[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 3, Chapters 10 - 14]
[Chapter 14. Impeachment Powers]
[B. Investigation and Impeachment]
[Â§ 7. Committee Consideration; Reports]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 2057-2065]
 
                               CHAPTER 14
 
                           Impeachment Powers
 
                    B. INVESTIGATION AND IMPEACHMENT
 
Sec. 7. Committee Consideration; Reports

    Under Rule XI, the rules of the House are the rules of its 
committees and subcommittees where applicable.(1) 
Consideration by committees of impeachment propositions to be reported 
to the House is therefore generally governed by the principles of 
consideration and debate that are normally followed in taking up any 
proposition. Thus, in the 93d Congress, the

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 1. Rule XI clause 27(a), House Rules and Manual Sec. 735 (1973).
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[[Page 2058]]

Committee on the Judiciary adopted a resolution for the consideration 
of articles impeaching President Richard Nixon, providing for general 
debate, and permitting amendment under the five-minute 
rule.(2)

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 2. See Sec. 7.2. infra.
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                            Cross References
Committee consideration and reports generally, see Ch. 17, infra.
Committee powers and procedures as to impeachment investigations, see 
    Sec. 6, supra.
Committee procedure generally, see Ch. 17, infra.
Committee reports on grounds for impeachment, see Sec. 3, supra.
Management by reporting committee of impeachment propositions in the 
    House, see Sec. 8, infra.

                         Collateral References
Debates on Articles of Impeachment, Hearings of the Committee on the 
    Judiciary pursuant to H. Res. 803, July 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, and 30, 
    1974, 93d Cong. 2d Sess.
Impeachment of Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States, H. 
    Rept. No. 93-1305, Committee on the Judiciary, 93d Cong. 2d Sess., 
    Aug. 20, 1974.
Associate Justice William O. Douglas, final report by the Special 
    Subcommittee on H. Res. 920, Committee on the Judiciary, 91st Cong. 
    2d Sess., Sept. 17 
    1970.                          -------------------

Consideration of Resolution and Articles of Impeachment

Sec. 7.1 Under the modern practice, the Committee on the Judiciary may 
    report to the House, when recommending impeachment, both a 
    resolution and articles of impeachment, to be considered together 
    by the House.

    On July 8, 1912, Mr. Henry D. Clayton, of Alabama, of the Committee 
on the Judiciary reported to the House a resolution (H. Res. 524) 
impeaching Judge Robert Archbald. The resolution not only impeached but 
set out articles of impeachment which the resolution stated were 
sustained by the evidence.(3) A similar procedure was 
followed in the impeachment of certain other judges--George 
English,(4) Harold Louderback,(5) and Halsted 
Ritter. The resolution of impeachment in the Ritter case incorporated 
the articles (the articles themselves which followed the text below 
have been omitted): (6)
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 3. 48 Cong. Rec. 8697, 8698, 62d Cong. 2d Sess. (report and resolution 
        printed in full in the Record).
 4. 67 Cong. Rec. 6280, 69th Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 25, 1926.
 5. 76 Cong. Rec. 4913, 4914, 72d Cong. 2d Sess., Feb. 24, 1933.
 6. 80 Cong. Rec. 3066, 74th Cong. 2d Sess., Mar. 2, 1936.

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[[Page 2059]]

            [H. Res. 422, 74th Cong., 2d Sess. (Rept. No. 2025)]

                                 Resolution

        Resolved, That Halsted L. Ritter, who is a United States 
    district judge for the southern district of Florida, be impeached 
    for misbehavior, and for high crimes and misdemeanors; and that the 
    evidence heretofore taken by the subcommittee of the Committee on 
    the Judiciary of the House of Representatives under House 
    Resolution 163 of the Seventy-third Congress sustains articles of 
    impeachment, which are hereinafter set out, and that the said 
    articles be, and they are hereby, adopted by the House of 
    Representatives, and that the same shall be exhibited to the Senate 
    in the following words and figures, to wit:
        Articles of impeachment of the House of Representatives of the 
    United States of America in the name of themselves and of all of 
    the people of the United States of America against Halsted L. 
    Ritter, who was appointed, duly qualified, and commissioned to 
    serve, during good behavior in office, as United States district 
    judge for the southern district of Florida, on February 15, 1929.

