# what do you mean by "Impeachment"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 18, 2017, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947 "2017-05-18T19:50:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/1 "2017-05-18T19:50:16Z")
We have heard this a lot; “Impeach Trump”, so by that what do you mean? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/2 "2017-05-18T19:54:40Z")
None of those choices is correct, except for “something else”. Impeachment is trial in the Senate. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/3 "2017-05-18T19:56:12Z")
Pence, in a decidedly un-Christlike manner, punching the fat orange buffoon in the mouth on national television. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/4 "2017-05-18T20:00:49Z")
Imbibing peaches. Peach juice, Peach schnapps, peach smoothies etc. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/5 "2017-05-18T20:01:30Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > None of those choices is correct, except for “something else”. Impeachment is trial in the Senate. I answered the third option, assuming the Senate trial was covered under “then removed.” In common parlance, I assume most people either mean 1 or 3, the end result being removal from office. I know what it _actually_ means, given the impeachments of Johnson and Clinton, but, in my experience, “impeachment” typically serves as shorthand for the impeachment proceedings and removal from office. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/6 "2017-05-18T20:08:03Z")
By itself, I take the word literally. In context, the surrounding words guide the interpretation. But if we have to stick to single words in isolation, I discern a significant​ difference between “impeachment” and “impeached”. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/7 "2017-05-18T20:20:06Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > None of those choices is correct, except for “something else”. Impeachment is trial in the Senate. No, in the United States, impeachment is the hearing of charges in the House of Representatives and passing a motion by a simple majority. Trial in the Senate is a separate process. > [@](#): > > The actual trial on such charges, and subsequent removal of an official upon conviction, is separate from the act of impeachment itself. > **[Impeachment in the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_in_the_United_States)** > > In the United States, impeachment is the process by which a legislature may bring charges against an officeholder for misconduct alleged to have been committed with a penalty of removal. Impeachment may also occur at the state level if the state or commonwealth has provisions for it under its constitution. Impeachment might also occur with tribal governments as well as at the local level of government. > The federal House of Representatives can impeach a party with a simple majority of the Hous... ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/8 "2017-05-18T20:23:18Z")
I know that technically impeaching somebody just means conducting a hearing to decide if they should be removed from office. But I often use the word in its more colloquial sense to mean removing the person from office. So you can be impeached without being impeached. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/9 "2017-05-18T20:24:16Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I know that technically impeaching somebody just means conducting a hearing to decide if they should be removed from office. But I often use the word in its more colloquial sense to mean removing the person from office. So you can be impeached without being impeached. And this use of a word to mean something that it does not mean doesn’t seem confusing to you? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/10 "2017-05-18T20:32:10Z")
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” –Lewis Carroll ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/11 "2017-05-18T20:36:15Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > None of those choices is correct, except for “something else”. Impeachment is trial in the Senate. While the impeachment trial is held by the U.S. Senate, it’s the U.S. House which decides if there is to be an impeachment. The House’s action is the impeachment. If the House finds for impeachment, the Senate then decides whether or not a President is to be removed from office. The U.S. House would operate as a Grand Jury, and the U.S. Senate would be the Petite Jury. _The United States Constitution provides that the House of Representatives “shall have the sole Power of Impeachment” (Article I, section 2) and that “the Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments … [but] no person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present” (Article I, section 3). The president, vice president, and all civil officers of the United States are subject to impeachment._ [https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Senate\_Impeachment\_Role.htm](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Senate_Impeachment_Role.htm) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/12 "2017-05-18T20:52:06Z")
It’s the process of putting pits into peaches isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/13 "2017-05-18T21:04:21Z")
I usually use [this](https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/peach-mint-iced-tea) definition. I know that _impeachment_ refers just to the process of holding hearings to determine if the President should be removed (although I’m hazy on all the details. Simple majority in the House, 2/3 in the Senate, something something?). I try to be conscientious about using the term as accurately as I can, given my lack of legal expertise. It’s been my experience that when someone uses the term “impeach”, it’s usually pretty clear from context what they actually mean. If they mean “the President is removed from office”, I accept that they are simply using the term in its colloquial sense and not its strict technical sense, and I continue with the conversation. Because I am not a dick. And I fucking hate peaches. Not too fond of mint, either. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/14 "2017-05-18T21:13:16Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > It’s been my experience that when someone uses the term “impeach”, it’s usually pretty clear from context what they actually mean. If they mean “the President is removed from office”, I accept that they are simply using the term in its colloquial sense and not its strict technical sense, and I continue with the conversation. Because I am not a dick. I don’t have a problem with that usage. If the usage isn’t understood in context it’s easy to clarify. It’s along the lines of calling a whale a fish or saying Columbus discovered America. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/15 "2017-05-18T21:18:51Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > None of those choices is correct, except for “something else”. Impeachment is trial in the Senate. > [@cochrane](#): > > No, in the United States, impeachment is the hearing of charges in the House of Representatives and passing a motion by a simple majority. Trial in the Senate is a separate process. It kinda depends. If by “impeachment” you mean “the process”, then “Hearing in the House” works. If you mean as an event, then it’s only after an affirmative vote is taken in The House. But if I were trying to communicate accurately, I’d refer to “impeachment hearings” for the former and save “impeachment” for the latter. So, I’m picking “something else”. It’s ironic that the OP is trying to pin down a definition but doesn’t actually offer the actual, precise definition. Still, “remove from office” is at 20%, so perhaps the OP will at least learn something from this process: No, most of us don’t mean “remove from office” when we use that term, and certainly not everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/16 "2017-05-18T22:03:39Z")
Depends on the context. I can say “Trump should be impeached,” meaning he should have a majority of the House of Representatives accuse him of one or more counts of high crimes or misdemeanors, followed by a trial in the Senate with a 2/3 majority voting for conviction, followed by his removal from office. OR I can say, “Remember when Bill Clinton was impeached,” and mean that he was formally accused by the House, but 2/3 of the Senate did not vote to convict him and he served out his entire second term." If there’s any confusion on the other person’s part, I’m happy to clarify. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/17 "2017-05-18T22:57:58Z")
It means what the Constitution says it means. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/18 "2017-05-18T23:26:29Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > And this use of a word to mean something that it does not mean doesn’t seem confusing to you? Not really. It’s not like the word gets used all that often in normal conversation. And when it does, it’s usually easy to determine from the context which meaning is intended. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/19 "2017-05-18T23:30:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Not really. It’s not like the word gets used all that often in normal conversation. That might have been true a few months ago. 😃 And we’re down to 14% for “removed from office”. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947/20 "2017-05-18T23:41:31Z")
I picked the fourth option. I was taught that it means charging someone who holds a high office with a crime for which they are tried by the Senate. That’s what I mean when I say “impeach the president.” I’m not sure Trump has done anything impeachable yet, but he sure has skirted the possible. Considering what he has managed to do so far, I think it’s pretty likely that before four years are over, he will have committed an impeachable crime. There’s another way to use “impeach,” and it means to demonstrate that a sworn witness, or someone else who has testified under oath, has lied. So Clinton was impeached in more than one sense. When a statement is referred to as “unimpeachable,” it means that it is unable to be shown false. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-mean-by-impeachment/786947.md?page=2)