[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 108th Congress]
[108th Congress]
[House Document 107-284]
[The United States Constitution]
[Pages 64-76]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]


 

                               ARTICLE II.


[[Page 65]]

years, and together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, 
be elected, as follows:



Sec. 149. Terms of the President and Vice 
President.

  Section 1. \1\The  executive Power shall be vested in a President of the 
United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of 
four





Sec. 150. Commencement of President's term of 
office.

  George  Washington took the oath of office, as the first President on 
April 30, 1789 (III, 1986). The two Houses of the First Congress found, 
after examination by a joint committee, that by provisions made in the 
Federal Constitution and by the Continental Congress, the term of the 
President had, notwithstanding begun on March 4, 1789 (I, 3). The 20th 
amendment, declared to have been ratified on February 6, 1933, provides 
that Presidential terms shall end and successor terms shall begin at 
noon on January 20. Thus, Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term began on 
March 4, 1933, but ended at noon on January 20, 1937. Formerly, when 
March 4 fell on Sunday, the public inauguration of the President 
occurred at noon on March 5 (III, 1996; VI, 449). Following ratification 
of the 20th amendment, the first time inauguration day fell on Sunday 
was January 20, 1957, and Dwight David Eisenhower took the oath for his 
second term in a private ceremony at the White House on that day 
followed by a public inauguration ceremony on the steps of the East 
Front of the Capitol on Monday, January 21, 1957. A similar scenario was 
followed at the beginning of President Reagan's second term, with the 
oath being given at the White House on January 20, 1985, followed by a 
public ceremony on Monday, January 21, in the Rotunda of the Capitol. 
The 22d amendment provides that no person shall be elected President 
more than twice.





Sec. 151. Electors of President and Vice President and 
their qualifications.

  \2\Each  State shall appoint, in such Manner as the 
Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole 
Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be 
entitled in the Congress; but no Senator or Representative, or Person 
holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be 
appointed an Elector.




[[Page 66]]




Sec. 152. Questions as to qualifications of 
electors.

  Questions  of the qualifications of electors have arisen, and in one 
instance certain ones were found disqualified, but as their number was 
not sufficient to affect the result and as there was doubt as to what 
tribunal should pass on the question the votes were counted (III, 1941). 
In other cases there were objections, but the votes were counted (III, 
1972-1974, 1979). In one instance an elector found to be disqualified 
resigned both offices, whereupon he was made eligible to fill the 
vacancy thus caused among electors (III, 1975).



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more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot 
the Vice-President.]



Sec. 152a. Original provision for failure of electoral 
college to choose, superseded by 12th amendment.

  \3\[The  Electors shall meet 
in their respective States and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom 
one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with 
themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and 
of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, 
and transmit sealed to the Seat of Government of the United States, 
directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate 
shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open 
all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person 
having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such 
Number be a majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed: and if 
there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number 
of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by 
Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then 
from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like manner 
chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be 
taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A 
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two 
thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be 
necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, 
the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be 
the Vice President. But if there should remain two or



<>   \4\The Congress may determine the Time of chusing 
the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which 
Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

  This third clause of article II, section 1 was superseded by the 12th 
amendment (see Sec. Sec. 219-223, infra).


  The time for choosing electors has been fixed on ``the Tuesday next 
after the first Monday in November, in every fourth year''; and the 
electors in each State ``meet and give in their votes on the first 
Monday after the second Wednesday in December next following their 
appointment, at such place in each State as the legislature of such 
State shall direct'' (III, 1914; VI, 438; 3 U.S.C. 1, 7). The statutes 
also provide for transmitting to the President of the Senate 
certificates of the appointment of the electors and of their votes (III, 
1915-1917; VI, 439; 3 U.S.C. 11).



Sec. 154. Qualifications of President of the United 
States.

  \5\No  Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the 
United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall 
be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be 
eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty 
five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.



[[Page 68]]

as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the 
Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.



Sec. 155. Succession in case of removal, death, 
resignation, or disability of President and Vice President.

