Politics

The Impeachment:
For Those Who Don’t Know What Impeach Means

For the past few months news headlines have been flooded with impeachment updates that discuss the allegations against the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump. Let’s take a step back to understand what impeach means and learn about what’s going on in America. 

What Does Impeachment Mean?
Impeach is used to describe a charge that aims to remove a President from office on the grounds of misconduct. Impeachment charges can be filed if there is cause to question the integrity or validity of a particular circumstance. In layman’s terms the president must be accused, by the House of Representatives, of doing something illegal in order to be impeached.

How Does Impeachment Work?
Step 1
An impeachment resolution, also known as an article of impeachment, is introduced by a member of the House of Representatives.

Step 2
The Speaker of the House, in this case Nancy Pelosi, must then order the House Judiciary Committee to schedule a hearing on the resolution and decide if and when to put it to a full floor vote. In order for this resolution to be approved a majority in the Judiciary Committee is needed.

Step 3
If the resolution is approved by the Judiciary Committee it will move to the House floor for a full vote.

Step 4
If a majority of the House vote to approve the article of impeachment then the president is impeached, however this does not mean they are removed from office.

Step 5

Next, the process is moved to the Senate where a trial is held. Here, evidence is presented by the House. The Senate represents the president and the U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice presides over the trial. 

Step 6
After closing arguments the senators vote on whether they believe the president is guilty or not guilty. In order for a conviction a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate is needed. 

Step 7
If the president is found guilty it is here that they are removed from office and the vice president assumes the role of president. 

History Of Impeachment In The United States
The United States has only ever seen two other presidents impeached. First there was President Andrew Johnson in 1868. He was impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act by firing the Secretary of War. He narrowly avoided being removed from office by one vote and was acquitted in the Senate. Over 100 years later in 1999 President Bill Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice in relation to a sexual harassment lawsuit that was filed against him. This also ended in an acquittal as the Senate was 22 votes short of a two-thirds majority.

Words: Alice I’Anson 2019
Cover Image: Alice I’Anson 2019

Donald Trump’s Impeachment
On December 18, 2019 President Trump was impeached on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. This was a historic moment for America with Mr. Trump becoming the third president to be impeached in the United States.

Next Steps
Whilst Mr. Trump has been impeached in the House, he needs to be found guilty in the Senate to be removed from office. In this case, given the Senate is majority Republican, the same party as the president, it is likely that Mr. Trump, just as Mr. Johnson and Mr. Clinton before him, will be acquitted and will continue to hold office for the remainder of his term. It is important to note that the hearing in the Senate and the charges from the House do not have a legal bearing. Meaning that if President Trump is found guilty in the Senate no other penalty other than being removed from office will be brought upon him. 

See below for more information to keep you up to date with all things impeachment related:

The New York Times
The New York Times send a daily email titled ‘Impeachment Briefing’, that covers all impeachment activities of that day. It’s an informative and succinct summary and you can sign up for the daily email here.

Today Explained Podcast by Vox MediaThis is a daily podcast that gives time to the most important stories of the day. There are plenty of impeachment related episodes and host Sean Rameswaram shares a wealth of knowledge and invites interesting and diverse guests to participate in each episode.

Spotify 
Spotify also has an impeachment show that lets you listen to the hearings as they happen.