Resolutions for Committee Consideration

Sec. 7.2 The Committee on the Judiciary adopted in the 93d Congress a 
    resolution governing its consideration of a motion to report to the 
    House a resolution and articles impeaching President Richard Nixon; 
    the resolution provided for general debate on the resolution, 
    reading the articles for amendment under the five-minute rule, and 
    considering the original motion as adopted should any article be 
    agreed to.

    On July 23, 1974, the Committee on the Judiciary adopted a 
resolution providing that on July 24 the committee should commence 
general debate on reporting to the House a resolution and articles of 
impeachment against President Nixon; the resolution provided for 
general debate and reading of the articles for amendment under the 
five-minute rule: (7)
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 7. H. Rept. No. 93-1305, at p. 10, Committee on the Judiciary, 93d 
        Cong. 2d Sess., reported Aug. 20, 1 1974.
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        Resolved, That at a business meeting on July 24, 1974, the 
    Committee shall commence general debate on a motion to report to 
    the House a Resolution, together with articles of impeachment, 
    impeaching Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States. Such 
    general debate shall consume no more than ten hours, during which 
    time no Member shall be recognized for a period to exceed 15 
    minutes. At the conclusion of general debate, the proposed articles 
    shall be read for amendment and Members shall be recognized for a 
    period of five minutes to speak on each

[[Page 2060]]

    proposed article and on any and all amendments thereto, unless by 
    motion debate is terminated thereon. Each proposed article, and any 
    additional article, shall be separately considered for amendment 
    and immediately thereafter voted upon as amended for recommendation 
    to the House. At the conclusion of consideration of the articles 
    for amendment and recommendation to the House, if any article has 
    been agreed to, the original motion shall be considered as adopted 
    and the Chairman shall report to the House said Resolution of 
    impeachment, together with such articles as have been agreed to, or 
    if no article is agreed to, the Committee shall consider such 
    resolutions or other recommendations as it deems proper.

Broadcasting Committee Meetings During Consideration of Impeachment

Sec. 7.3 The House in the 93d Congress amended Rule XI of the rules of 
    the House to provide for broadcasting of meetings, as well as 
    hearings, of committees, thereby permitting radio and television 
    coverage of the consideration by the Committee on the Judiciary of 
    a resolution and articles of impeachment against President Richard 
    Nixon.

    On July 22, 1974, Mr. B.F. Sisk, of California, called up by 
direction of the Committee on Rules a resolution (H. Res. 1107) 
amending the rules of the House.(8)
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 8. 120 Cong. Rec. 24436, 93d Cong. 2d Sess.
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    Debate on the resolution indicated that it was intended to clarify 
the rules of the House to permit all committees to allow broadcasting 
of their meetings as well as hearings by majority vote, but that its 
immediate purpose was to allow the broadcasting of the proceedings of 
the Committee on the Judiciary in considering a resolution and articles 
of impeachment against President Nixon (to commence on July 24, 1974). 
The House discussed the advisability of, and procedures for, televising 
the proceedings of the Committee on the Judiciary, and adopted the 
resolution.(9)
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 9. Speaker Carl Albert (Okla.) overruled a point of order against 
        consideration of the resolution and held that the question 
        whether a committee meeting was properly called was a matter 
        for the committee and not the House to consider. 120 Cong. Rec. 
        24437, 93d Con. 2d Sess.
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Privilege of Reports on Impeachment Questions

Sec. 7.4 The reports of a committee to which has been referred 
    resolutions for the impeachment of a federal civil officer are 
    privileged for immediate consideration.

