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Show The Origins and Scope of Presidential Impeachment Matthew R. Romney politics, it is equally difficult to judge the accuracy of those statements, especially as they regard original intent. The drafting of the Constitution is certainly not the end of the impeachment story. The debate will continue as long as the impeachment power is wielded by the Congress, and each time it is, just as in Parliament, that precedent becomes a part of impeachment. Thus, it is clear that the inherent pragmatism of the historical development of impeachment means that neither English parliamentary precedent, nor colonial application, nor the Convention record can answer for us the question of what is "impeachable." But perhaps turning to the framers to define what is impeachable only obfuscates the issue. Perhaps they would not want us to. Perhaps they would expect each generation of Americans to decide for themselves the impeachment question. In that case, the most appropriate question to ask is not what is impeachable, but instead, what should be. References Cooke,JacobE.,Ed. 1961. The Federalist. Middletown, C T: Wesleyan University Press. Farrand, Max. 1911. Records fromthe Federal Convention, New Haven: Yale University Press. Hoffer, Peter C, and N.E.H. Hull. 1984- Impeachment in America, 1635-1805. New Haven: Yale University Press. Kenyon, Cecelia M. Ed. 1966. The Antifederalists, New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc. Labovitz, John R. 1978. Presidential Impeachment, New Haven and London: Yale University Press. McCurry, Mike. 1998. "September 21, 1998, Statement by the Press Secretary." Washington, DC. White House Office of the Press Secretary. McDonald, Forrest. 1998. Written Statement to the House Judiciary Committee, 9 November. (http: //www. house.gov/judici ary/2 2393.htm) Melton, BucknerF, Jr. 1998. The First Impeachment: The Constitutions Framers and the Case of Senator William Blount, Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. Plucknett, TFT. 1983. Studies in English Legal History, London: The Hambledon Press. Staff of the Impeachment Inquiry. 1974- Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment, Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 72 |
