Impeachment
process for charging a public official with legal offenses by the legislature(s) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Impeachment is a way to remove a government officer from their position in some countries.
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Process
Impeachment is like an indictment, which the prosecutor needs to get before a trial. First a legislature must vote to impeach a person. Later, there is another vote on whether or not to convict the person. This vote may be done by the same people who voted to impeach the person, or by someone else (like in a bicameral legislature).
Several different types of office holders may be impeached, but cases against the President or leader of a country usually attract the most attention.
United States
In the United States, only Congress has the power to impeach a federal official (like a President, Vice President, judge, or legislator).[1]
First the U.S. House of Representatives votes to impeach the person and charge them with committing treason, bribery, or other "high crimes and misdemeanors".[2] Next the U.S. Senate holds a trial. The accused person cannot be convicted and removed from office unless two-thirds of the Senators vote for it.[1]
The House has impeached 22 people throughout American history.[3] Most of these (15 people) were federal judges; three were U.S. presidents; one was a Senator; and the rest were other federal officials.[3]
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Historical impeachments
Warren Hastings, who was the first Governor-General of India from 1773 to 1785, was impeached. He was accused of abusing the local people.[4] The process lasted for seven years and ended in his acquittal.[4]
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff was impeached and removed from office in 2016.[5] So was South Korean president Park Geun-hye in 2017.[6]
Three Presidents of the United States were impeached: Andrew Johnson (in 1868), Bill Clinton (1998) and Donald Trump (in 2019 and again in 2021).[1] None of them were removed from office by impeachment. President Richard Nixon resigned before the House could impeach him, making him the only U.S. president ever to resign.[7]
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Related pages
References
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