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1 (October 30, 1998)

handle is hein.crs/crsabch0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 98-898 A October 30, 1998 Impeachment Grounds: Part 5: Selected Douglas/Nixon Inquiry Materials Charles Doyle Senior Specialist American Law Division Summary This is a collection of selected background materials pertinent to the issue of what constitutes impeachable misconduct for purposes of Article II, section 4 of the United States Constitution quoted below. It includes excerpts from material prepared in connection with the impeachment inquiries involving Justice Douglas and President Nixon. It is the fifth of six segments that together with footnotes comprise, Impeachment Grounds: A Collection of Selected Materials, CRS Report 98-882. The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on impeachmentfor, and Conviction of Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. U.S.Const. Art. II, §4 Douglas Inquiry Rep. Gerald Ford Conduct of Associate Justice Douglas ...What, then, is an impeachable offense? The only honest answer is that an impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers to be at a given moment in history; conviction results from whatever offense or offenses two-thirds of the other body considers to be sufficiently serious to require removal of the accused from office. Again, the historical context and political climate are important; there are few fixed principles among the handful of precedents. I think it is fair to come to one conclusion, however, from our history of impeachments: a higher standard is expected of Federal judges than of any other civil officers of the United States. The President and Vice President, and all persons holding office at the pleasure of the President, can be thrown out of office by the voters at least every 4 years. To remove them in midterm-it has been tried only twice and never done-would indeed require crimes of the magnitude of treason and bribery. Other elective officials, such as Members Congressional Research Service **** The Library of Congress CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web

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