Political Quotes

“Chief Justice, I send a question to the desk. The CHIEF JUSTICE. The question is from Senator Peters and is for the House managers. Does the phrase ``or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors'' in Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution require a violation of the U.S. criminal code or is a breach of public trust sufficient? Please explain. Ms. Manager LOFGREN. The Framers were very clear that abuse of power is an impeachable offense. In explaining why the Constitution must allow impeachment, Edmund Randolph warned that ``the Executive will have great opportunities of abusing his power.'' Alexander Hamilton described ``high crimes and misdemeanors'' as ``offenses which proceed from the . . . abuse or violation of some public trust.'' The Framers also described what it meant. It was impeachable for a President to abuse his pardon power to shelter people he was connected with in a suspicious manner. Future Supreme Court Justice James Iredell said the President would be liable to impeachment if he acted from some corrupt motive or other or if he was willfully abusing his trust. As was later stated in a treatise summarizing centuries of common law, abuse of power occurs if a public officer, entrusted with definite powers to be exercised for the benefit of the community, wickedly abuses or fraudulently exceeds them. So when the Framers said this--that abuse of power was impeachable-- it was not just an empty, meaningless statement.…”