  \6\In  Case of 
the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, 
or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the 
Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law 
provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both 
of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then 
act




Sec. 156. Resignation of the President.

  Amendment  XXV 
provides for filling a vacancy in the Office of the Vice 
President and, when the President is unable to perform the duties of his 
office, for the Vice President to assume those powers and duties as 
Acting President. During the 93d Congress, President Richard M. Nixon 
resigned from office on August 9, 1974, by delivering a signed 
resignation to the Office of the Secretary of State, 
pursuant to 3 U.S.C. 20. Pursuant to amendment XXV, Vice President 
Gerald R. Ford became President and the House and Senate confirmed his 
nominee, Nelson A. Rockefeller, to become Vice President (December 19, 
1974, p. 41516).



  Congress has also provided for the performance of the duties of the 
President in case of removal, death, resignation or inability, both of 
the President and Vice President (3 U.S.C. 19).




Sec. 157. Compensation of President.

  \7\The  President shall, 
at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall 
neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall 
have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other 
Emolument from the United States, or any of them.



  The compensation of the President, formerly fixed at $200,000 per 
annum (3 U.S.C. 102), was increased to $400,000, effective January 20, 
2001 (P.L. 106-59). In addition the law provides an expense allowance of 
$50,000 (3 U.S.C. 102), and authorizes a travel allowance of not to 
exceed $100,000 (3 U.S.C. 103).



[[Page 69]]




Sec. 158. Oath of the President.

  \8\Before  he enter on the 
Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or 
Affirmation:--``I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully 
execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the 
best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the 
United States.''





Sec. 159. Inauguration of the President.

  The  taking of this 
oath, which is termed the inauguration, is made the occasion of certain 
ceremonies which are arranged for by a joint committee of the two Houses 
(III, 1998, 1999; VI, 451). For many years the oath was normally taken 
at the east portico of the Capitol, although in earlier years it was 
taken in the Senate Chamber or Hall of the House (III, 1986-1995). On 
March 4, 1909, owing to inclemency of the weather, the President-elect 
took the oath and delivered his inaugural address in the Senate Chamber 
(VI, 447). And when Vice President Fillmore succeeded to the vacancy in 
the Office of President, Congress being in session, he 
took the oath in the Hall of the House in the presence of the Senate and 
House (III, 1997). In 1945 Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had been elected 
for his fourth term as President, took the oath of office on the south 
portico at the White House. On August 9, 1974, Gerald R. Ford, who as 
Vice President succeeded to the Presidency following the resignation of 
President Nixon on that day, was sworn in in the East Room of the White 
House. The West Front of the Capitol was first used for the inaugural 
ceremony for Ronald W. Reagan, Jan. 20, 1981. Because of extreme cold, 
the public administration of the oath was for the first time held in the 
Rotunda of the Capitol, rather than on the West Front, as scheduled, on 
January 21, 1985. Permission for such use is authorized by concurrent 
resolution (see, e.g., S. Con. Res. 144, 98th Cong. Oct. 9, 1984, p. 
30926).





Sec. 160. The President the Commander in 
Chief.

  Section 2. \1\The  President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of 
the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called 
into the actual Service of the United States; he may require 
the <> Opinion, 
in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive 
Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their 
respective <> Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and 
Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of 
Impeachment.



[[Page 70]]

gress required and the procedure for congressional action provided under 
Public Law 93-148, see Sec. 128, supra.


Sec. 163. War powers of Congress and the President.

  In  the 
93d Congress, the Congress passed over the President's veto Public Law 
93-148, relating to the power of Congress to declare war under article 
I, section 8, clause 11 (Sec. 127, supra) and the power of the President 
as Commander in Chief. For further discussion of the reports to Con





Sec. 164. Pardon of former President.

  In  1974, President 
Ford exercised his power under the last phrase of this clause by 
pardoning former President Nixon for any crimes he might have committed 
during a certain period in office (Proclamation 4311, September 8, 
1974). The former President had resigned following an impeachment 
inquiry in the House and the decision of the Committee on the Judiciary 
to report to the House recommending his impeachment by the House (Aug. 
20, 1974, p. 29219).





