) have been directed at federal judges. But what most people mean when they talk about impeachment is the overall process of removing a president from office. The Constitution says a president may be impeached and removed over charges it describes as “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

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Tony Kaz

Lvl 3
4y ago

Impeachment is a process that the US House of Representatives uses to waste taxpayer money and time when they feel desperate and vindictive. It serves to make them look as if they are doing something constructive after poeple begin to see that they have done very little over the last four years outside of bickering and mudslinging and taking big money campaign contributions.

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Kyle LoweJr.

Lvl 2
4y ago

the action of calling into question the integrity or validity of something or a charge of misconduct made against the holder of a public office.

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Wiki User

10y ago

To call into question the integrity or authority of somone.

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Cool Dude

Lvl 2
4y ago

It is when a politician is accused of doing something bad and is then kicked out if the position that they hold.

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Wiki User

4y ago

A demonstration in a court of law, or before another finder of fact, that a witness was ingenuine before, and therefore, is less likely to tell the truth now

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