[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 3, Chapters 10 - 14]
[Chapter 14. Impeachment Powers]
[B. Investigation and Impeachment]
[§ 7. Committee Consideration; Reports]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
[Page 2057-2065]
CHAPTER 14
Impeachment Powers
B. INVESTIGATION AND IMPEACHMENT
Sec. 7. Committee Consideration; Reports
Under Rule XI, the rules of the House are the rules of its
committees and subcommittees where applicable.(1)
Consideration by committees of impeachment propositions to be reported
to the House is therefore generally governed by the principles of
consideration and debate that are normally followed in taking up any
proposition. Thus, in the 93d Congress, the
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1. Rule XI clause 27(a), House Rules and Manual Sec. 735 (1973).
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[[Page 2058]]
Committee on the Judiciary adopted a resolution for the consideration
of articles impeaching President Richard Nixon, providing for general
debate, and permitting amendment under the five-minute
rule.(2)
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2. See Sec. 7.2. infra.
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Cross References
Committee consideration and reports generally, see Ch. 17, infra.
Committee powers and procedures as to impeachment investigations, see
Sec. 6, supra.
Committee procedure generally, see Ch. 17, infra.
Committee reports on grounds for impeachment, see Sec. 3, supra.
Management by reporting committee of impeachment propositions in the
House, see Sec. 8, infra.
Collateral References
Debates on Articles of Impeachment, Hearings of the Committee on the
Judiciary pursuant to H. Res. 803, July 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, and 30,
1974, 93d Cong. 2d Sess.
Impeachment of Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States, H.
Rept. No. 93-1305, Committee on the Judiciary, 93d Cong. 2d Sess.,
Aug. 20, 1974.
Associate Justice William O. Douglas, final report by the Special
Subcommittee on H. Res. 920, Committee on the Judiciary, 91st Cong.
2d Sess., Sept. 17
1970. -------------------
Consideration of Resolution and Articles of Impeachment
Sec. 7.1 Under the modern practice, the Committee on the Judiciary may
report to the House, when recommending impeachment, both a
resolution and articles of impeachment, to be considered together
by the House.
On July 8, 1912, Mr. Henry D. Clayton, of Alabama, of the Committee
on the Judiciary reported to the House a resolution (H. Res. 524)
impeaching Judge Robert Archbald. The resolution not only impeached but
set out articles of impeachment which the resolution stated were
sustained by the evidence.(3) A similar procedure was
followed in the impeachment of certain other judges--George
English,(4) Harold Louderback,(5) and Halsted
Ritter. The resolution of impeachment in the Ritter case incorporated
the articles (the articles themselves which followed the text below
have been omitted): (6)
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3. 48 Cong. Rec. 8697, 8698, 62d Cong. 2d Sess. (report and resolution
printed in full in the Record).
4. 67 Cong. Rec. 6280, 69th Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 25, 1926.
5. 76 Cong. Rec. 4913, 4914, 72d Cong. 2d Sess., Feb. 24, 1933.
6. 80 Cong. Rec. 3066, 74th Cong. 2d Sess., Mar. 2, 1936.
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[[Page 2059]]
[H. Res. 422, 74th Cong., 2d Sess. (Rept. No. 2025)]
Resolution
Resolved, That Halsted L. Ritter, who is a United States
district judge for the southern district of Florida, be impeached
for misbehavior, and for high crimes and misdemeanors; and that the
evidence heretofore taken by the subcommittee of the Committee on
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives under House
Resolution 163 of the Seventy-third Congress sustains articles of
impeachment, which are hereinafter set out, and that the said
articles be, and they are hereby, adopted by the House of
Representatives, and that the same shall be exhibited to the Senate
in the following words and figures, to wit:
Articles of impeachment of the House of Representatives of the
United States of America in the name of themselves and of all of
the people of the United States of America against Halsted L.
Ritter, who was appointed, duly qualified, and commissioned to
serve, during good behavior in office, as United States district
judge for the southern district of Florida, on February 15, 1929.
Resolutions for Committee Consideration
Sec. 7.2 The Committee on the Judiciary adopted in the 93d Congress a
resolution governing its consideration of a motion to report to the
House a resolution and articles impeaching President Richard Nixon;
the resolution provided for general debate on the resolution,
reading the articles for amendment under the five-minute rule, and
considering the original motion as adopted should any article be
agreed to.
On July 23, 1974, the Committee on the Judiciary adopted a
resolution providing that on July 24 the committee should commence
general debate on reporting to the House a resolution and articles of
impeachment against President Nixon; the resolution provided for
general debate and reading of the articles for amendment under the
five-minute rule: (7)
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7. H. Rept. No. 93-1305, at p. 10, Committee on the Judiciary, 93d
Cong. 2d Sess., reported Aug. 20, 1 1974.
