Impeachment is a rarely used tool used to oust a sitting US president from power, and since Donald Trump became president chatter around the "I" word has increased in Washington circles. It first arose following accusations last year that Mr Trump has obstructed justice, but speculation began growing after the Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in November in the midterm elections. Nancy Pelosi declined to rule out impeaching Mr Trump as she was sworn in as speaker for the US House of Representatives, kicking off the Democratic Party’s control of the body. The Republican leader faces allegations he asked his FBI director James Comey to halt a probe of a senior former advisor, and dismissed Comey in a bid to curb an investigation into his campaign team's possible collusion with Russia. Some Democrats have mentioned impeachment as a possibility for the 45th president, although initiating the procedure remains a hypothetical. Here is a look at exactly what impeachment is and where it's been used before. What is impeachment? Impeachment is the process by which Congress puts certain officials, namely the president, on trial. The constitution lays out a broad scope of offences that can lead to impeachment: “Treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." About | Impeachment How does it work and how many votes are needed? Impeachment does not mean a president will necessarily be kicked out of office. It proceeds like a bill passing through legislature. First, a majority in the House of Representatives - 218 out of 435 members - must approve articles of impeachment previously approved in committee. The make-up of the House before Tuesday's midterm elections favoured Mr Trump, with Republicans holding 238 seats while Democrats held 193. (Four seats werevacant.) Now, however, the Democrats have won back at least 23 seats, meaning they control the chamber. Second, it goes to the Senate, where a two-thirds majority vote is needed to convict the president and consequently remove him from office - even getting the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster would be difficult. Given the Republicans kept control and even gained seats in the Senate on Tuesday, it is highly unlikely Congress would remove him from office. Vice President Mike Pence Credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg Is there an election after a presidential impeachment? In the unlikely event Mr Trump was impeached, Vice President Mike Pence would immediately take the oath of office and become president. Should Mr Pence be impeached too, then the Republican Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, would take the top job. Do impeached officials go to prison? Impeachment is a political process, not criminal. Congress has no power to impose criminal penalties on impeached presidents or officials. However criminal courts could try to punish officials if they are believed to have committed crimes. "There isn't any judicial review of impeachment decisions, so Congress just needs to be satisfied that Trump committed high crimes or misdemeanors," Jens David Ohlin, a law professor and associate dean at Cornell Law School said. "They are the ultimate judge of what meets that standard." Impeachment therefore is at the crossroads of politics and the law. "There's no requirement that the president must have been indicted" for a crime, Ohlin added. Richard Nixon would almost certainly have faced impeachments proceedings in 1974 over the Watergate scandal, but he resigned instead. History of impeachment No US president has ever been ousted from office under impeachment proceedings. Andrew Johnson was the first leader to go through the process in 1868. He was charged with breaking the law after he tried to replace the US secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, without congressional permission. At the time - in the aftermath of the civil war - the president was required to consult the Senate about such decisions. His impeachment passed to the Senate, where he escaped being removed from office by a one-vote margin. Watergate hotel — the building that was at the centre of the scandal The other president was, of course, Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice in 1998, but he was acquitted in the Senate trial. Richard Nixon would almost certainly have faced impeachment proceedings in 1974 over the Watergate scandal and undoubtedly would have been removed from office. However, the disgraced president resigned before it got that far and he handed the presidency over to Gerald Ford.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2F9XVOf
No comments:
Post a Comment