FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 103

Impeachment in the United States Senate is a multi-step process, first resulting in an inquiry and a trial of a federal elected official. At this point, and in the case of Vice President Cheney and the Bush administration, this is not necessarily about removal. The question is, does the evidence warrant an inquiry?
"The best option to prevent an unnecessary war with Iran is to impeach the Vice President, the lead cheerleader of the war...This isn't about my campaign. This isn't a Democratic-Republican issue. This is about the Constitution. This is about the rule of law."

-Congressman Dennis Kucinich

"When people ask if the United States can afford to place on trial the President, if the system can stand impeachment, my answer is, 'Can we stand anything else?'"
-Senator George McGovern

"The President must certainly be punishable for giving false information to the Senate. He is to regulate all intercourse with foreign powers, and it is his duty to impart to the Senate every material intelligence he receives. If it should appear that he has not given them full information, but has concealed important intelligence which he ought to have communicated, and by that means induced them to enter into measures injurious to their country, and which they would not have consented to had the true state of things been disclosed to them, in this case, I ask whether, upon an impeachment for a misdemeanor upon such an account, the Senate would probably favor him."
-Founding Father James Iredell on the opinions of the writers of the Constitution, at the NC Constitutional Ratifying Convention

Impeachment begins when a member of the House of Representatives (in our case, Congressman Dennis Kucinich) presents a list of charges to the House or proposes a resolution to committee. Either a house committee will vote on whether grounds for impeachment exist (ending the bill or passing it to the floor), or as seen recently, the bill can be introduced to the full House on a point of personal priviledge. The House will then spend considerable time on debating the bill. If it passes, they will have adopted articles of impeachment.

Only the House of Representatives has the power to impeach the President or Vice President; however, once one has been impeached, this means a referral of charges to the Senate and even more public coverage. The Senate conducts a trial based on the charges and can pass a conviction with a 2/3 majority.

After the House has impeached and the Senate has convicted, the Senate will then vote on a sentence. They have to power to remove an individual from office, bar her or him from holding future office, or deliver no punishment at all. It is worth noting that the President has no power to pardon an individual that has been convicted and that sentencing for actual crimes is handled separately. (For example, Richard Nixon was pardoned of offenses but resigned when his speedy impeachment and conviction became inevitable and apparent).

These articles of impeachment are not brought forth lightly. I have carefully weighed the options available to Members of Congress, and found this path the best available. The justifications used to lead our nation to war have been unquestionably disproved. Brave soldiers and innocent civilians have lost their lives in a war that the United States never should have initiated. The weight of the lies used to lead us to war has grown heavier with each death. Now is the time for this Congress to examine the actions that led us into this war, just as we must work to bring our troops home. This resolution is a very serious matter and I urge the Committee on Judiciary to investigate and carefully consider this resolution.
--Dennis Kucinich, Press Release on November 6, 2007 after impeachment passed an initial vote on the floor.

"Nancy Pelosi has impeachment 'off the table,' but that's off her table, it is not off [my] table", and that Pelosi "cannot prevent me from introducing an impeachment resolution".
--Representative John Conyers, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee

No vice president in United States history has been impeached, although Spiro Theodore Agnew, who became the 39th U.S. vice president on January 20, 1969, resigned under the threat of impeachment on October 10, 1973 when charged in federal court with tax evasion.  The only other vice president who resigned was John C. Calhoun, who did so in 1832 to return to the Senate.

Richard Milhous Nixon, who was inaugurated as the 37th American president on January 20, 1969, became the only chief executive of the United States to date to resign.  Nixon did so on August 9th, 1974, shortly after the House Judiciary Committee passed articles of impeachment charging him with obstruction of justice regarding the investigation into the Watergate scandal, in addition to abuse of power and contempt of Congress.

The following presidents were the only two who were impeached by the House of Representatives.

#42~William Jefferson Clinton (January 20, 1993-January 20, 2001)
      On December 19, 1998, the House voted 228-206 to impeach President Clinton for perjury in testimony regarding his sexual relationship with an intern, and 221-212 for obstruction of justice via alleged efforts to "delay, impede, cover up, and conceal" evidence regarding a sexual harassment lawsuit that was eventually thrown out of court.  On February 12, 1999, Clinton was acquitted in the Senate by votes of 45 for conviction with 55 against, and 50 for with 50 against, a two-thirds vote of 67 having been required to convict.

#17~Andrew Johnson (April 15, 1865-March 3, 1869)
      On February 24, 1868, the House voted 126-47 to impeach President Johnson for violating the Tenure of Office Act by removing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton from office without Senate approval.  The vote was strictly along party lines in a Congress that had an extraordinarily hostile relationship with the president.  On May 16, 1868, Johnson was acquitted in the Senate by a vote of 35 for conviction and 19 against, a two-thirds vote of 36 having been required to convict.

While the Constitution is a remarkably detailed document, all of its writing is intentionally interpretable and succinct.
Impeachment is described in these parts;

U.S. Constitution Article I, Section II
The House of Representatives...shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
U.S. Constitution Article I, Section III
...The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. ...No Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present. Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.
U.S. Constitution Article II, Section IV
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.