Impeachment
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Impeachment is a way to remove a government officer from their position in some countries.
Process
changeImpeachment 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
changeIn 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]
Historical impeachments
changeWarren 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]
Related pages
changeReferences
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "How federal impeachment works | USAGov". www.usa.gov. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ↑ "U.S. Senate: About Impeachment". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "List of Individuals Impeached by the House of Representatives | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Impeachment of Warren Hastings: The First Governor General of India - University Of Worcester". www.worcester.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ↑ "Brazil President Dilma Rousseff removed from office by Senate". BBC News. 2016-08-31. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ↑ Sang-Hun, Choe (2017-03-10). "South Korea Removes President Park Geun-hye". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ↑ Elving, Ron (2024-08-09). "Half a century ago, Nixon became the only president to resign". NPR. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
