(excerpt from  “America The Holy: From the Law of Moses to the Legacy of Lincoln”  Western Gate Books)

Impeachment, as most Americans think of it, is the process in which a high-ranking government official is indicted for unlawful activity.  To be impeached means to have formal charges brought about.  It, in itself, is not a conviction, but may lead to one (a rare event in actuality).  Upon conviction, the official is removed from office.  The removal from office does not preclude further criminal charges, if warranted.

Excerpts from our laws regarding impeachment:

Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution:

“The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.”

Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution:

“The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.”

“Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.”

Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution:

“The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”

Article II, Section 3 of the 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 Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.”

From the official web site of the United States Senate (accessed Novemeber 2010):

The United States Constitution provides that the House of Representatives “shall have the sole Power of Impeachment” (Article I, section 2) and that “the Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments …. [but] no  person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present” (Article I, section 3). The president, vice president, and all civil officers of the United States are subject to impeachment.

The concept of impeachment originated in England and was adopted by  many of the American colonial governments and state constitutions. At  the Constitutional Convention in 1787, the framers considered several possibilities before deciding that the Senate should try impeachments.

Impeachment is a very serious affair. This power of Congress is the  ultimate weapon against officials of the federal government, and is a  fundamental component of the constitutional system of “checks and balances.” In impeachment proceedings, the House of Representatives  charges an official by approving, by majority vote, articles of impeachment. A committee of representatives, called “managers,” acts  as prosecutors before the Senate. The Senate Chamber serves as the  courtroom. The Senate becomes jury and judge, except in the case of presidential impeachment trials when the chief justice of the United States  presides. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict and the penalty for an impeached official is removal from office. In some  cases, disqualification from holding future offices is also imposed.

There is no appeal.

To date, the Senate has conducted formal impeachment proceedings 19 times, resulting in 7 acquittals, 7 convictions, and 3 dismissals:

William Blount, Senator

Date of Final Senate Action: January 11, 1799

Result:  expelled, charges dismissed

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John Pickering, Judge

Date of Final Senate Action: March 12, 1804

Result: guilty, removed from office

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Samuel Chase, Justice

Date of Final Senate Action:  March 1, 1805

Result:  not guilty

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James H. Peck, Judge

Date of Final Senate Action:  January 31, 1831

Result:  not guilty

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West H. Humphreys, Judge

Date of Final Senate Action:  June 26, 1862

Result:  guilty

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Andrew Johnson, President

Date of Final Senate Action:  May 16/26, 1868

Result:  not guilty

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Mark H. Delahay, Judge

Date of Final Senate Action:  no action

Result:  resigned

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William Belknap, Secretary of War

Date of Final Senate Action:  August 1, 1876

Result:  not guilty

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Charles Swayne, Judge

Date of Final Senate Action:  February 27, 1905

Result:  not guilty

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Robert Archbald, Judge

Date of Final Senate Action:  January 13, 1913

Result:  guilty, removed

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George W. English, Judge

Date of Final Senate Action:  December 13, 1926

Result: resigned, charges dismissed

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Harold Louderback, Judge

Date of Final Senate Action:  May 24, 1933

Result:  not guilty

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Halsted Ritter, Judge

Date of Final Senate Action:  April 17, 1936

Result:  guilty, removed from office

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Harry E. Claiborne, Judge

Date of Final Senate Action: October 9, 1986

Result:  guilty, removed from office

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Alcee Hastings, Judge

Date of Final Senate Action:  October 20, 1989

Result:  guilty, removed from office

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Walter Nixon, Judge

Date of Final Senate Action:  November 3, 1989

Result:  guilty, removed from office

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William J. Clinton, President

Date of Final Senate Action:  February 12, 1999

Result:  not guilty

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Samuel B. Kent, Judge

Date of Final Senate Action: July 22, 2009

Result: resigned, case dismissed

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G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., Judge

Date of Final Senate Action: case pending

– Article excerpt from “America The Holy: From the Law of Moses to the Legacy of Lincoln”  Western Gate Books