In America’s 243-year history, only three previous presidents have faced impeachment proceedings. The Constitution does not prescribe a specific process and neither does federal law, leaving Congress to set its own rules. Here’s how the fourth impeachment unfolded over more than four months.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal
impeachment inquiry, directing a handful of
House committees to continue their monthslong
investigations into President Trump.
Congress was handed important findings from multiple investigative efforts, including from special prosecutors, for the impeachment inquiries of Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Bill Clinton. Kenneth Starr investigated Clinton, and Archibald Cox pursued Nixon. In this impeachment, House committees are doing that job.
The committee leaders for the House Intelligence,
Oversight and Reform, and Foreign Affairs
Committees have been issuing subpoenas, taking
depositions and conducting closed-door meetings.
Two more committees, Ways and Means and
Financial Services, also have ongoing
investigations into issues related to Mr. Trump.
House vote on impeachment rules
In October 1998, the House voted 258 to 176, with 31 Democrats breaking ranks with the president, to begin a full-scale, open-ended inquiry into possible grounds for the impeachment of Clinton.
The House voted to approve a resolution that laid out the rules for the impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump.
Intelligence Committee public hearings
After closed-door investigations, open hearings were conducted
by the Intelligence Committee. Representative Adam B. Schiff
of California, the Democrat who leads the committee, and
Representative Devin Nunes, the panel’s top Republican, each
had 45 minutes to question witnesses. Members of the panel
got five minutes each to ask questions.
Intelligence Committee report
The Intelligence Committee approved sending a report with
its findings to the Judiciary Committee. The report was also
made available to the public.
Judiciary Committee hearings
In 1974, the Judiciary Committee held multiple meetings and hearings from February through July. Some of the hearings were televised.
In 1998, four hearings were held in connection with Clinton’s impeachment by the Judiciary Committee. The hearings lasted for two days.
Jerrold Nadler, Chairman
After receiving the report, the Judiciary Committee held two more
hearings. The first hearing invited legal scholars to discuss whether Mr.
Trump’s conduct amounted to an impeachable offense. In the second
hearing, staff lawyers from the Intelligence Committee presented their
dueling reports on the investigation. The president and his counsel were
invited but declined to participate.
Proposed articles of impeachment
The House Judiciary Committee’s Democratic majority
released two proposed articles of impeachment against
Mr. Trump, charging the president with abuse of power
and obstruction of Congress.
Articles of impeachment
The committee approved three articles:
I. Obstructing the Watergate investigation
II. Abuse of power
III. Defiance of House subpoenas
The Judiciary Committee held a two-day markup session to
debate and make revisions to the proposed articles. Afterward,
the committee voted to approve both articles. The articles were
reported to the full House.
The current White House said it would not cooperate with the House inquiry.
The committee approved four articles:
I. Perjury in the grand jury
II. Perjury in the civil case
III. Obstruction of justice
IV. Abuse of power
Judiciary Committee vote to
approve article on abuse of power
Vote to approve article on obstruction of Congress
Nixon resigned before the impeachment resolution was reported to the full House.
The Judiciary Committee recommended two articles to
be considered on the House floor. The House Rules
Committee set out the rules for formally impeaching the
president, allowing for six hours of debate.
The House debated Clinton’s articles of impeachment for two days.
House impeachment vote
In President Andrew Johnson's case in 1868,
the House voted to impeach him on “high
crimes and misdemeanors” and notified the
Senate about the impeachment before the
articles were drafted.
The House passed the two articles of impeachment, along party lines.
Article I: Abuse of Power
Present or not voting 4
Article II: Obstruction of Congress
Present or not voting 4
The House voted on each article separately. Only one article needs to be passed to impeach the president.
In Clinton’s case, the House voted on the articles separately and approved two of the four articles presented by the Judiciary Committee.
I. Perjury in the grand jury
II. Perjury in the civil case
III. Obstruction of justice
IV. Abuse of power
A majority of the House members
would have to vote no .
A majority of the House
members voted yes .
Trump was impeached
The process ends
The House named 13 Republicans to serve as managers of Clinton’s impeachment case — including Lindsey Graham, the senior senator from South Carolina.
The House appointed a team of seven lawmakers from
the chamber, known as managers, to play the role of
prosecutors in the Senate trial. Afterward, they
delivered the articles of impeachment to the Senate,
which served as the jury.
Mr. Trump’s defense team
The legal team of Mr. Trump was led by the White House counsel,
Pat A. Cipollone, and his personal laywer, Jay Sekulow. The team
also included former independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr
and defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz.
The chief justice of the United States was sworn in to
preside over the trial and then swore in the members of the
Senate. The Senate laid out due dates for trial briefs from
the House managers and the president’s lawyers, and the
trial was scheduled to resume on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.
presided over the trial.
Writ of summons
The Senate issued a summons to the president, asking him to respond to the articles of impeachment by Saturday, Jan. 18.