Sec. 165. President makes treaties.

  \2\He  shall have Power, 
by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, 
provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall 
nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall 
appoint Ambassadors, <> other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme 
Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments 
are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by 
Law; but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior 
Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of 
Law, or in the Heads of Departments.




[[Page 71]]


  The power of the President to appoint diplomatic representatives to 
foreign governments and to determine their rank is derived from the 
Constitution and may not be circumscribed by statutory enactments (VII, 
1248). In Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976) the Supreme Court held 
that any appointee exercising significant authority (not merely internal 
delegable authorities within the legislative branch) pursuant to the 
laws of the United States is an Officer of the United States and must 
therefore be appointed pursuant to this clause, and that Congress cannot 
by law vest such appointment authority in its own officers or require 
that Presidential appointments be subject to confirmation by both 
Houses.




Sec. 167. President's power to fill vacancies during 
recess of the Senate.

  \3\The  President shall have Power to fill up all 
Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting 
Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.





Sec. 168. Messages from the President.

  Section 3.  He shall 
from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the 
Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall 
judge necessary and expedient; * * *


  In the early years of the Government the President made a speech to 
Congress on its assembling (V, 6629), but in 1801 President Jefferson 
discontinued this practice and transmitted a message in writing. This 
precedent was followed until April 8, 1913, when the custom of 
addressing Congress in person was resumed by President Wilson and, with 
the exception of President Hoover (VIII, 3333) has been followed 
generally by subsequent Presidents. Only messages of major importance 
are delivered in person. A message in writing is usually communicated to 
both Houses on the same day, but an original document accompanying can 
of course be sent to but one House (V, 6616, 6617). The President's 
State of the Union message delivered in person to the 95th Congress, 
second Session, together with separate hand-delivered written messages, 
were referred on motion to the Union Calendar and ordered printed (Jan. 
19, 1978, p. 152). In early years confidential messages were often sent 
and considered in secret session of the House (V, 7251, 7252).



Sec. 169. Messages required by law.

  By  law (31 U.S.C. 1105), 
the President is required to transmit the Budget to Congress on or after 
the first Monday in January but not later than the first Monday in 
February each year. In addition, he is required to submit a supplemental 
budget summary by July 16 each year (31 U.S.C. 1106). Submission of the 
Economic Report of the President is required within 10 days after the 
submission of the January budget (15 U.S.C. 1022). The Congressional 
Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 601) requires the 
transmittal to Congress by the President of amendments and revisions 
related to the budget on or before April 10 and July 15 of each year. In 
addition, the Act provides for the transmittal of messages proposing 
rescissions and deferrals of budget authority (2 U.S.C. 682).



[[Page 72]]

President pro tempore sits to the left of the Speaker (Nov. 27, 1963, p. 
22838). The Speaker presides.
  When the President has indicated that he will address Congress in 
person a concurrent resolution is adopted by both Houses arranging for a 
joint session to receive the message. At the appointed hour the Members 
of the Senate arrive. The President of the Senate (the Vice President) 
sits to the right of the Speaker, but in the absence of the Vice 
President, the



Sec. 170. Reception of messages from the 
President.

  The  ceremony of receiving a message in writing is simple (V, 
6591), and may occur during consideration of a question of privilege (V, 
6640-6642) or before the organization of the House (V, 6647-6649) and in 
the absence of a quorum (V, 6650; VIII, 3339; clause 7 of rule XX).



* * * <> he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both 
Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, 
with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such 
Time as he shall think proper; * * *

  But, with the exception of vetoes, messages are regularly laid before 
the House only at the time prescribed by the rule for the order of 
business (V, 6635-6638) within the discretion of the Speaker (VIII, 
3341). While a message of the President is always read in full the 
latest rulings have not permitted the reading of the accompanying 
documents to be demanded as a matter of right (V, 5267-5271; VII, 1108). 
A concurrent resolution providing for a joint session to receive the 
President's message was held to be of the highest privilege (VIII, 
3335).


