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Impeachment: Origins & Development: From the Constitution to the Modern House
he Constitution gives the House of Representatives the sole power to impeach an official, and it makes the Senate the sole court for impeachment trials. The power of impeachment is limited to removal from office but also provides for a removed officer to be disqualified from holding future office. Fines and potential jail time for crimes committed while in office are left to civil courts.
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports
CRS Report. The Impeachment Process in the House of Representatives
Under the U.S. Constitution, the House of Representatives has the power to formally charge a
federal officer with wrongdoing, a process known as impeachment. The House impeaches an
individual when a majority agrees to a House resolution containing explanations of the charges.
The explanations in the resolution are referred to as “articles of impeachment.” After the House
agrees to impeach an officer, the role of the Senate is to conduct a trial to determine whether the
charged individual should be removed from office. Removal requires a two-thirds vote in the
Senate.
CRS Report. Impeachment and Removal
The impeachment process provides a mechanism for removal of the President, Vice President,
and other “civil Officers of the United States” found to have engaged in “treason, bribery, or other
high crimes and misdemeanors.” The Constitution places the responsibility and authority to
determine whether to impeach an individual in the hands of the House of Representatives. Should
a simple majority of the House approve articles of impeachment specifying the grounds upon
which the impeachment is based, the matter is then presented to the Senate, to which the
Constitution provides the sole power to try an impeachment. A conviction on any one of the
articles of impeachment requires the support of a two-thirds majority of the Senators present.