The Process Of A Presidential Impeachment

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- Impeachment is one of the most serious duties delegated to Congress.

It can also be one of the least understood, largely because it is so rarely used.

On Tuesday, a formal impeachment inquiry was made against President Donald Trump.

House Democrats are moving forward with looking into the conduct of the president.

Mississippi State University Associate Professor Dr. Brian Shoup said this is typically the first step in an impeachment process.

“Impeachment is a procedure by which the House of Representatives essentially provides a sort of constitutionally mandated rebuke of the president based on constitutionally identifiable criteria,” said Dr. Shoup, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration. “That’s treason and bribery, which are specific crimes, then a third category known as high crimes and misdemeanors.”

If a president is accused of a crime, the House Judiciary Committee will then hold meetings and will draft articles of impeachment.

“Should any of those articles be confirmed by the House Judiciary Committee, those articles will then go towards the full House of Representatives, at which point a vote can be taken,” Shoup explained. “The president, if the vote is successful, is officially impeached.”

In order for impeachment to happen there must be a majority vote in the House.

If a president is impeached, the case is then turned over to the Senate where a trial will begin.

“The Chief Justice of our Supreme Court will preside over hearings that are intended to convict the president of those charges for which he had been impeached,” said Shoup.

During the trial, the Senate needs a two-thirds majority vote in order to convict.

If they’re found guilty, the president would then be stripped of all duties and forced to leave office.

“Our constitutional amendments have made it clear that there is a succession that occurs,” said Shoup. “The vice president in this context would step in to discharge the duties of our nations chief executive.”

Articles of impeachment have been brought against two U.S. Presidents.

Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.

Both were later acquitted in the Senate.