Impeachment: What Does It Mean?

Although the word impeachment is being thrown around a lot, however, a lot of people don’t truly understand the process of impeachment. The first thing to understand about impeachment is that it does not mean that the President is going to be removed from office. Impeachment is simply the act of officially accusing the President of bribery, treason, or a high crime or misdemeanor. During impeachment, the Legislative branch is the first to act. If Congress believes the President has committed a crime, the House of Representatives will vote on whether or not to impeach the President. If the House votes in favor of impeachment, then they write a document known as the Articles of Impeachment. This outlines the offenses that the house believes the President has committed. They will then deliver the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate, who will hold a trial and act as the jury for the case against the President. The Chief Justice is the judge presiding over the case, however the Senate will provide the final verdict. So all in all, if you hear someone say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe Trump is getting impeached!’, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Trump is getting removed from office.

Video from NBC