[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 111th Congress]
[111st Congress]
[House Document 110-162]
[The United States Constitution]
[Pages 65-77]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


 

                               ARTICLE II.




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




[[Page 66]]




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.





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 because their number 
was not sufficient to affect the result and 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).



[[Page 67]]

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 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.

  \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



<>   \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).



[[Page 68]]


  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 statute 
also provides 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.





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




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).




[[Page 69]]


  Congress also has 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 is established by law (3 U.S.C. 
102). In addition, the law provides an expense allowance (3 U.S.C. 102) 
and a travel allowance (3 U.S.C. 103).




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.''




[[Page 70]]




Sec. 159. Inauguration of the President.

  The  taking of this 
oath, which is termed the inauguration, is made the occasion of certain 
ceremonies that 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 inclement 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., 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.




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

  The   93d 
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 under this clause. For further discussion of the reports to 
Congress required and the procedure for congressional action provided 
under Public Law 93-148, see Sec. 128, supra.





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 on August 9, 1974, following 
the decision of the Committee on the Judiciary to report to the House a 
recommendation of impeachment (H. Rept. 93-1305, Aug. 20, 1974, p. 
29219).



[[Page 71]]

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.



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



  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. For a discussion of the role of the House with respect to 
treaties affecting revenue, see Sec. 597, infra.




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; * * *



[[Page 72]]

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).
  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 
protocol 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. A message in writing is usually communicated 
to both Houses on the same day, but an accompanying document can 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



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, the President 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 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).


  When the President has expressed desire to address Congress in person 
a concurrent resolution is adopted by both Houses arranging for a joint 
session to receive the message. The Speaker presides and the President 
of the Senate (the Vice President) sits to the right of the Speaker, but 
in the absence of the Vice President, the President pro tempore sits to 
the left of the Speaker (Nov. 27, 1963, p. 22838).



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). Although a message of the President is always read, 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).


[[Page 73]]

occasion 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).

* * * <> 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.

  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 on




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.



[[Page 74]]



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 (a statute currently ineffective 
under 28 U.S.C. 599) 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. 21560).



[[Page 75]]

written questions from the Committee on the Judiciary), only the first 
and third were adopted by the House (Dec. 19, 1998, p. 28110). The 
President was acquitted by the Senate on each article (Feb. 12, 1999, p. 
2376).


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 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). Although 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 office, whether moral, intellectual, or physical 
(III, 2015), 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 
as a cause for impeachment (III, 2404, 2508, 2509, 2516, 2517). There 
also has 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, 1998, p. 
27828). 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




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


  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 that is a serious dereliction from public duty and (2) for 
nonjudicial conduct that 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 (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 (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 recommended impeachment of 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).


[[Page 76]]

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.
  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

  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 criminal trial (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.


[[Page 77]]

  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 (Sept. 11, 1998, p. 20020). 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 (Oct. 
8, 1998, p. 24679). 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 (Dec. 17, 1998, p. 27819). The chair of 
the Committee on the Judiciary called up the resolution on December 18, 
1998 (p. 27828).

  In 2008, the House agreed to an unreported resolution authorizing an 
impeachment inquiry of a federal district judge by the Committee on the 
Judiciary and investing it with special investigative authorities to 
facilitate the inquiry (Sept. 17, 2008, p. _), which was continued in 
the next Congress (Jan. 13, 2009, p. _).

  In 2009, 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 Samuel B. Kent for high crimes 
and misdemeanors specified in 4 articles of impeachment, some of them 
addressing allegations on which the judge had been convicted in a 
Federal criminal trial (111th Cong., June 19, 2009, 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. 27825). To a privileged resolution of impeachment, an 
amendment proposing instead censure, which is not privileged, was held 
not germane (Dec. 19, 1998, p. 28100).




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