Clinton and Johnson had
their lawyers answer to
the articles as well.
Mr. Trump’s legal team formally
filed a response, rejecting the
impeachment case as illegitimate.
During the trial, any senator or Mr.
Trump’s lawyers could make a motion
to dismiss the case. If passed by a
majority vote, the process would end.
On Jan. 8, 1999, the day after House
managers presented Clinton’s articles of
impeachment, the Senate met in an
unprecedented informal joint session,
adopting a resolution that set forth the trial
proceedings but postponed the decision
on whether to call witnesses.
The Senate held a debate over
the rules and procedures
governing the trial.
Johnson trial in 1868
The House managers and the
president’s legal team each spent
three days presenting their cases
Clinton trial in 1999
Senators questioned the managers
and Mr. Trump’s lawyers for about
16 hours over two days.
In Clinton's trial, the Senate
allowed for a vote on
dismissal after the senators
asked their questions.
Decision on evidence
After four hours of debate, the
Senate rejected the motion to
consider requests for witnesses or
documents in a vote of 51 to 49.
A majority of the Senate
members voted no .
A majority of the Senate
members would have to vote yes .
During Clinton’s trial, the Senate voted not to call Monica Lewinsky to testify in the Senate chamber but allowed videotaped testimony to be presented.
House managers and Mr. Trump’s
lawyers would be allowed to
propose and argue for specific
witnesses or documents, with each
requiring an additional vote.
If a majority of the Senate did approve
calling specific witnesses, those
witnesses would first be interviewed
privately. Then the Senate would decide
whether to let them testify in public.
Senators heard from both sides
as the managers and Trump’s lawyers
delivered closing arguments. Each team
had two hours to make their case.
Seventy-eight senators spoke on the
Senate floor to explain their decisions.
They each had up to 10 minutes.
Both Johnson and Clinton were acquitted by the Senate.
The Senate rejected both articles of
impeachment against Mr. Trump, with each
vote falling short of the two-thirds majority
needed to convict. Mitt Romney of Utah was
the only senator to cross party lines.
Verdict on Clinton’s article on perjury
Article I: Abuse of Power
Additional votes needed to convict
Verdict on Clinton’s article on obstruction of justice
Article II: Obstruction of Congress
Additional votes needed to convict
Less than two-thirds of
the Senate voted yes.
More than two-thirds of the
Senate would have to vote yes.
The process ended,
and Trump was acquitted
Trump is removed
The Senate can subsequently vote on whether to
disqualify the president from future office. If the
vote were held, a simple majority vote would be required.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry, directing a handful of House committees to continue their monthslong investigations into President Trump.
The committee leaders for the House Intelligence, Oversight and Reform, and Foreign Affairs Committees have been issuing subpoenas, taking depositions and conducting closed-door meetings.
Two more committees, Ways and Means and Financial Services, also have ongoing investigations into issues related to Mr. Trump.
Congress was handed important findings from multiple investigative efforts, including from special prosecutors, for the impeachment inquiries of Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Bill Clinton. Kenneth Starr investigated Clinton, and Archibald Cox pursued Nixon. In this impeachment, House committees are doing that job.
The House voted to approve a resolution
that laid out the rules for the
impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump.
In October 1998, the House voted 258 to 176, with 31 Democrats breaking ranks with the president, to begin a full-scale, open-ended inquiry into possible grounds for the impeachment of Clinton.
Intelligence Committee public hearings
After closed-door investigations, open hearings
were conducted by the Intelligence Committee.
Representative Adam B. Schiff of California,
the Democrat who leads the committee, and
Representative Devin Nunes, the panel’s top
Republican, each had 45 minutes to question
witnesses. Members of the panel got five
minutes each to ask questions.
The Intelligence Committee approved
sending a report with its findings to the
Judiciary Committee. The report was also
made available to the public.
Jerrold Nadler, Chairman
After receiving the report, the Judiciary
Committee held two more hearings. The first
hearing invited legal scholars to discuss
whether Mr. Trump’s conduct amounted to an
impeachable offense. In the second hearing,
staff lawyers from the Intelligence Committee
presented their dueling reports on the
investigation. The president and his counsel
were invited but declined to participate.
In 1974, the Judiciary Committee held multiple meetings and hearings from February through July. Some of the hearings were televised.
In 1998, four hearings were held in connection with Clinton’s impeachment by the Judiciary Committee. The hearings lasted for two days.
Proposed articles of impeachment
The House Judiciary Committee’s
Democratic majority released two proposed
articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump,
charging the president with abuse of power
and obstruction of Congress.
Articles of impeachment
The Judiciary Committee held a two-day
markup session to debate and make
revisions to the proposed articles.
Afterward, the committee voted to
approve both articles. The articles were
reported to the full House.
