Page:Impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States — Report of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives.pdf/42

 fester unresolved and invite enduring conflict over Presidential malfeasance.

Unlike in Britain, the President would answer personally—to Congress and thus to the Nation— for any serious wrongdoing. For that reason, as Hamilton later explained, the President would have no more resemblance to the British king than to "the Grand Seignior, to the khan of Tartary, [or] to the Man of the Seven Mountains." Whereas "the person of the king of Great Britain is sacred and inviolable," the President could be "impeached, tried, and upon conviction ... removed from office."

Of course, the decision to subject the President to impeachment was not the end of the story. The Framers also had to specify how this would work in practice. After long and searching debate they made three crucial decisions, each of which sheds light on their understanding of impeachment's proper role in our constitutional system.

First, they limited the consequences of impeachment to "removal from Office" and "disqualification" from future officeholding. To the extent the President's wrongful conduct also breaks the law, the Constitution expressly reserves criminal punishment for the ordinary processes of criminal law. In that respect, "the consequences of impeachment and conviction go just far enough, and no further than, to remove the threat posed to the Republic by an unfit official." This speaks to the very nature of impeachment: it exists not to inflict personal punishment for past wrongdoing, but rather to protect against future Presidential misconduct that would endanger democracy and the rule of law.

Second, the Framers vested the House with "the sole Power of Impeachment." The House thus serves in a role analogous to a grand jury and prosecutor: it investigates the President's misconduct and decides whether to formally accuse him of impeachable acts. As James Iredell explained during debates over whether to ratify the Constitution, "this power is lodged in those who represent the great body of the people, because the occasion for its exercise will arise from acts of great injury to the community." The Senate, in turn, holds "the sole Power to try all Impeachments." When the Senate sits as a court of impeachment for the President, each Senator must swear a special oath, the Chief Justice of the United States presides, and conviction requires "the concurrence of two thirds of the Members present." By designating Congress to accuse the President and conduct his trial, the