Impeachment

Impeachment is a way to remove government officers from office in some countries.

Impeachment in the United States is how the House of Representatives brings charges against either the President, the Vice President, or any federal officer for wrongdoings they are said to have committed. Most impeachments in the United States have been of judges.

Impeachment is like an indictment, which is something that the prosecutor needs to get before a trial. Someone is impeached when a legislature votes to do that. Later, there is another vote on whether or not to convict someone, which means they are made guilty. The second vote may be by the same people who did the impeachment, or someone else as in a bicameral legislature. Several different types of office holders may be impeached, but cases against the President or leader of a country usually attract the most attention.

The impeachment trial of Warren Hastings, Governor-General of the Calcutta Presidency, lasted for years and ended in his acquittal. Two well-known heads of state who were impeached and removed from office were Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff in 2016 and South Korean president Park Geun-hye in 2017. Three President of the United States were impeached: Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. Trump was officially impeached twice by the house of representatives. None of these was removed from office by impeachment. President Richard Nixon resigned from the office of President before the House could impeach him, resulting in him being the only U.S. president to resign.