What Is the Impeachment Process? A Step-by-Step Guide
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal
impeachment inquiry, directing a handful of
House committees to continue their monthslong
investigations into President Trump.
In President Nixon and President Clinton’s impeachment inquiries, Congress was handed thorough investigations from special prosecutors. Kenneth Starr investigated Clinton, and Archibald Cox pursued Nixon. In this impeachment, House committees are doing that job.
The committee leaders for the House Intelligence,
Oversight and Reform, and Foreign Affairs
Committees have been issuing subpoenas, taking
depositions and conducting closed-door meetings.
Two more committees, Ways and Means and
Financial Services, also have ongoing
investigations into issues related to Mr. Trump.
House vote on impeachment rules
In October 1998, the House voted 258 to 176, with 31 Democrats breaking ranks with the president, to begin a full-scale, open-ended inquiry into possible grounds for the impeachment of Clinton.
The House voted to approve a resolution that laid out the rules for the impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump.
Intelligence Committee public hearings
After closed-door investigations, open hearings were conducted by the
Intelligence Committee. Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the
Democrat who leads the committee, and Representative Devin Nunes, the
panel’s top Republican, each had 45 minutes to question witnesses. Members
of the panel got five minutes each to ask questions.
Intelligence Committee report
The Intelligence Committee, consulting with the Foreign
Affairs and Oversight and Reform Committees, is expected to
issue a report with its findings to the Judiciary Committee.
The report will also be made available to the public.
Judiciary Committee hearings
In 1974, the Judiciary Committee held multiple meetings and hearings from February through July. The hearings were televised.
In 1998, four hearings were held in connection with Clinton’s impeachment by the Judiciary Committee. The hearings lasted for two days.
After receiving the report, the Judiciary Committee will hold
further hearings. The president and his counsel can attend the
hearings, present their cases, respond to evidence, request
additional testimony, raise objections to testimony given and
cross-examine witnesses.
Vote on grounds for impeachment
After all the investigations are completed, the Judiciary
Committee will vote on whether there are sufficient
grounds for impeachment. A simple majority is required.
The vote is likely to pass.
A majority of committee
members vote no.
A majority of committee
members vote yes.
The committee approved three articles:
I. Obstructing the Watergate investigation
II. Abuse of power
III. Defiance of House subpoenas
The current White House said it would not cooperate with the House inquiry.
The committee approved four articles:
I. Perjury in the grand jury
II. Perjury in the civil case
III. Obstruction of justice
IV. Abuse of power
The Judiciary Committee would consider and draft
articles of impeachment. Each article would need to be
approved by a majority of the committee.
If the committee decides that impeachment is not warranted, it could recommend another action such as censure. The full House may still vote to impeach despite these recommendations.
Nixon resigned before the impeachment resolution was reported to the full House.
Articles reported by the Judiciary Committee
would be considered on the House floor. The length
of debate would be controlled by the Democrats.
The House debated Clinton’s articles of impeachment for two days.
In President Andrew Johnson’s case in 1868,
the House voted to impeach him on “high
crimes and misdemeanors” and notified the
Senate about the impeachment before the
articles were drafted.
The House would debate and then vote on articles of
impeachment. A simple majority would be required to pass.
Current House of Representatives
The vote is likely to pass.
The House may vote on all the articles as a whole or
each one separately. As long as one article passes, the
president would be impeached.
In Clinton’s case, the House voted on the articles separately and approved two of the four articles presented by the Judiciary Committee.
I. Perjury in the grand jury
II. Perjury in the civil case
III. Obstruction of justice
A majority of the House
members vote no.
A majority of the House
members vote yes.
The House would appoint a team of lawmakers,
known as managers, to play the role of
prosecutors in the Senate trial. The managers
would then present the articles of impeachment
to the Senate, which would serve as the jury.
The chief justice of the United States would be
sworn in to preside over the trial and would then
swear in the members of the Senate. The Senate
may discuss and adopt detailed trial guidelines.