* * * <> he shall receive Ambassadors and other 
public Ministers; he shall take Care That the Laws be faithfully 
executed, and shall Commission all the officers of the United States.


[[Page 73]]


  In certain exigencies the President may convene Congress at a place 
other than the seat of government (I, 2; 2 U.S.C. 27). Congress has 
frequently been convened by the President (I, 10, 11; Nov. 17, 1947, p. 
10578; July 26, 1948, p. 9362), and in one instance, when Congress had 
provided by law for meeting, the President called it together on an 
earlier day (I, 12). The Congress having adjourned on July 27, 1947, p. 
10521, and on June 20, 1948, p. 9350, to a day certain, the President 
called it together on an earlier date than that to which it adjourned 
(Nov. 17, 1947, p. 10577; July 26, 1948, p. 9362). There has been some 
discussion as to whether or not there is a distinction between a session 
called by the President and other sessions of Congress (I, 12, 
footnote).




Sec. 173. Impeachment of civil officers.

  Section 4.  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.




Sec. 174. As to the officers who may be impeached.

  In  the 
Blount trial the managers contended that all citizens of the United 
States were liable to impeachment, but this contention was not admitted 
(III, 2315), and in the Belknap trial both managers and counsel for 
respondent agreed that a private citizen, apart from offense in an 
office, might not be impeached (III, 2007). But resignation of the 
office, does not prevent impeachment for crime or misdemeanor therein 
(III, 2007, 2317, 2444, 2445, 2459, 2509). In Blount's case it was 
decided that a Senator was not a civil officer within the meaning of the 
impeachment provisions of the Constitution (III, 2310, 2316). Questions 
have also arisen as to whether or not the Congressional Printer (III, 
1785), or a vice consul-general (III, 2515), might be impeached. 
Proceedings for the impeachment of territorial judges have been taken in 
several instances (III, 2486, 2487, 2488), although various opinions 
have been given that such an officer is not impeachable (III, 2022, 
2486, 2493). A committee of the House by majority vote held a 
Commissioner of the District of Columbia not to be a civil officer 
subject to impeachment under the Constitution (VI, 548). An independent 
counsel appointed under 28 U.S.C. 593 may be impeached under 28 U.S.C. 
596(a), and a resolution impeaching such an independent counsel 
constitutes a question of the privileges of the House under rule IX 
(Sept. 23, 1998, p. ----).



[[Page 74]]

office, whether moral, intellectual, or physical (III, 2015), yet the 
House has impeached judges for improper personal habits (III, 2328, 
2505), and in the impeachment of the President one of the articles 
charged him with ``intemperate, inflammatory, and scandalous harangues'' 
in public addresses, tending to the harm of the Government (III, 2420). 
There was no conviction under these charges except in the single case of 
Judge Pickering, who was charged with intoxication on the bench (III, 
2328-2341). As to the impeachment of judges for other delinquencies, 
there has been much contention as to whether they may be impeached for 
any breach of good behavior (III, 2011, 2016, 2497), or only for 
judicial misconduct occurring in the actual administration of justice in 
connection with the court (III, 2010, 2013, 2017). The intent of the 
judge (III, 2014, 2382) as related to mistakes of the law, and the 
relations of intent to conviction have been discussed at length (III, 
2014, 2381, 2382, 2518, 2519). The statutes make nonresidence of a judge 
an impeachable offense, and the House has taken steps to impeach for 
this cause (III, 2476, 2512). There has, however, been some question as 
to the power of Congress to make an impeachable offense (III, 2014, 
2015, 2021, 2512). Usurpation of power has been examined several times 
in its relations as a cause for impeachment (III, 2404, 2508, 2509, 
2516, 2517). There has also been discussion as to whether or not there 
is distinction between a misdemeanor and a high misdemeanor (III, 2270, 
2367, 2492). Review of impeachments in Congress showing the nature of 
charges upon which impeachments have been brought and judgments of the 
Senate thereon (VI, 466). The report accompanying a resolution to 
impeach President Clinton, and the debate in the House thereon, included 
discussion of the nature of an impeachable offense (H. Rept. 105-830; 
Dec. 18-19, 1998, pp. ----). Of the four articles of impeachment of 
President Clinton reported by the Committee on the Judiciary ((1) 
perjury in grand jury, (2) perjury in a civil deposition, (3) 
obstruction of justice, and (4) improper responses to written questions 
from the Committee on the Judiciary), only the first and third were 
adopted by the House (H. Res. 611, Dec. 19, 1998, p. ----). The 
President was acquitted by the Senate on each article (Feb. 12, 1999, p. 
----).


