An impeachment inquiry is not a required step in United States federal impeachment, as the
Constitution of the United States does not require the
United States House of Representatives (which it empowers to impeach many
federal officeholders) to exercise its powers of impeachment in any specific manner. Nevertheless, impeachment inquiries have been used as a step in many federal impeachment efforts, with around 90 impeachment-related inquiries having been initiated by the House of Representatives since 1789. No individual had been impeached by the United States House of Representatives without a preceding inquiry stage until
the second impeachment of President
Donald Trump in 2021. However, the impeachment inquiries into President
Andrew Johnson had been launched prior to the act that ultimately triggered
his impeachment, and Johnson was impeached within three days without any extended investigation into that act.
Launching of a federal impeachment inquiry announcing the launch of the
impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump in September 2019 In modern practice, impeachment inquiries often are spurred by referrals by external investigative bodies, such as the
Judicial Conference of the United States, an
independent counsel, a
grand jury or a state legislature. Since the 1980s, the Judicial Conference of the United States has referred findings to the House recommending a number of judges face impeachment, several times resulting in proceedings that led to impeachment. Though this it is not always the case the impeachments are spurred by such referrals. The United States House of Representatives has the sole authority to decide to launch impeachment proceedings (including inquiries) against impeachable federal government officials. There is no House rule that specifies that a vote is required to launch an impeachment inquiry. While the speaker may allow a House vote on whether to launch such an inquiry, it is argued by many legal and political experts that it is not legally required for a vote of the House take place in order for the House to launch what can effectively be considered an impeachment inquiry. This means that a speaker may themself declare the launch of what would be considered an impeachment inquiry without any need for an authorizing vote. This became a discussion point in when the
impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump was announced by Speaker
Nancy Pelosi without there first having been a vote on the matter. At odds with the aforementioned consensus of experts is a January 2020 opinion issued by the
Office of Legal Counsel in the
Trump administration-era
U.S. Department of Justice, which formally declared that it considers impeachment inquiries by the House invalid unless a formal vote had been held to authorize them. This remains an opinion to which presidential administrations and Executive Branch agencies (such as the Department of Justice,
FBI, and
IRS) are bound to adhere. Existing House
standing committees have
subpoena and staffing authorities that may be sufficient for conducting what amounts to an impeachment inquiry, further negating the need for a House vote to hold a vote in order to launch what might functionally amount to an impeachment inquiry. It is possible for any House resolution expressly authorizing an impeachment inquiry to state that an inquiry is already underway, allowing for committees to continue ongoing investigations (which would be formally brought under the scope of the impeachment inquiry) and allowing for the committees to, under the auspices of the impeachment inquiry, probe new areas of investigation using their existing tools and authorities for investigation. The manner in which the House of Representatives proceeds with an impeachment inquiry is at the discretion of the House itself, both textually and per historical practice. The House has the option to have the investigation be conducted by the
House Committee on the Judiciary, another standing committee, or to establish and empower a
select committee (alternatively known as a "special committee") dedicated to overseeing the inquiry. In modern practice, this committee has tended to be the Judiciary Committee. Impeachment inquiries are governed by the standing rules of the House (which governs all committee investigations), the terms of any authorizing resolution for the inquiry, and potentially any additional rules the committee(s) overseeing the inquiry might opt to adopt specifically for the inquiry. A committee tasked with running an impeachment inquiry may, after its investigation has been conducted and evidence submitted from other investigations has been reviewed, hold a meeting to consider articles of impeachment. This is referred to as a "
markup".
Andrew Johnson,
Richard Nixon,
Bill Clinton,
Donald Trump, prior to his first impeachment (his second, which followed the January 6, 2021,
Capitol riot, was not preceded by an inquiry)., and
Joe Biden. Unsuccessful House votes were also held against launching impeachment inquiries into an additional two presidents,
Thomas Jefferson and
John Tyler.
Failed effort to launch an inquiry into Thomas Jefferson On January 25, 1809, Representative
Josiah Quincy III (a member of the
Federalist Party) introduced resolutions which would launch an impeachment inquiry into
lame duck President
Thomas Jefferson, alleged that his keeping of
Benjamin Lincoln in the federal office of the
Port of Boston's customs collector despite Lincoln's own protests that he was too old and too weak to continue with his job had been a "high misdemeanor" on Jefferson's part. The resolution received immediate bipartisan resistance, and was defeated by a vote of 117–1.
