Has any US president ever been impeached? If so, why was he impeached?
Ever since Donald Trump has taken charge of the office, people have been talking about impeaching him. For those of you who don’t know, impeachment is a tool to oust a sitting president from the power. As per the Constitution of the United States, a president can be impeached if he has been found guilty of bribery, treason, misdemeanors, obstruction of justice, abuse of power and other major crimes.In case you are wondering if any president has ever been impeached from the office then the answer would be yes and no. Wondering what it means? Well, keep reading.Presidents Who Have Been Impeached#1. Andrew Johnson#2. Bill Clinton
What would have happened to President Nixon if President Ford didn't pardon him?
Let’s take it a bit further. Ford’s biggest fear was that Nixon would not have stood trial instantly, and that the resulting subpoenas, indictments, continuances, depositions, and so forth might take up to two years, during which America’s prestige around the world would sink, along with the morale of the American people.Putting Nixon on trial in 1976 would have been disastrous for the nation. It would have completely ruined the Bicentennial celebrations, and it would have played havoc with the presidential election.In real life, the Democrats nominated Jimmy Carter, a Washington outsider who had nothing to do with Watergate. In the Republican party, the same impulse was strong, and Ford almost wasn’t nominated by his own party in 1976.In our alternate timeline, with Nixon on trial, the GOP would want to cleanse itself of any reference to Nixon, and would probably nominate Ronald Reagan.Heaven only knows if Ronald Reagan could have defeated Jimmy Carter in 1976.
Can Obama Be Impeached?
Doubtful. An elected official can only be impeached for unlawful activity. Impeached just means charges are brought. People forget that President Clinton was impeached, but was not found guilty. President Clinton was impeached for perjury as he lied under oath about having a relationship with then intern Monica Lewinsky, as well as obstruction of justice due to his lies. However, as I mentioned, he was not found guilty and remained in office. President Nixon was facing impeachment but resigned before they could bring formal charges. People, whether Democrat or Republican, can not be impeached for their interpretation of the Constitution, as long as it is legal. So whether Bush or Obama - as some people are just spewing crap on here to apparently earn Yahoo! Points - an actual crime must occur that can be proven, not just someones opinion on the President's view on a situation. Obama could have potentially been impeached for the Fast & Furious debacle, but another official took the heat for that and resigned and/or was terminated. http://www.themoralliberal.com/2013/01/21/gun-control-fast-and-furious-cover-up/ To the person who posted after me - that may have been the idea when that blog was published, but with another shooting, at another school, and in the Great State of Texas where this rep is from, I highly doubt this gains any ground. From your article: Stockman won Texas’s heavily Republican new 36th district in the fall, beating Democrat Max Martin by 44 points. The accountant and conservative activist served one term in Congress in the 1990s. During that time, he accused President Bill Clinton in a Guns & Ammo magazine article of raiding the Branch Davidian compound in Waco to justify a ban on assault weapons. The article came out just after the Oklahoma City bombing; he later said he regretted the timing. He is going to regret his timing, again. Unfortunately for the GOP. But, for someone from NY who have very strict gun laws, they really don't do much. People just engaged in illegal activity to obtain a gun that may be legal in another state. I already ran to Dick's Sporting Goods and bought a shotgun before they take all the guns away or have some crap database. "Oh, you had a speeding ticket when you were 23? Sorry, you can't bear arms (regardless of magazine sizes)."
Why did Nixon say, "When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal"?
Many apologists have answered your question, citing context, Nixon’s expertise, the distortions of the movie and other excuses to soften the quote. What he meant was what he meant. That he, as president, could do what he wanted.The movie had it right. This was the “gotcha” moment when a man revealed in a single statement the attitude of his entire presidency — that he and the White House were above the law. This hubris is what brought him down. Please remember, America, that although Nixon was fairly liberal by current GOP standards, although he started the EPA and went to China and all that, his men BROKE INTO Democratic party headquarters. They raised, with his tacit approval, hundreds of thousand in hush money. They broke into Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiarist’s office. They had an Enemies List. Nixon ordered the FBI to back off on Watergate (are you listening, James Comey fans?) and that was the “smoking gun” that brought him down. ALL of this is encapsulated in the single sentence — “when the president does it, it is not illegal.” Well. . . NO. If it’s illegal for me to do it, it is ILLEGAL for the president to do it. Or else we have no democracy.
Can a president run for reelection after impeachment?
Article 1, Section 3 of the Constitution has the clause…Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.Meaning, if an impeached President were to be convicted, one of the two penalties (generally one that would require a separate vote after the conviction passed, which automatically invokes the first penalty, removal from office) that is possible is “disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office…”. If the Senate voted to disqualify an impeached and convicted President from future office, he/she could never serve the office again. If they didn’t vote for such disqualification, and the President was still otherwise eligible for the job (had only been elected one term and not served more than two years of another President’s term), he/she could run again and, if elected again, become President again.
If Robert Kennedy had not been killed could he have beaten Nixon for the presidency?
Possible to likely. By ’68, JFK had reached legend status, and the sentimentality vote, the urge to complete his term would have measured heavily in the voter’s opinion. RFK was also personable, handsome and eloquent. Nixon was crotchety, not very good looking, and not the most polished speaker. RFK was for ending involvement in Vietnam, period. Nixon was promising a ‘win’ in a war that Walter Cronkite, a man many considered America’s conscience, had recently declared unwinnable. The counterculture movement possibly would have shown up to vote in numbers that Humphrey could never have mustered.Still, the Nixon machine was powerful and entrenched. Even with a challenge in the south from George Wallace, Nixon gained enough votes to carry the nation. If RFK could have rallied the black vote in the south, and stolen states from Wallace, the possibility of a Camelot 2.0 becomes even greater.
Are calls to impeach the President arcane and asinine, like former RNC Chairman Michael Steele claims?
Some of the Republicans in the House are relentless in trying to impeach the President and are saying that they have the votes in the House to do just that. These same members seem to not listen to any one who is rational and will bulldoze ahead, not caring if they hurt the Republican party or not.
Would Nixon have been able to get away with Watergate if he were President today?
If he were a democrat . . . YES. Many people believe that Obama has committed many more (and more serious) transgressions than Nixon ever did, but he is being protected by a sympathetic news media. Nixon was hated by the media, and therefore was given no quarter in trying to defend himself. Of course, that last part didn't matter since the tapes proved that Nixon was involved in the coverup "up to his eyeballs."The perfect comparison to today is the IRS scandal. It was revealed in one of the Watergate tapes that Nixon and one of his advisors (Haldeman or Ehrlichman, I forget which) that there was a meeting in which using the IRS to target political opponents was discussed. When this discussion came out, Nixon was excoriated in the press and this was one of the reasons the dems pushed for impeachment. This was seen as an unconscionable and unconstitutional political power grab. Keep in mind that Nixon NEVER APPROVED such a plan, and it never came up again for discussion in any subsequent meeting or conversation. It was JUST TALKED ABOUT. . . . ONE TIME.Fast forward to present day, where it is discovered that the IRS WAS USED to target Obama's political opponents (Tea Party, conservatives, gun owners, etc). Whether or not the president was directly involved is not known and the public is mostly unaware of it largely because the news media has provided cover for the administration by demonizing conservatives who are trying to get to the bottom of it while downplaying what is known and dismissing it as "GOP propaganda."The bottom line is this: If he'd had the political cover and PR protection from the media that Barack Obama has today, Richard Nixon would still be president . . . . and he's been dead since 1994.