「參議院應擁有審判彈劾的 一切權力。」──美國憲法
For most jobs, it's understood that you can be fired, whether for crime, incompetence, or just poor performance. But what if your job happens to be the most powerful position in the country, or the world? That's where impeachment comes in. Impeachment isn't the same as actually removing someone from office. Like an indictment in criminal court, it's only the formal accusation that launches a trial, which could end in conviction or acquittal. Originating in the United Kingdom, impeachment allowed Parliament to vote for removing a government official from office even without the king's consent. Although this was an important check on royal power, the king couldn't be impeached because the monarch was considered the source of all government power. But for the founders of the American Republic, there was no higher authority beyond the people themselves. And so impeachment was adopted in the United States as a power of Congress applying to any civil officers, up to and including the president. Although demands for impeachment can come from any members of the public, only the House of Representatives has the power to actually initiate the process. It begins by referring the matter to a committee, usually the House Committee on Rules and the House Committee on the Judiciary. These committees review the accusations, examine the evidence, and issue a recommendation. If they find sufficient grounds to proceed, the House holds a separate vote on each of the specific charges, known as Articles of Impeachment. If one or more passes by a simple majority, the official is impeached and the stage is set for trial. The actual trial that follows impeachment is held in the Senate. Selected members of the House, known as managers, act as the prosecution, while the impeached official and their lawyers present their defense. The Senate acts as both judge and jury, conducting the trial and deliberating after hearing all the arguments. If it's the president or vice president being impeached, the chief justice of the Supreme Court presides. A conviction requires a supermajority of two-thirds and results in automatic removal from power. Depending on the original charges, it can also disqualify them from holding office in the future and open them to standard criminal prosecution. So what exactly can get someone impeached? That's a bit more complicated. Unlike in the United Kingdom, impeachment in the U.S. pits an elected legislature against other democratically elected members of government. Therefore, to prevent the process from being used as a political weapon, the Constitution specifies that an official can only be impeached for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. That still leaves a lot of room for interpretation, not to mention politics, and many impeachment trials have split along partisan lines. But the process is generally understood to be reserved for serious abuses of power. The first official to be impeached was Tennesse Senator William Blount in 1797 for conspiring with Britain to cease the Spanish colony of Louisiana. Since then, the House has launched impeachment investigations about 60 times, but only 19 have led to actual impeachment proceedings. The eight cases that ended in a conviction and removal from office were all federal judges. And impeachment of a sitting president is even more rare. Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868 for attempting to replace Secretary of War Edwin Stanton without consulting the Senate. Over a century later, Bill Clinton was impeached for making false statements under oath during a sexual harassment trial. Both were ultimately acquitted when the Senate's votes to convict fell short of the required two-thirds majority. And contrary to popular belief, Richard Nixon was never actually impeached for the Watergate scandal. He resigned before it could happen knowing he would almost certainly be convicted. Theoretically, the U.S. government is already designed to prevent abuses of power, limiting different branches through a system of checks and balances, term limits, and free elections. But impeachment can be seen as an emergency brake for when these safeguards fail.
對於大多數工作, 我們都理解為什麼會被解僱: 或許是因為犯罪, 或能力欠缺, 或僅僅因為表現不佳。 但是如果你恰好是一國之君, 乃至世界的統治者呢? 這時解僱就被稱為彈劾。 彈劾與實際上把某人 從辦公室中移除並不相同。 就像法庭的開庭控訴一樣, 這僅僅意味著審判正式開始, 結果可能是定罪或是無罪釋放。 彈劾的概念起源於英國: 國會可以通過投票彈劾 以解聘政府官員, 而這甚至無需國王首肯。 儘管彈劾監控了皇族的權利, 國王卻不能被彈劾, 因為當時的英國認為 君主是一切政府權力的根基。 但是美國的建國者認為 人民的權利高於一切。 所以美國將彈劾作為 國會解僱任意官員的手段, 總統也不例外。 儘管彈劾的呼聲 可以從任何民眾傳來, 只有美國眾議院才能實際啟動彈劾。 彈劾開始於把情況提交到委員會: 一般是眾議院議事規則委員會 和司法委員會。 這些委員會審核提交的控告, 審查證據, 然後發佈建議。 如果委員會認為有足夠理由彈劾, 眾議會會針對每一項 具體的指控進行投票。 這些指控被稱為彈劾條款。 如果一個以上的指控投票過半數, 被指控的官員就被彈劾了, 準備接受法庭審判。 彈劾後的法庭審判 是在美國參議院舉行。 眾議院選中的成員, 稱作檢控幹事,組成控訴方, 而被彈劾的官員 和他的律師們組成辯護方。 參議院則既是法官也是陪審團, 主辦庭審,並在聽過 所有論據後審議。 如果被彈劾的是總統或副總統, 最高法院的首席大法官會主持庭審。 定罪需要三分之二以上的多數贊同。 定罪後,被彈劾的官員自動免職。 取決於最開始的控訴條款, 有些時候定罪會 取消他們未來任公職的資格, 也可能對他們展開標準刑事訴訟。 所以說什麼會讓一個人被彈劾呢? 這就有點複雜了。 不像英國, 美國的彈劾讓選舉出來的 立法機關(國會) 和同樣民主選舉出來的 政府官員形成對立。 因此,為了阻止彈劾 被用作成政治武器, 美國憲法規定一個官員 只能被以下原因而彈劾: 叛國、 賄賂, 和其他重罪和不檢行為。 然而這還是可以有很多種解釋方式, 就別提政治權術了。 很多彈劾庭審沿著黨派分裂。 不過大家基本都理解彈劾 只被用在嚴重濫用權力的時候。 第一個被彈劾的官員是田納西州的 參議員威廉·布朗特,1797 年 理由是和英國密謀奪取 屬於西班牙的路易斯安那。 從那以後,眾議院已展開了 大約 60 次彈劾調查, 但只有 19 次的調查 進入了彈劾的正式程序。 真正成功定罪並免除職位的 8 次彈劾 都是針對聯邦法官的。 針對現任總統的彈劾就更少了。 安德魯·詹森總統在 1868 年被彈劾, 理由是試圖不經過參議院商討 直接替換戰爭部部長愛德溫·史坦頓。 一個多世紀後,克林頓總統被彈劾, 理由是在一個性騷擾庭審中 宣誓後做出偽證。 兩個人最終都被宣判無罪, 因為參議院的同意票 沒有到規定的三分之二。 和民眾普遍認為的相反, 尼克森總統並沒有 因為水門案而真的被彈劾。 他在彈劾前直接辭職了, 知道自己幾乎一定會被定罪。 理論上,美國政府的設計 已經防止了權力濫用: 通過三權分立的體系和制衡, 任期限定, 和自由選舉。 不過彈劾可以 被視作為一個緊急剎車, 用在這些保護措施都失效的時候。