Sec. 175. Nature of impeachable offenses.

  As  to what are 
impeachable offenses there has been much discussion (III, 2008, 2019, 
2020, 2356, 2362, 2379-2381, 2405, 2406, 2410, 2498, 2510; VI, 455; 
Impeachment of Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States, 
Committee on the Judiciary, H. Rept. 93-1305, Aug. 20, 1974, p. 29219; 
Associate Justice William O. Douglas, Final Report by the Special 
Subcommittee on H. Res. 920, Committee on the Judiciary, Sept. 17, 1970; 
Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United 
States, H. Rept. 105-830, Dec. 16, 1998). For a time the theory that 
indictable offenses only were impeachable was stoutly maintained and as 
stoutly denied (III, 2356, 2360-2362, 2379-2381, 2405, 2406, 2410, 
2416); but on the 10th and 11th articles of the impeachment of the 
President (Andrew Johnson) the House concluded to impeach for other than 
indictable offenses (III, 2418), and in the Swayne trial the theory was 
definitely abandoned (III, 2019). While there has not been definite 
concurrence in the claim of the managers in the trial of the President 
that an impeachable offense is any misbehavior that shows 
disqualification to hold and exercise the



[[Page 75]]

Ritter v. United States, 84 Ct. Cls. 293 (1936), cert. denied, 300 U.S. 
668 (1937).


Sec. 176. Later impeachment inquiries.

  The  articles of 
impeachment adopted by the House in 1936 against Judge Ritter charged a 
variety of judicial misconduct, including violations of criminal law; 
the seventh and general article, upon which Judge Ritter was convicted 
by the Senate, charged general misconduct to bring his court into 
scandal and disrepute and to destroy public confidence in his court and 
in the judicial system (Impeachment by the House, Mar. 2, 1936, p. 3091; 
Conviction by the Senate, Apr. 17, 1936, p. 5606). Following his 
conviction by the Senate, former Judge Ritter brought an action for back 
salary, contending that the Senate had tried and convicted him for 
nonimpeachable offenses. The U.S. Court of Claims held that the Senate's 
power to try impeachments was exclusive and not subject to judicial 
review.


  In 1970 a special subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary 
considered charges of impeachment against Associate Justice Douglas of 
the Supreme Court. The subcommittee recommended against his impeachment 
but concluded that a Federal judge could be impeached (1) for judicial 
conduct which is a serious dereliction from public duty and (2) for 
nonjudicial conduct which is criminal in nature (Associate Justice 
William O. Douglas, Final Report by the Special Subcommittee on H. Res. 
920, Committee on the Judiciary, September 17, 1970).

  In 1974 the Committee on the Judiciary investigated charges of 
impeachment against President Nixon (H. Res. 803, Feb. 6, 1974, p. 
2349), and determined to recommend his impeachment to the House. The 
President having resigned, the committee reported to the House without 
submitting a resolution of impeachment, and the House accepted the 
report by resolution (H. Res. 1333, Aug. 20, 1974, p. 29361). The report 
of the committee included the text of the three articles of impeachment 
adopted by the committee. The committee had concluded that impeachable 
offenses need not be indictable offenses and had impeached the President 
(1) for violating his oath of office and his duty under the Constitution 
by preventing, obstructing, and impeding the administration of justice; 
(2) for engaging in a course of conduct violating the constitutional 
rights of citizens, impairing the administration of justice, and 
contravening the laws governing executive agencies; and (3) for failing 
to honor subpoenas issued by the Committee on the Judiciary in the 
course of its impeachment inquiry (Impeachment of Richard M. Nixon, 
President of the United States, Committee on the Judiciary, H. Rept. 93-
1305, Aug. 20, 1974, printed in full in the Cong. Record, Aug. 22, 1974, 
p. 29219).