[[Page 2061]]

    Resolutions impeaching federal civil officers, or resolutions 
incidental to an impeachment question, are highly privileged under the 
U.S. Constitution (Sec. 5, supra); reports thereon are likewise 
considered as privileged.(10)
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10. Rule XI clause 27 (d) (4), House Rules and Manual Sec. 735 (1973) 
        requires that, with certain exceptions, a measure not be 
        considered in the House until the third calendar day on which 
        the report thereon has been available to Members. However, on 
        July 13, 1971, Speaker Carl Albert (Okla.) held that a 
        committee report relating to the refusal of a witness to 
        respond to a subpena was not subject to the three-day rule. See 
        117 Cong. Rec. 24720-23, 92d Cong. 1st Sess. (H. Rept. No. 92-
        349). The Speaker held in that case that ``the report is of 
        such high privilege under the inherent constitutional powers of 
        the House and under Rule IX that the provisions of clause 27(d) 
        (4) of Rule XI are not applicable.''
            See also the dicta of Speaker Frederick H. Gillett (Mass.), 
        at 6 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 48, that impeachment charges were 
        privileged for immediate consideration due to their 
        particularly privileged status under the U.S. Constitution.
            These arguments seem persuasive with respect to impeachment 
        cases when reported.
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Privilege of Reports as to Discontinuance of Impeachment Proceedings

Sec. 7.5 Reports proposing discontinuance of impeachment proceedings 
    are privileged for immediate consideration when reported from the 
    Committee on the Judiciary.

    On Feb. 13, 1932, Mr. Hatton W. Sumners, of Texas, offered House 
Report No. 444 and House Resolution 143, discontinuing impeachment 
proceedings against Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon. He offered 
the report as privileged and it was immediately considered and adopted 
by the House.(11)
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11. 75 Cong. Rec. 3850, 72d Cong. 1st Sess.
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    On Mar. 24, 1939, Mr. Sam Hobbs, of Alabama, called up a privileged 
report of the Committee on the Judiciary on House Resolution 67, which 
report recommended against the impeachment of Secretary of Labor 
Frances Perkins. The report was called up as privileged and the House 
immediately agreed to Mr. Hobbs' motion to lay the report on the 
table.(12)
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12. 84 Cong. Rec. 3273, 76th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Calendaring and Printing of Impeachment Reports

Sec. 7.6 Reports of the Committee on the Judiciary recommending 
    impeachment of civil officers and judges of

[[Page 2062]]

    the United States are referred to the House Calendar and ordered 
    printed.

    A committee report on the impeachment of a federal civil officer is 
referred to the House Calendar, ordered printed, and may be printed in 
full in the Record either by resolution or pursuant to a unanimous 
consent request.(13)
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13. 48 Cong. Rec. 8697, 8698, 62d Cong. 2d Sess., July 8, 1912 (Judge 
        Robert Archbald); see also H. Rept. No. 653, 67 Cong. Rec. 
        6280, 69th Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 25, 1926 (Judge George 
        English), printed in full in the Record by unanimous consent; 
        H. Rept. No. 2025, 80 Cong. Rec. 2528, 74th Cong. 2d Sess., 
        Feb. 20, 1936 (Judge Halsted Ritter); H. Rept. No. 1305, 120 
        Cong. Rec. 29219, 93d Cong. 2d Sess., Aug. 20, 1974 (President 
        Richard Nixon), printed in full in the Record pursuant to H. 
        Res. 1333, 120 Cong. Rec. 29361, 29362.
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Report Submitted Without Resolution of impeachment

Sec. 7.7 President Richard Nixon having resigned following the decision 
    of the Committee on the Judiciary to report to the House 
    recommending his impeachment, the committee's report, without an 
    accompanying resolution, was submitted to and accepted by the 
    House.

