Impeachment and Removal (High Crimes and Misdemeanors)

Impeachment and Removal (High Crimes and Misdemeanors)

The assignment is to read the file below that explains “high crimes and misdemeanors”. Beyond that, the professor suggests to read Federalist Papers #10, #65 and #66. The Federalist Papers are not law, but rather, this country’s most significant contribution to political philosophical thought. They were published as a way to advocate (anonymously under the pseudonym publius) for the adoption of a new Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation in 1787. Federalist #65 and #66 in particular discuss impeachment and removal and the arguments for how that process should be implemented. Importantly: In Federalist No. 65, Hamilton explained impeachment. He defined impeachable offenses as “those offences which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or in other words from the abuse or violation of some public trust. They are of a nature which may with peculiar propriety be denominated political, as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself. ”Federalists #10 is tangentially related as to the current divisive political climate.

It discusses the danger of factions in our society. Today many refer to this as tribalism. Once you have read those documents, and any other related documents you research on your own, please construct a 4 page paper that addresses the following issues: a. Summarize (in your own words) the history and meaning of the phrase “High Crimes and Misdemeanors. b. Having read the article(s), do you think Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton should have been impeached? Yes or no, and explain why, briefly. c. Explain the main arguments in favor and against the Impeachment of President Trump?(The professor is not concerned whether impeachment benefits the President or either political party politicallyand electorally. Rather, he is looking for a constitutional legal argument, regardless of party loyalty or party advantage. d. What are the consequences of impeaching or not impeaching President Trump? Does it matter that many Republicans in the Senate will refuse to vote to remove him? e. Do you believe President Trump should be impeached? Removed? Do you believe he is Constitutionally fit to be in office? (Not psychologically or medically, but fit in the sense of what it takes to serve the public interest and public trust, as the framers alluded to.