  In 1986, for the first time since 1936, the House agreed to a 
resolution impeaching a Federal district judge. Judge Harry Claiborne 
had been convicted of falsifying Federal income tax returns. His final 
appeal was denied by the Supreme Court in April, and he began serving 
his prison sentence in May. Because he declined to resign, however, 
Judge Claiborne was still receiving his judicial salary and, absent 
impeachment, would resume the bench on his release from prison. 
Consequently, a resolution of impeachment was introduced on June 3, and 
on July 16, the Committee on the Judiciary reported to the House four 
articles of impeachment against Judge Claiborne. On July 22, the 
resolution was called up as a question of privilege and agreed to by a 
recorded vote of 406 yeas, 0 nays. After trial in the Senate, Judge 
Claiborne was convicted on three of the four articles of impeachment and 
removed from office on October 9, 1986.


[[Page 76]]

criminal trial (H. Res. 499, 100th Cong., Aug. 3, 1988, p. 20206). No 
trial in the Senate was had before the adjournment of the 100th 
Congress. In the 101st Congress, the House reappointed managers to 
conduct this impeachment in the Senate (Jan. 3, 1989, p. 84); the Senate 
began its deliberations on March 15, 1989 (p. 4219); conviction and 
removal from office occurred on October 20, 1989 (p. 25335). Also in the 
101st Congress, the Senate convicted Federal district judge Walter L. 
Nixon on two of the three impeachment charges brought against him (Nov. 
3, 1989, p. 27101). For further discussion of the continuance of 
impeachment proceedings in a succeeding Congress, see Sec. 620, infra.
  In 1988, the House agreed to a resolution reported from the Committee 
on the Judiciary and called up as a question of the privileges of the 
House impeaching Federal district judge Alcee L. Hastings for high 
crimes and misdemeanors specified in 17 articles of impeachment, some of 
them addressing allegations on which the judge had been acquitted in a 
Federal

  In 1998 the House agreed to a privileged resolution reported from the 
Committee on Rules, referring to the Committee on the Judiciary a 
communication from an independent counsel transmitting under 28 U.S.C. 
595(c) evidence of possible impeachable offenses by President Clinton, 
and restricting access to the communication and to meetings and hearings 
thereon (H. Res. 525, Sept. 11, 1998, p. ----). Later, the House adopted 
a privileged resolution reported from the Committee on the Judiciary 
authorizing an impeachment inquiry by that committee and investing it 
with special investigative authorities to facilitate the inquiry (H. 
Res. 581, Oct. 8, 1998, p. ----). The Committee on the Judiciary filed 
with the House a privileged report accompanying a resolution containing 
four articles of impeachment against President Clinton that alleged: (1) 
the President gave perjurious, false, and misleading testimony to a 
grand jury; (2) the President gave perjurious, false, and misleading 
testimony in a Federal civil action; (3) the President prevented, 
obstructed, and impeded the administration of justice relating to a 
Federal civil action; and (4) the President abused his office, impaired 
the administration of justice, and contravened the authority of the 
legislative branch by his response to 81 written questions submitted by 
the Committee on the Judiciary (H. Res. 611, Dec. 17, 1998, p. ----). 
The chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary called up the resolution 
on December 18, 1998 (p. ----). A resolution offered from the floor to 
permit the Delegate of the District of Columbia to vote on the articles 
of impeachment was held not to constitute a question of the privileges 
of the House under rule IX (Dec. 18, 1998, p. ----). To a privileged 
resolution of impeachment, an amendment proposing instead censure, which 
is not privileged, was held not germane (Dec. 19, 1998, p. ----).




  For further discussion of impeachment proceedings, see Sec. Sec. 601-
620, infra; Sec. 31, supra, and Deschler, ch. 14.