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Learn about the constitutional provision that allows Congress to impeach and remove the President, Vice President and other civil officers for treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Explore the history, interpretation and debate of this clause and its application in practice.
The phrase "high crimes and misdemeanors," used together, was a common phrase when the U.S. Constitution was written and did not require any stringent or demanding criteria for determining guilt. The phrase was historically used to cover an extensive range of crimes.
- What Are High Crimes and Misdemeanors?
- What’s The Constitutional History of The term?
- How Has ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors’ Been Used Throughout American History?
- How Has The Meaning of ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors’ Changed Over The years?
The phrase “high crimes and misdemeanors” appears in Article II section 4 of the U.S. Constitution: While he was in Congress, before becoming President through a different series of unusual Constitutional processes, Gerald Ford offered a famously cheeky explication of that sentence: “An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Rep...
The concept of impeachment was used by the British Parliament as early as 1376, as a legislative safeguard against overreach by the aristocracy, and the terms in question were part of the process early on. “In England a lot of the impeachment cases had relied on this language of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ from the 1640s onward,” Bernadette Meyl...
The very first federal official to face impeachment was a Senator from Tennessee named William Blount. Blount had conspired to help the British conquer the Spanish-controlled territory of West Florida; the House of Representatives impeached him once he was discovered, but the Senate expelled him instead of voting on to convict him. This move by the...
Unlike other parts of the Constitution, there’s no opportunity for the Supreme Court to interpret “high crimes and misdemeanors” and give a concrete definition. In the opinion of Erwin Chemerinsky, the Dean of the University of California Berkeley School of Law, that leaves Americans to look to how it’s been used over history. “I’d say the one thin...
Oct 22, 2019 · October 22, 2019. “High crimes and misdemeanors” is surely the most troublesome, misleading phrase in the U.S. Constitution. Taken at face value, the words seem to say that impeachable...
Learn about the meaning and history of \"high Crimes and Misdemeanors\" as grounds for impeachment of federal officers. See examples of impeachment proceedings and how they inform the interpretation of this constitutional provision.
Learn how the term \"high crimes and misdemeanors\" originated from English and colonial practice and how the Framers narrowed its scope in the federal Constitution. Explore the sources and examples of impeachment proceedings and the role of Congress in holding government officers accountable.
Dec 5, 2019 · December 5, 20195:53 PM ET. Heard on All Things Considered. Ron Elving. 4-Minute Listen. Playlist. What does the framework of high crimes and misdemeanors, as written in the Constitution,...
