High crimes and misdemeanors : a history of impeachment for the age of Trump / Frank O. Bowman III.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bowman, Frank O., 1955- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875--Impeachment.

Johnson, Andrew.

Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994--Impeachment.

Nixon, Richard M.

Clinton, Bill, 1946---Impeachment.

Clinton, Bill.

Trump, Donald, 1946---Impeachment.

Trump, Donald.

Impeachments--United States--History.

Impeachments.

Impeachments--Great Britain--History.

Presidents--United States--Discipline.

Presidents.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 619 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2024.

Summary:

This indispensable work traces impeachment from its bloody origins in medieval England, to its adoption in the Constitution, and through 250 years of American experience culminating in the two impeachments of Donald Trump. Frank O. Bowman III tells the stories, human and political, of nobles, commoners, colonists, judges, legislators, cabinet officers, and Presidents who have faced impeachment. He demonstrates that the practice was designed to be a flexible tool, informed by history, and adaptable to the needs of any age. The first edition was read by Democrats and Republicans and cited extensively by the advocates in both Trump impeachments. In this second edition, Bowman expands the first edition's deep historical and constitutional analysis. He also draws on his involvement in both Trump impeachments as a congressional consultant and frequent commentator, to assess Trump's aberrant presidency, his impeachments, and whether impeachment remains a useful tool against an overreaching president.

Contents:

Cover

Half-title page

Reviews

Title page

Copyright page

Dedication

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction to the Second Edition

1 British Impeachments, 1376-1787

The Origins of Impeachment

The First British Impeachments

Bills of Attainder

Impeachment in the Era of the Stuart Kings

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Last Flurry of British Impeachments, 1715-1716

The Impeachment of Warren Hastings

Lessons of British Impeachments for American Practice

Impeachment, Crime, Treason, and Retrospective Punishment

The Meaning of "High Crimes and Misdemeanors" in British Practice

The Scope of Impeachable Conduct in Great Britain

Nonpolitical Impeachments: Armed Rebellion and Ordinary Criminality

Corruption

Incompetence, Neglect of Duty, or Maladministration in Office

Abuse of Power

Betrayal of the Nation's Foreign Policy

Subversion of the Constitution and Laws of the Realm

2 American Impeachments before 1787

Colonial Impeachments, 1607-1776

The First Colonial Impeachments: Maryland, 1669-1683

Colonial Impeachments in Pennsylvania

Colonial Impeachments in Massachusetts

Impeachment in the Newly Independent States, 1776-1888

Procedural Structure of State Impeachments

Persons Subject to Impeachment and Available Penalties

The Definition of Impeachable Conduct

Impeachment Practice in the States, 1776-1787

The Influence of Early American Impeachments on the American Constitutional Founders

3 The Founders' Impeachment

Constitutional Architecture

The Convention's Impeachment Debates

Shall the President Be Impeachable?

By Whom Should the President Be Impeached and Tried?

What Shall Be the Procedures in an Impeachment?

What Shall Be the Consequence of Impeachment?.

"High Crimes and Misdemeanors": What Shall Constitute Impeachable Conduct?

The Influence of British and American Precedents on the Founders' Understanding of "High Crimes and Misdemeanors"

4 Impeaching Legislators and Lesser Executive Branch Officials

Impeaching Congress: Constitutional Text and What the Founders Thought

The Impeachment of Senator William Blount, 1797-1798

The Impeachment of Secretary of War Belknap

The Loneliness of Secretary Belknap

5 Impeachment of Judges

The Constitutional Text and the Founders' Understanding

The Constitutional Standard for Judicial Impeachment

The Case of Justice Samuel Chase

Impeachable Judicial Conduct

Treason

Corruption in Office

Incapacity, Neglect of Duty, or Maladministration in Office

Conclusions from Judicial Impeachment Cases

6 The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

The Improbable Rise of Andrew Johnson

The End of the Civil War and the Challenge of Reconstruction

The Failure of "Presidential Reconstruction"

"Radical Reconstruction"

Impeachment in the House of Representatives

The Senate Trial of Andrew Johnson

The Impeachment Case That Might Have Been

Lessons from the Johnson Impeachment

7 The Fall of President Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon and the Prelude to Watergate

The Watergate Break-In and Its Aftermath

The Judiciary Committee's Articles of Impeachment

Impeachable Conduct Need Not Be Criminal

The Prime Purpose of Presidential Impeachment Is to Protect Constitutional Order

Article 1: Obstruction of the Watergate Investigation

Article 2: Abuse of Power

Article 3: Defiance of Judiciary Committee Subpoenas

Articles of Impeachment Proposed, But Not Approved

The Cambodian Bombing

Emoluments and Tax Evasion

Lessons from the Nixon Impeachment Investigations

The Central Role of Federal Prosecutors.