On Jan. 8, 1999, the day after House managers presented Clinton’s articles of impeachment, the Senate met in an unprecedented informal joint session, adopting a resolution that set forth the trial proceedings. For example, it designated the length of opening statements.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. would preside over the trial.
The Senate would issue a summons to the
president, asking him to respond to the articles
of impeachment by a set date.
Neither Clinton nor Johnson
appeared in person, but had their
lawyers answer to the articles.
If the president declines to
respond to the impeachment
articles, his action would be
regarded as a plea of not guilty.
The president or his
counsel would respond
to the articles.
House managers and White House
defense lawyers would present their
cases. This process could last days.
Senators may question both parties.
The Senate rules do not specify when such a motion can occur. In Clinton’s case, the Senate passed a resolution that laid out the trial’s guidelines and allowed for a vote on dismissal after the senators asked their questions.
Any senator may propose a motion
to dismiss the charges, and the
Senate would deliberate and vote
on the move for dismissal. A
simple majority vote would be required.
Subpoenas may be issued, evidence
may be requested and witnesses may
be examined and cross-examined.
The Senate could put forward a
motion to limit or expand the amount
of evidence being examined.
During Clinton’s trial, the Senate voted not to call Monica Lewinsky to testify in the Senate chamber but allowed videotaped testimony to be presented.
A majority of the Senate
members vote yes.
A majority of the Senate
members vote no.
Both sides would provide closing
statements. Statements may be made by
two people on each side, with the House
managers both opening and closing.
The deliberation would most
likely happen in a closed session.
Both Johnson and Clinton were acquitted by the Senate.
The Senate would vote on each article of
impeachment separately. A conviction would
require a two-thirds vote on one or more articles.
Verdict on Clinton’s article on perjury
Additional votes needed to convict
The vote is unlikely to pass.
Verdict on Clinton’s article on obstruction of justice
Less than two-thirds of
the Senate votes yes.
More than two-thirds
of the Senate votes yes.
Additional votes needed to convict
The process ends,
Trump is acquitted
Trump is removed
from office
The Senate may subsequently vote on whether to
disqualify the president from future office. If the
vote is held, a simple majority vote would be required.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry, directing a handful of House committees to continue their monthslong investigations into President Trump.
The committee leaders for the House Intelligence, Oversight and Reform, and Foreign Affairs Committees have been issuing subpoenas, taking depositions and conducting closed-door meetings.
Two more committees, Ways and Means and Financial Services, also have ongoing investigations into issues related to Mr. Trump.
In President Nixon and President Clinton’s impeachment inquiries, Congress was handed thorough investigations from special prosecutors. Kenneth Starr investigated Clinton, and Archibald Cox pursued Nixon. In this impeachment, House committees are doing that job.
House vote on
impeachment rules
The House voted to approve a resolution
that laid out the rules for the
impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump.
In October 1998, the House voted 258 to 176, with 31 Democrats breaking ranks with the president, to begin a full-scale, open-ended inquiry into possible grounds for the impeachment of Clinton.
Intelligence Committee public hearings
After closed-door investigations, open hearings
were conducted by the Intelligence Committee.
Representative Adam B. Schiff of California,
the Democrat who leads the committee, and
Representative Devin Nunes, the panel’s top
Republican, each had 45 minutes to question
witnesses. Members of the panel got five
minutes each to ask questions.
Intelligence
Committee report
The Intelligence Committee, consulting with the Foreign Affairs and Oversight and Reform Committees, is expected to issue a report with its findings to the Judiciary Committee. The report will also be made available to the public.
Judiciary
Committee hearings
After receiving the report, the Judiciary Committee will hold further hearings. The president and his counsel can attend the hearings, present their cases, respond to evidence, request additional testimony, raise objections to testimony given and cross-examine witnesses.
In 1974, the Judiciary Committee held multiple meetings and hearings from February through July. The hearings were televised.
