There is much controversy and confusion about whether a US Senator may be impeached. William Blount, a US Senator from Tennessee, was impeached in 1797. The US House of Representatives has the power to initiate Impeachment proceedings. There has been no court ruling or law enacted that changes that power and responsibility. The confusion over this matter apparently affects information on the ABA, American Bar Association website. Here is a question and answer segment regarding impeachment:
“Q. How many impeachment proceedings have there been in our history? How many involved a president?
A. The serious nature of impeachment is reflected in the fact that the House of Representatives has only moved seriously to impeach 18 officials in the more than 200 years since the Constitution was ratified, including two presidents, one cabinet member, one senator, and 13 judges. (The trial of the senator in 1797 resulted in the judgment that a United States Senator is not subject to impeachment.) Only seven of these officers were convicted by the Senate. A president has never been removed from office through the impeachment process. Andrew Johnson, who was impeached in 1868, was not convicted by the Senate (by a margin of one vote) and Richard Nixon resigned before the House voted on the articles of impeachment recommended by the Judiciary Committee.”
An email was sent to the ABA for a clarification on the above:
“(The trial of the senator in 1797 resulted in the judgment that a United States Senator is not subject to impeachment.)”
Are you implying that the Senate trial established law rather than what I believe is tradition or assumption?
It is my understanding that no court has ruled on this.
The House is empowerd to initiate Impeachment proceedings.
I await your answer.
Respectfully.
End of email
We would love to hear from the ABA.
On December 17, 1798, the Senate exercised its Constitutional “sole power to try all impeachments,” and initiated a Senate trial against Blount. Thomas Jefferson, as vice president, was president of the Senate and presided over the impeachment trial proceedings. Two months later, the charges against Blount were dismissed. The Senate determined it had no jurisdiction over its own members beyond its constitutional right to expel members by a two-thirds majority vote.
This was the opinion of the Senate at that time and no law was enacted and there was no court ruling.
For more information visit the Petition to Impeach Senator Obama site, check out the references and the petition, sign the petition and tell as many people as you can.
Barack Obama Impeachment 