The Federal Grand Jury

The Judiciary and "Executive Privilege"

The House and Senate Committees

The Press

The Role of Presidential Character

8 The Strange Case of William Jefferson Clinton

The President and the Intern

The Independent Counsel Investigation: From Whitewater to Lies About Sex

Proceedings in the House and Senate

Criminal Offenses for Which Presidents Ought and Ought Not Be Impeached

Toward a Working Definition of an Impeachable Crime

The Independent Counsel and Congress

9 How Donald J. Trump Became President

The Improbable Rise of Donald Trump, Presidential Candidate

Hillary Clinton and the 2016 Presidential Election

The 2016 Election and Its Aftermath: A Tale of Three Investigations

The FBI Investigation of Hillary Clinton's Email Server

The Investigation of Russian Election Interference and Trump Campaign "Collusion"

10 The Mueller Investigation: Trump Avoids Impeachment for Russian Collusion and Obstruction of Justice

The Postelection Trump-Russia Investigation

Sessions' Recusal, Comey's Firing, and Mueller's Appointment As Special Counsel

Trump's Fight Against the Mueller Investigation

The Results of the Mueller Investigation

How the Political Environment Changed During Mueller's Investigation

Impeachment for Obstruction of Justice

"Corruptly": The Culpable Mental State for Obstruction of Justice

Corrupt Purpose and Presidential Power

The Mueller Report and Impeachment

11 Paths Not Taken to Trump Impeachment: Emoluments and Self-Enrichment

Trump: The Presidency As a Profit Center

Impeachment for Corruption

The Emoluments Clauses

"Scheme of Peculation"

12 The Twenty-Fifth Amendment Alternative

The Constitution of 1788 and the Problem of Presidential Incapacity

Historical Examples of Presidential Disability

Twenty-Fifth Amendment.

What the Twenty-Fifth Amendment Can and Cannot Do

13 Ukraine, a "Perfect Call" and the Road to Trump's First Impeachment

The "Ukraine Did It" Fantasy

Hunter Biden's Excellent Ukrainian Adventures

Extortion of Ukraine and Path to the "Perfect Phone Call"

Trump Puts a Hold on US Military Aid to Ukraine

Zelensky's Desire for a White House Meeting

The July 25 Trump-Zelensky Telephone Call

The July 25 Call Sets Off Internal White House Alarms, But Pressure on Ukraine Continues

14 The House Impeaches Trump for Ukraine

Framing The Articles of Impeachment: Mueller, Emoluments, and Bribery Rejected

Framing the Articles of Impeachment: Incorporating Ancient Themes

Hurry Up, Then Slow Down: Speaker Pelosi Withholds the Articles from the Senate

15 The First Senate Trial of Donald Trump

The Fight Over Senate Trial Procedures

The Democrats' Vain Hope for Intervention by the Chief Justice

The Presentations by the House Managers and President's Counsel

The Arguments of the Managers and the President

The Arguments About the Facts of the Abuse of Power Charge

The Constitutional Arguments

Does "High Crimes and Misdemeanors" Require a Crime or "Criminal-Like" Conduct?

Must Impeachable Offenses Be Violations of "Established Law"?

Is Abuse of Power Impeachable?

Does Presidential Motive Matter?

The "Due Process" Debate

The Obstruction of Congress Argument

Privilege Arguments

The Case Goes to the "Jury"

16 The Verdict in the First Trump Impeachment and Its Lessons

The Senate Votes and Explains Itself

Republican Arguments About Process

Republican Constitutional Arguments

Explanation of Verdict

Lessons from the First Trump Impeachment

The Role of the Justice Department in Investigating Presidential Misdeeds

Enforcing Congressional Demands for Information Against Presidents.

Impeachment Law Precedents

"High Crimes and Misdemeanors"

Coda and Prologue

17 Donald Trump's Second Impeachment, Trial, and Acquittal

The 2020 Election: Laying the Foundation for the Stolen Election Lie

The 2020 Election: Trump Refuses to Accept Defeat

Trump's Campaign to Stay In Power

Trump's Last Throw

January 6, 2021

Impeachment … Again

The Constitutional Case for Impeaching Donald Trump Again

The Scope of the Article of Impeachment

Trump's Second Senate Trial

The Senate Votes to Acquit President Trump

18 Conclusion: The Future of Impeachment

Appendix United States Impeachments: 1789 to Present

Notes

Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 23 Nov 2023).

ISBN:

9781009401012

1009401017

9781009401029

1009401025

9781009401005

1009401009

OCLC:

1481793432