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Resolved, That at a business meeting on July 24, 1974, the
Committee shall commence general debate on a motion to report to
the House a Resolution, together with articles of impeachment,
impeaching Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States. Such
general debate shall consume no more than ten hours, during which
time no Member shall be recognized for a period to exceed 15
minutes. At the conclusion of general debate, the proposed articles
shall be read for amendment and Members shall be recognized for a
period of five minutes to speak on each
[[Page 2060]]
proposed article and on any and all amendments thereto, unless by
motion debate is terminated thereon. Each proposed article, and any
additional article, shall be separately considered for amendment
and immediately thereafter voted upon as amended for recommendation
to the House. At the conclusion of consideration of the articles
for amendment and recommendation to the House, if any article has
been agreed to, the original motion shall be considered as adopted
and the Chairman shall report to the House said Resolution of
impeachment, together with such articles as have been agreed to, or
if no article is agreed to, the Committee shall consider such
resolutions or other recommendations as it deems proper.
Broadcasting Committee Meetings During Consideration of Impeachment
Sec. 7.3 The House in the 93d Congress amended Rule XI of the rules of
the House to provide for broadcasting of meetings, as well as
hearings, of committees, thereby permitting radio and television
coverage of the consideration by the Committee on the Judiciary of
a resolution and articles of impeachment against President Richard
Nixon.
On July 22, 1974, Mr. B.F. Sisk, of California, called up by
direction of the Committee on Rules a resolution (H. Res. 1107)
amending the rules of the House.(8)
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8. 120 Cong. Rec. 24436, 93d Cong. 2d Sess.
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Debate on the resolution indicated that it was intended to clarify
the rules of the House to permit all committees to allow broadcasting
of their meetings as well as hearings by majority vote, but that its
immediate purpose was to allow the broadcasting of the proceedings of
the Committee on the Judiciary in considering a resolution and articles
of impeachment against President Nixon (to commence on July 24, 1974).
The House discussed the advisability of, and procedures for, televising
the proceedings of the Committee on the Judiciary, and adopted the
resolution.(9)
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9. Speaker Carl Albert (Okla.) overruled a point of order against
consideration of the resolution and held that the question
whether a committee meeting was properly called was a matter
for the committee and not the House to consider. 120 Cong. Rec.
24437, 93d Con. 2d Sess.
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Privilege of Reports on Impeachment Questions
Sec. 7.4 The reports of a committee to which has been referred
resolutions for the impeachment of a federal civil officer are
privileged for immediate consideration.
[[Page 2061]]
Resolutions impeaching federal civil officers, or resolutions
incidental to an impeachment question, are highly privileged under the
U.S. Constitution (Sec. 5, supra); reports thereon are likewise
considered as privileged.(10)
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10. Rule XI clause 27 (d) (4), House Rules and Manual Sec. 735 (1973)
requires that, with certain exceptions, a measure not be
considered in the House until the third calendar day on which
the report thereon has been available to Members. However, on
July 13, 1971, Speaker Carl Albert (Okla.) held that a
committee report relating to the refusal of a witness to
respond to a subpena was not subject to the three-day rule. See
117 Cong. Rec. 24720-23, 92d Cong. 1st Sess. (H. Rept. No. 92-
349). The Speaker held in that case that ``the report is of
such high privilege under the inherent constitutional powers of
the House and under Rule IX that the provisions of clause 27(d)
(4) of Rule XI are not applicable.''
See also the dicta of Speaker Frederick H. Gillett (Mass.),
at 6 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 48, that impeachment charges were
privileged for immediate consideration due to their
particularly privileged status under the U.S. Constitution.
These arguments seem persuasive with respect to impeachment
cases when reported.
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Privilege of Reports as to Discontinuance of Impeachment Proceedings
Sec. 7.5 Reports proposing discontinuance of impeachment proceedings
are privileged for immediate consideration when reported from the
Committee on the Judiciary.
On Feb. 13, 1932, Mr. Hatton W. Sumners, of Texas, offered House
Report No. 444 and House Resolution 143, discontinuing impeachment
proceedings against Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon. He offered
the report as privileged and it was immediately considered and adopted
by the House.(11)
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11. 75 Cong. Rec. 3850, 72d Cong. 1st Sess.
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On Mar. 24, 1939, Mr. Sam Hobbs, of Alabama, called up a privileged
report of the Committee on the Judiciary on House Resolution 67, which
report recommended against the impeachment of Secretary of Labor
Frances Perkins. The report was called up as privileged and the House
immediately agreed to Mr. Hobbs' motion to lay the report on the
table.(12)
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12. 84 Cong. Rec. 3273, 76th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Calendaring and Printing of Impeachment Reports
Sec. 7.6 Reports of the Committee on the Judiciary recommending
impeachment of civil officers and judges of
[[Page 2062]]
the United States are referred to the House Calendar and ordered
printed.