    The Committee on the Judiciary considered proposed articles of 
impeachment against President Nixon and adopted articles, as amended, 
on July 27, 29, and 30, 1974. Before the committee report with articles 
of impeachment were reported to the House, the President resigned his 
office. The committee's report was therefore submitted to the House 
without an accompanying resolution of impeachment. The report 
summarized in detail the evidence against the President and the 
committee's investigation and consideration of impeachment charges, and 
included supplemental, additional, separate, dissenting, minority, and 
concurring views as to the separate articles, the evidence before the 
committee and its sufficiency for impeachment, and the standards and 
grounds for impeachment of federal and civil officers.
    The committee's recommendation read as follows:

        The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the 
    consideration of recommendations concerning the exercise of the 
    constitutional power to impeach Richard M. Nixon, President of the 
    United States, having considered the same, reports thereon pursuant 
    to H. Res. 803 as follows and recommends that the House exercise 
    its constitutional power to impeach Richard M. Nixon, President of 
    the United States, and that articles of impeachment be exhibited to 
    the Senate as follows: . . .(14)
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14. H. Rept. No. 93-1305, at p. 1, Committee on the Judiciary, printed 
        in the Record at 120 Cong. Rec.  29219, 93d Cong. 2d Sess., 
        Aug. 20, 1974. For complete text of H. Rept. No. 93-1305, see 
        id. at pp 29219-361.

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[[Page 2063]]

    The report was referred by the Speaker to the House Calendar, and 
accepted and ordered printed in full in the Record pursuant to the 
following resolution, agreed to under suspension of the rules, which 
acknowledged the intervening resignation of the President:

                                H. Res. 1333

        Resolved, That the House of Representatives
        (1) takes notice that
        (a) the House of Representatives, by House Resolution 803, 
    approved February 6, 1974, authorized and directed the Committee on 
    the Judiciary to investigate fully and completely whether 
    sufficient grounds existed for the House of Representatives to 
    exercise its constitutional power to impeach Richard M. Nixon, 
    President of the United States of America; and
        (b) the Committee on the Judiciary, after conducting a full and 
    complete investigation pursuant to House Resolution 803, voted on 
    July 27, 29, and 30, 1974 to recommend Articles of impeachment 
    against Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States of 
    America; and
        (c) Richard M. Nixon on August 9, 1974 resigned the Office of 
    President of the United States of America;

        (2) accepts the report submitted by the Committee on the 
    Judiciary pursuant to House Resolution 803 (H. Rept. 93-1305) and 
    authorizes and directs that the said report, together with 
    supplemental, additional, separate, dissenting, minority, 
    individual and concurring views, be printed in full in the 
    Congressional Record and as a House Document; and
        (3) commends the chairman and other members of the Committee on 
    the Judiciary for their conscientious and capable efforts in 
    carrying out the Committee's responsibilities under House 
    Resolution 803.(15)
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15. 120 Cong. Rec. 29361, 93d Cong. 2d Sess., Aug. 20, 1974.
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Reports Discontinuing Impeachment Proceedings

Sec. 7.8 The Committee on the Judiciary unanimously agreed to report 
    adversely a resolution authorizing an impeachment investigation 
    into the conduct of the Secretary of Labor.

    On Mar. 24, 1939,(16) a privileged report of the 
Committee on the Judiciary was presented to the House; the report was 
adverse to a resolution (H. Res. 67) authorizing an investigation of 
impeachment charges against Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins and two 
other officials of the Labor Department:
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16. 84 Cong. Rec. 3273, 76th Cong. 1st Sess.
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                  Impeachment Proceedings--Frances Perkins

        Mr. [Sam] Hobbs [of Alabama]: Mr. Speaker, by direction of the 
    Committee

[[Page 2064]]

    on the Judiciary I present a privileged report upon House 
    Resolution 67, which I send to the desk.
        The Speaker: (17) The Clerk will report the 
    resolution.
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17. William B. Bankhead (Ala.).
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        The Clerk read House Resolution 67.
        Mr. Hobbs: Mr. Speaker, this is a unanimous report from the 
    Committee on the Judiciary adversing this resolution. I move to lay 
    the resolution on the table.
        The Speaker: The question is on the motion of the gentleman 
    from Alabama to lay the resolution on the table.
        The motion was agreed to.