In 1998, four hearings were held in connection with Clinton’s impeachment by the Judiciary Committee. The hearings lasted for two days.
Vote on grounds
for impeachment
After all the investigations are completed, the
Judiciary Committee would vote on whether
there are sufficient grounds for impeachment.
A simple majority would be required.
The vote is likely to pass.
A majority of the
members vote no.
A majority of the
members vote yes.
If the committee decides that impeachment is not warranted, it could recommend another action such as censure. The full House may still vote to impeach despite these recommendations.
The Judiciary Committee would consider
and draft articles of impeachment. Each
article would need to be approved by a
majority of the committee.
The committee approved three articles:
I. Obstructing the Watergate investigation
II. Abuse of power
III. Defiance of House subpoenas
The current White House said it would not cooperate with the House inquiry.
The committee approved four articles:
I. Perjury in the grand jury
II. Perjury in the civil case
III. Obstruction of justice
IV. Abuse of power
Nixon resigned before the impeachment resolution was reported to the full House.
Articles reported by the Judiciary
Committee would be considered on the
House floor. The length of debate would be
controlled by the Democrats.
The House debated Clinton’s articles of impeachment for two days.
The House would debate and then vote
on articles of impeachment. A simple
majority would be required to pass.
Current House of Representatives
The vote is likely to pass.
The House may vote on all the articles as a whole or each one separately. As long as one article passes, the president would be impeached.
In President Andrew Johnson’s
case in 1868, the House voted to
impeach him on “high crimes and
misdemeanors” and notified the
Senate about the impeachment
before the articles were drafted.
In Clinton’s case, the House
voted on the articles separately
and approved two of the four
articles presented by the
Judiciary Committee.
A majority of the House
members vote no.
A majority of the House
members vote yes.
The House would appoint a team of lawmakers, known as managers, to play the role of prosecutors in the Senate trial. The managers would then present the articles of impeachment to the Senate, which would serve as the jury.
The chief justice of the United States would be
sworn in to preside over the trial and would then
swear in the members of the Senate. The Senate
may discuss and adopt detailed trial guidelines.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. would preside over the trial.
On Jan. 8, 1999, the day after House managers presented Clinton’s articles of impeachment, the Senate met in an unprecedented informal joint session, adopting a resolution that set forth the trial proceedings. For example, it designated the length of opening statements.
The Senate would issue a summons to the
president, asking him to respond to the articles
of impeachment by a set date.
If the president
declines to respond to
the impeachment
articles, his action
would be regarded as
a plea of not guilty.
The president or his counsel would respond to the articles.
Depending on the rules set by this Senate,
any senator may propose a motion to dismiss
the charges, and the Senate would deliberate
and vote on the move for dismissal. A simple
majority vote would be required.
House managers and White House
defense lawyers would present their
cases. This process could last days.
Senators may question both parties.
Subpoenas may be issued, evidence may be requested and witnesses may be examined and cross-examined. The Senate could put forward a motion to limit or expand the amount of evidence being examined.
Subpoenas may be issued, evidence may be requested and witnesses may be examined and cross-examined. The Senate could put forward a motion to limit or expand the amount of evidence being examined.
Both sides would provide closing
statements. Statements may be made by
two people on each side, with the House
managers both opening and closing.
The deliberation would most
likely happen in a closed session.
The Senate would vote on each article
of impeachment separately. A
conviction would require a two-thirds
vote on one or more articles.
The vote is unlikely to pass.
More than two-thirds
of the Senate votes yes.
Less than two-thirds
of the Senate votes yes.
Trump is
removed from
office
The process
ends, Trump is
acquitted
Both Johnson and Clinton were aquitted by the Senate.
Verdict on Clinton’s article on perjury
Additional votes
needed to convict
Verdict on Clinton’s article on
obstruction of justice
Additional votes
needed to convict
The Senate may subsequently vote on whether to disqualify the president from future office. If the vote is held, a simple majority vote would be required.
