# Does the house holding impeachment hearings give them any powers they don't normally have

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-house-holding-impeachment-hearings-give-them-any-powers-they-dont-normally-have/834329>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 22, 2019, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-house-holding-impeachment-hearings-give-them-any-powers-they-dont-normally-have/834329 "2019-05-22T02:20:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-house-holding-impeachment-hearings-give-them-any-powers-they-dont-normally-have/834329/1 "2019-05-22T02:20:15Z")

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Impeachment to me seems like a waste of time because the senate will not convict. However if the house does impeach does doing so give them any special powers to subpoena, investigate or indict just based on an impeachment hearing, powers that they do not have in their regular session?

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**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-house-holding-impeachment-hearings-give-them-any-powers-they-dont-normally-have/834329/2 "2019-05-22T02:26:37Z")

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They can hold hearings without calling them impeachment hearings. They can be investigtigating any number of things. The Watergate hearings were always referred to as that at the time. Nixon was never impeached. He resigned. The same could happen.

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**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-house-holding-impeachment-hearings-give-them-any-powers-they-dont-normally-have/834329/3 "2019-05-22T03:00:51Z")

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Opening an impeachment inquiry would strengthen Congress’ hand in any court case decisions against the executive branch, and it would also open up new doors of investigation, as described in [this article](https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/10/democrats-impeachment-trump-1315838):

> [@](#):
>
> [L]egal experts and lawmakers across the ideological spectrum acknowledge that formally unleashing impeachment would bolster Democrats’ arguments that they deserve to see the president’s tax returns, interview senior officials, peruse special counsel Robert Mueller’s trove of evidence and see the details of Trump’s personal dealings with foreign leaders.  
> …  
> Since the Watergate era, courts have repeatedly ruled that the House has greater claim to fight these rejections if it is in the middle of impeachment proceedings.