Sec. 7.9 Where an impeachment resolution was pending before the 
    Committee on the Judiciary, and the official charged resigned, the 
    committee reported out a resolution recommending that the further 
    consideration of the charges be discontinued.

    On Feb. 13, 1932,(18) the Committee on the Judiciary 
reported adversely on impeachment charges and its resolution was 
adopted by the House:
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18. 75 Cong. Rec. 3850, 72d Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Impeachment Charges--Report From Committee on the Judiciary

        Mr. [Hatton W.] Sumners of Texas: Mr. Speaker, I offer a report 
    from the Committee on the Judiciary, and I would like to give 
    notice that immediately upon the reading of the report I shall move 
    the previous question.
        The Speaker: (19) The gentleman from Texas offers a 
    report, which the Clerk will read.
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19. John N. Garner (Tex.).
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        The Clerk read the report, as follows:

            House of Representatives--Relative to the Action of the 
         Committee on the Judiciary With Reference to House Resolution 
                                       92

            Mr. Sumners of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 
        submitted the following report (to accompany H. Res. 143):
            I am directed by the Committee on the Judiciary to submit 
        to the House, as its report to the House, the following 
        resolution adopted by the Committee on the Judiciary indicating 
        its action with reference to House Resolution No. 92 heretofore 
        referred by the House to the Committee on the Judiciary:
            Whereas Hon. Wright Patman, Member of the House of 
        Representatives, filed certain impeachment charges against Hon. 
        Andrew W. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury, which were 
        referred to this committee; and
            Whereas pending the investigation of said charges by said 
        committee, and before said investigation had been completed, 
        the said Hon. Andrew W. Mellon was nominated by the President 
        of the United States for the post of ambassador to the Court of 
        St. James and the said nomination was duly confirmed by the 
        United States Senate pursuant to law, and the said Andrew W. 
        Mellon has resigned the position of Secretary of the Treasury: 
        Be it
            Resolved by this committee, That the further consideration 
        of the said charges made against the said Andrew W. Mellon, as 
        Secretary of the Treasury, be, and the same are hereby 
        discontinued.

[[Page 2065]]

                               Minority Views

            We can not join in the majority views and findings. While 
        we concur in the conclusions of the majority that section 243 
        of the Revised Statutes, upon which the proceedings herein were 
        based, provides for action in the nature of an ouster 
        proceeding, it is our view that the Hon. Andrew W. Mellon, the 
        former Secretary of the Treasury, having removed himself from 
        that office, no useful purpose would be served by continuing 
        the investigation of the charges filed by the Hon. Wright 
        Patman. We desire to stress that the action of the undersigned 
        is based on that reason alone, particularly when the 
        prohibition contained in said section 243 is not applicable to 
        the office now held by Mr. Mellon.

                    Fiorello H. LaGuardia.
                    Gordon Browning.
                    M. C. Tarver.
                    Francis B. Condon.

        Mr. Sumners of Texas: Mr. Speaker I think the resolution is 
    fairly explanatory of the views held by the different members of 
    the committee. No useful purpose could be served by the consumption 
    of the usual 40 minutes, so I move the previous question.
        The previous question was ordered.
        The Speaker: The question is on agreeing to the resolution.
        The resolution was agreed to.

Sec. 7.10 On one occasion, the Committee on the Judiciary reported 
    adversely on impeachment charges, finding the evidence did not 
    warrant impeachment, but the House rejected the report and voted 
    for impeachment.

    On Feb. 24, 1933, the House considered House Resolution 387 (H. 
Rept. No. 2065) from the Committee on the Judiciary, which included the 
finding that charges against Judge Harold Louderback did not warrant 
impeachment. Under a previous unanimous-consent agreement, an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute, recommended by the minority of the 
committee and impeaching the accused, was offered. The previous 
question was ordered on the amendment and it was adopted by the 
House.(20)
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20. 76 Cong. Rec. 4913-25, 72d Cong. 2d Sess. For analyses of the 
        Louderback proceedings in the House, see Sec. Sec. 17.1-17.4, 
        infra, and 6 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 514.
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