Judiciary Committee vote to
approve article on abuse of power
Vote to approve
article on obstruction of Congress
The committee approved three articles:
I. Obstructing the Watergate investigation
II. Abuse of power
III. Defiance of House subpoenas
The current White House said it would not cooperate with the House inquiry.
The committee approved four articles:
I. Perjury in the grand jury
II. Perjury in the civil case
III. Obstruction of justice
IV. Abuse of power
Nixon resigned before the impeachment resolution was reported to the full House.
The Judiciary Committee recommended two
articles to be considered on the House floor. The
House Rules Committee set out the rules for
formally impeaching the president, allowing for
six hours of debate.
The House debated Clinton’s articles of impeachment for two days.
The House passed the two articles of impeachment, along party lines.
Article I: Abuse of Power
Article II: Obstruction of Congress
The House voted on each article separately. Only one article needs to be passed to impeach the president.
In President Andrew Johnson's
case in 1868, the House voted to
impeach him on “high crimes and
misdemeanors” and notified the
Senate about the impeachment
before the articles were drafted.
In Clinton’s case, the House
voted on the articles separately
and approved two of the four
articles presented by the
A majority of the House members would have to vote no .
A majority of the
The House appointed a team of seven
lawmakers from the chamber, known as
managers, to play the role of prosecutors in
the Senate trial. Afterward, they delivered the
articles of impeachment to the Senate, which
served as the jury.
Mr. Trump’s defense team
The legal team of Mr. Trump was led by the
White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, and
his personal laywer, Jay Sekulow. The team
also included former independent
counsel Kenneth W. Starr and defense
lawyer Alan Dershowitz.
The House named 13 Republicans to serve
as managers of Clinton’s impeachment case
— including Lindsey Graham, the senior
senator from South Carolina.
The chief justice of the United States was
sworn in to preside over the trial and then
swore in the members of the Senate. The
Senate laid out due dates for trial briefs from
the House managers and the president’s
lawyers, and the trial was scheduled to resume
on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.
presided over the trial.
Writ of summons
The Senate issued a summons to the president,
asking him to respond to the articles of
impeachment by Saturday, Jan. 18.
Mr. Trump’s legal team formally filed a
response, rejecting the impeachment
case as illegitimate.
Clinton and Johnson had their lawyers
answer to the articles as well.
During the trial, any senator or Mr.
Trump’s lawyers could make a motion
to dismiss the case. If passed by a
majority vote, the process would end.
The Senate held a debate over
the rules and procedures
governing the trial.
On Jan. 8, 1999, the day after
House managers presented Clinton’s
articles of impeachment, the Senate
met in an unprecedented informal
joint session, adopting a resolution
that set forth the trial proceedings
but postponed the decision on
whether to call witnesses.
The House managers and the
president’s legal team each spent
three days presenting their cases to
Senators questioned the managers
and Mr. Trump’s lawyers for about
16 hours over two days.
Decision on evidence
After four hours of debate, the
Senate rejected the motion to
consider requests for witnesses or
documents in a vote of 51 to 49.
A majority of the
A majority of the
would have to vote yes .
House managers and Mr. Trump’s
lawyers would be allowed to
propose and argue for specific
witnesses or documents, with
each requiring an additional vote.
If a majority of the Senate did
approve calling specific witnesses,
those witnesses would first be
interviewed privately. Then the
Senate would decide whether to
let them testify in public.
Senators heard from both sides as the managers and Trump’s lawyers delivered closing arguments. Each team had two hours to make their case.
In Clinton’s trial, the Senate allowed
for a vote on dismissal after the
senators asked their questions. The
Senate also voted not to call Monica
Lewinsky to testify in the Senate
chamber but allowed videotaped
testimony to be presented.
Seventy-eight senators spoke on the Senate floor to explain their decisions. They each had up to 10 minutes.
The Senate rejected both articles of
impeachment against Mr. Trump, with each
vote falling short of the two-thirds majority
needed to convict. Mitt Romney, Republican of
Utah, was the only senator to cross party lines.
Article I: Abuse of Power
Article II: Obstruction of Congress
More than two-thirds
of the Senate would
Less than two-thirds
of the Senate voted yes.
ended, and Trump
Both Johnson and Clinton were aquitted by the Senate.
Verdict on Clinton’s article on perjury
needed to convict
Verdict on Clinton’s article on
obstruction of justice
needed to convict
*Democratic totals include two independents who caucus with the Democrats.
Sources: Congressional Research Service; House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents, and Procedures of the House; United States Senate Manual; Senate Historical Office; Congress.gov; Frank O. Bowman III, University of Missouri. Photos by U.S. Senate via AP and U.S. Senate Historical Society via AP.
Additional work by Lauren Leatherby.
Correction : Dec. 5, 2019An earlier version of this article incorrectly indicated how hearings held during former President Richard M. Nixon's impeachment were conducted. While some hearings were televised, not all were.