Failed effort to launch an inquiry into John Tyler In June 1842, the House voted 100–80 to accept the report of a committee headed by former president
John Quincy Adams, which implied that President
John Tyler should be impeached due to his use of his veto. On July 10, 1842, Representative
John Botts, who opposed Tyler despite also being a member the same party Tyler had up until recently been a member of (the
Whig Party), introduced a resolution that levied a number of charges regarding Tyler's use of his veto power, and would create a nine-member committee to run an impeachment inquiry. The resolution, however, was defeated in a 127–83 vote on January 10, 1843.
James Buchanan In 1860, the House created the United States House Select Committee to Investigate Alleged Corruptions in Government (also known as the "Covode Committee" after its chairman, Representative
John Covode), to run an impeachment inquiry investigating President
James Buchanan on suspicion of bribery and other allegations. After about a year of hearings, the committee concluded that Buchanan's actions did not merit impeachment.
Andrew Johnson On January 7, 1867, the House voted to approve a resolution by
James Mitchell Ashley which launched the first impeachment inquiry into Andrew Johnson. This inquiry was run by the House Committee on the Judiciary. The inquiry initially ended in a June 3, 1867, vote by the committee to recommend against forwarding articles of impeachment to the full House. On January 27, 1868, the House approved, in a 99–31 vote, a resolution by
Rufus P. Spalding which ordered, This vote launched the second impeachment inquiry into Andrew Johnson, run through the
United States House Select Committee on Reconstruction. On February 24, 1868, the House
voted to impeach Johnson. This was the first time that a president of the United States had been impeached. In a rare United States instance of an impeachment-related investigation being launched
after an impeachment vote has already occurred, in the waning days of the
impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, the House launched
an investigation by the prosecutors of Johnson's trial into potential corruption related to the trial vote.
Richard Nixon The next president to face a formal impeachment inquiry was
Richard Nixon, more than nine decades after Johnson. Before the formal impeachment inquiry, Nixon faced related investigation into
Watergate scandal and other actions in both houses of the
United States Congress. The
United States Senate had voted 77–0 on February 7, 1973, to form a select committee to investigate the Watergate scandal, and the resulting hearings were broadcast on television, running from May 17 through August 7, 1973. On October 3, 1973, the House Committee on the Judiciary held a committee vote in which they voted in a 20–17
party-line vote (with all
Democrats voting yes and all
Republicans voting no) to begin consideration of the possible impeachment of Nixon (a Republican), thus informally starting the
impeachment process against Richard Nixon. They began the investigation in earnest in December 1973, after the House completed the confirmation hearings on
Gerald Ford's nomination to become vice president. On February 6, 1974, the House voted 410–4 to authorize the House Judiciary Committee to run a formal impeachment inquiry into Nixon. The committee sent three articles of impeachment against the president to the House in late July 1974. President Nixon
resigned from office on August 9, 1974, before the House could vote on the articles of impeachment.
Bill Clinton In 1997, the United States of House of Representatives authorized the impeachment inquiry into
Bill Clinton. The Clinton inquiry followed an investigation by an independent counsel. The six committees were
Financial Services,
the Judiciary,
Intelligence,
Foreign Affairs,
Oversight and Reform, and
Ways and Means. On December 5, Speaker Pelosi authorized the Judiciary Committee to begin drafting articles of impeachment. On December 10, 2019, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee announced they would levy two articles of impeachment, designated H. Res. 755: (1) abuse of power, and (2) obstruction of Congress, On February 5, 2020, the Senate acquitted Trump on both counts. The votes were 48–52 to convict on the first count and 47–53 to convict on the second count, both short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict, therefore resulting in acquittal. The votes were sharply divided along party lines.
Joe Biden On September 12, 2023, facing pressure from right-wing Republican members of Congress,
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced the launch of an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden over allegations relating to his son
Hunter Biden's foreign business deals. on December 13, 2023, the House held vote to formalize the impeachment inquiry.
Vice presidential One vice president has faced an impeachment inquiry by personal request. Another had a personal request for one denied, and another had a vote to hold a formal impeachment inquiry be narrowly defeated. In 1826, Vice President
John C. Calhoun himself requested a House impeachment inquiry be launched into him regarding allegations that he had profited from a contract during his tenure as
United States secretary of war. His request was granted, and a House select committee conducted an impeachment inquiry which, in only a matter of weeks, found Calhoun innocent of wrongdoing. The House voted 105 to 109 not to consider it. On September 26, 1973, a request by Vice President
Spiro Agnew that an impeachment inquiry into him be launched was denied by Speaker of the House
Carl Albert.
Other notable examples Other notable examples include the impeachment inquiry into Supreme Court Justice
Samuel Chase, which led to up to
his impeachment. Another notable example is the
impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas, which was only the second
Cabinet impeachment in history. ==State==