Question on impeachment...

[Independent_Liberal]

I know any Federal official can be charged with numerous offenses. The charges are brought up in articles of impeachment and the articles are filed in the House Judiciary Committee where the process begins. Can a single charge be voted on only once or numerous times? Like say somebody brought up a charge that got voted down. Could they bring it up that charge again and then have it voted on favorably if anyone changed their mind or wanted to change their vote? And when the Senate begins the trial after the House impeaches (I know 218 votes are required in the House for impeachment and 67 votes in the Senate are required for a conviction), they deliberate on all the charges brought up in the articles of impeachment. When the Senate votes for impeachment, do they vote on the different charges separately, or do they vote on all the charges altogether?

Also, can Congress people and Senators be impeached, or does it only apply to the President, Vice President, Judges, and other executive branch officials?

If anybody could explain this to me, I'd greatly appreciate it.

[beyurslf]

1. Not sure on the House votes. I would think only once.

I believe the Senate votes on each article of impeachment separately also.

[Lancer]

2. Article II, Section 4

says "all civil Officers" (which would include but not be limited to members of Congress) can be impeached.

[Independent_Liberal]

3. This page clears it up for me...

http://www.law.cornell.edu/background/impeach/impeach.htm

<snip>

The Impeachment Process in a Nutshell

The House Judiciary Committee deliberates over whether to initiate an impeachment inquiry.

The Judiciary Committee adopts a resolution seeking authority from the entire House of Representatives to conduct an inquiry. Before voting, the House debates and considers the resolution. Approval requires a majority vote.

The Judiciary Committee conducts an impeachment inquiry, possibly through public hearings. At the conclusion of the inquiry, articles of impeachment are prepared. They must be approved by a majority of the Committee.

The House of Representatives considers and debates the articles of impeachment. A majority vote of the entire House is required to pass each article. Once an article is approved, the President is, technically speaking, "impeached" -- that is subject to trial in the Senate.

The Senate holds trial on the articles of impeachment approved by the House. The Senate sits as a jury while the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over the trial.

At the conclusion of the trial, the Senate votes on whether to remove the President from office. A two-thirds vote by the Members present in the Senate is required for removal.

If the President is removed, the Vice-President assumes the Presidency under the chain of succession established by Amendment XXV.

[rurallib]

5. Damn good thing we got a Chief Justice with a lot of experience

OH SHIT.

[hootinholler]

4. Impeachment (actually recall) of Congress members would be a States issue.

I believe that Congress can return a member under some circumstances.

Impeachment is not a punishment, per se. It simply removes the official from office so the President doesn't have to serve the remainder of his term from jail. I've found nothing in the Constitution that prevents the president from being tried while in office. It does assert that he is president until he is impeached.

-Hoot