How to Impeach a President

Donald Trump pauses during a campaign event September 6, 2016 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. (Getty)

Google searches for “How to impeach a president” rose by almost 5,000% on Wednesday, according to Metro UK. Google Trends show that the top five states searching this question were Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado.

Donald Trump won the presidency Tuesday night, raking in 279 electoral votes. When polls began pointing towards a Trump triumph, the Canadian citizenship website crashed, and Google searches for “Move to Canada” spiked to an all-time high.

The Inquisitr writes, “The question of whether Donald Trump could face impeachment has actually been floating around for several months, even before he wrapped up the Republican nomination.”

The Process

Presidential impeachment requires votes in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. First, the House of Representative must determine whether or not there are grounds to impeach the President. If the House decides that there are, the Senate holds an impeachment trial. Senators are sworn in during the proceedings.

Specifically, the House Judiciary Committee must put together a list of the Articles of impeachment for the House of Representatives to vote on. If the majority votes to approve the charges, then the issue must go to trial.

The Senate then holds a trial in which the President is represented by his lawyers. A select group of House members serve as the prosecutors, and the Senate privately meets afterwards to debate whether or not to remove the President from office. A 2/3 vote by the Senate results in an official conviction.

Which Presidents Have Been Impeached

Historically, only two presidents have been impeached, and neither was convicted. The first was Andrew Johnson, the 17th president, who was accused of violating the Tenure of Office Act. The House impeached Johnson, but the Senate acquitted him later that year.

Bill Clinton was also impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice after misleading a grand jury about his extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky. The Senate acquitted Clinton of both charges.

Grounds for Impeachment

Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution reads, “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.” These include: Acts of treason, bribery, other high crimes or misdemeanors.