Impeachment of a US President

GS-II: Impeachment of a US President.

News

The speaker of US House of Representatives announced that it would launch an impeachment inquiry against President Trump.

Trump is accused for his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, Trump’s potential rival in the 2020 elections.

Impeachment in US:

Impeachment is a provision that allows Congress to remove the President of the United States.
Under the US Constitution, the House of Representatives (Lower House) has the “the sole power of impeachment” while the Senate (Upper House) has “the sole power to try all impeachments”.
The Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court has the duty of presiding over impeachment trials in the Senate.

Grounds for impeachment:

The President can be removed from office for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors”.
What constitutes these “high crimes” and “misdemeanors” (misdemeanors), however, is not clearly spelt out.
Essentially, it means an abuse of power by a high-level public official. This does not necessarily have to be a violation of an ordinary criminal statute.
Historically, in the US, it has encompassed corruption and other abuses, including trying to obstruct judicial proceedings.

The Process:

House Vote:

It begins with an investigation by a House committee.

In the Nixon and Clinton cases, the House Judiciary Committee held that investigation and recommended articles of impeachment to the full House.
In Trump’s case, six committees are investigating him on impeachable offences.

Senate Trial and Vote:

The Senate holds a trial, overseen by the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
A team of lawmakers from the House, known as managers, play the role of prosecutors.
The President has defence lawyers, and the Senate serves as the jury.
If at least two-thirds of the Senators present find the President guilty, he is removed and the Vice President takes over as President.

Source: THE HINDU

Join Our Telegram

Kilonova Explosions

Competition Commission of India (CCI)

28 Dec, 23
SHARE

Competition Commission of India has selected Ansuman Pattnaik as the new head of its investigation’s unit recently. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. It was established in 2003, but became fully functional in 2009. The CCI aims to establish a

Connected Lending (CL)

31 Dec, 23
SHARE

RBI’s move to consolidate the scattered laws on connected lending is welcome. CL refers to persons who are in the position to control the decision of the lender. CL is the extension of credit to individuals or firms connected through ownership or the ability to exert control, whether direct or indirect. CL refers to cases where the

Cosmic Distances

31 Dec, 23
SHARE

No human probe has travelled much beyond the Solar System, yet we are able to measure distances across billions of light-years. The space beyond Earth is so incredibly vast that units of measure, which are convenient in everyday lives, can become gigantic. Distances between the planets, and especially between the stars, become so big when e

Devil Comet

31 Dec, 23
SHARE

Mount Everest-sized Devil comet hurtling in Earth’s direction could explode today. Pons-Brooks Comet - Comet 13P/Pons-Brooks, also called the Devil Comet, is about the size of Mount Everest and it is hurtling towards Earth. After an outburst in July, scientists believe that the comet could explode once again today. Ice volcanoe

Kakad Bhairav or Bhilat Baba BHILS

31 Dec, 23
SHARE

A stone deity worshipped by the Bhils in Madhya Pradesh’s Bagh was recently proved to be a fossilized dinosaur egg. Just like their ancestors worshipped ancient stones as deities, generations of Bhils had worshipped this sunbaked, reddish-brown Kakad Bhairav or Bhilat Baba. Sacrifices of chickens and sheep marked their whispered pleas