A committee report on the impeachment of a federal civil officer is
referred to the House Calendar, ordered printed, and may be printed in
full in the Record either by resolution or pursuant to a unanimous
consent request.(13)
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13. 48 Cong. Rec. 8697, 8698, 62d Cong. 2d Sess., July 8, 1912 (Judge
Robert Archbald); see also H. Rept. No. 653, 67 Cong. Rec.
6280, 69th Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 25, 1926 (Judge George
English), printed in full in the Record by unanimous consent;
H. Rept. No. 2025, 80 Cong. Rec. 2528, 74th Cong. 2d Sess.,
Feb. 20, 1936 (Judge Halsted Ritter); H. Rept. No. 1305, 120
Cong. Rec. 29219, 93d Cong. 2d Sess., Aug. 20, 1974 (President
Richard Nixon), printed in full in the Record pursuant to H.
Res. 1333, 120 Cong. Rec. 29361, 29362.
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Report Submitted Without Resolution of impeachment
Sec. 7.7 President Richard Nixon having resigned following the decision
of the Committee on the Judiciary to report to the House
recommending his impeachment, the committee's report, without an
accompanying resolution, was submitted to and accepted by the
House.
The Committee on the Judiciary considered proposed articles of
impeachment against President Nixon and adopted articles, as amended,
on July 27, 29, and 30, 1974. Before the committee report with articles
of impeachment were reported to the House, the President resigned his
office. The committee's report was therefore submitted to the House
without an accompanying resolution of impeachment. The report
summarized in detail the evidence against the President and the
committee's investigation and consideration of impeachment charges, and
included supplemental, additional, separate, dissenting, minority, and
concurring views as to the separate articles, the evidence before the
committee and its sufficiency for impeachment, and the standards and
grounds for impeachment of federal and civil officers.
The committee's recommendation read as follows:
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
consideration of recommendations concerning the exercise of the
constitutional power to impeach Richard M. Nixon, President of the
United States, having considered the same, reports thereon pursuant
to H. Res. 803 as follows and recommends that the House exercise
its constitutional power to impeach Richard M. Nixon, President of
the United States, and that articles of impeachment be exhibited to
the Senate as follows: . . .(14)
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14. H. Rept. No. 93-1305, at p. 1, Committee on the Judiciary, printed
in the Record at 120 Cong. Rec. 29219, 93d Cong. 2d Sess.,
Aug. 20, 1974. For complete text of H. Rept. No. 93-1305, see
id. at pp 29219-361.
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[[Page 2063]]
The report was referred by the Speaker to the House Calendar, and
accepted and ordered printed in full in the Record pursuant to the
following resolution, agreed to under suspension of the rules, which
acknowledged the intervening resignation of the President:
H. Res. 1333
Resolved, That the House of Representatives
(1) takes notice that
(a) the House of Representatives, by House Resolution 803,
approved February 6, 1974, authorized and directed the Committee on
the Judiciary to investigate fully and completely whether
sufficient grounds existed for the House of Representatives to
exercise its constitutional power to impeach Richard M. Nixon,
President of the United States of America; and
(b) the Committee on the Judiciary, after conducting a full and
complete investigation pursuant to House Resolution 803, voted on
July 27, 29, and 30, 1974 to recommend Articles of impeachment
against Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States of
America; and
(c) Richard M. Nixon on August 9, 1974 resigned the Office of
President of the United States of America;
(2) accepts the report submitted by the Committee on the
Judiciary pursuant to House Resolution 803 (H. Rept. 93-1305) and
authorizes and directs that the said report, together with
supplemental, additional, separate, dissenting, minority,
individual and concurring views, be printed in full in the
Congressional Record and as a House Document; and
(3) commends the chairman and other members of the Committee on
the Judiciary for their conscientious and capable efforts in
carrying out the Committee's responsibilities under House
Resolution 803.(15)
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15. 120 Cong. Rec. 29361, 93d Cong. 2d Sess., Aug. 20, 1974.
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Reports Discontinuing Impeachment Proceedings
Sec. 7.8 The Committee on the Judiciary unanimously agreed to report
adversely a resolution authorizing an impeachment investigation
into the conduct of the Secretary of Labor.
On Mar. 24, 1939,(16) a privileged report of the
Committee on the Judiciary was presented to the House; the report was
adverse to a resolution (H. Res. 67) authorizing an investigation of
impeachment charges against Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins and two
other officials of the Labor Department:
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16. 84 Cong. Rec. 3273, 76th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Impeachment Proceedings--Frances Perkins
Mr. [Sam] Hobbs [of Alabama]: Mr. Speaker, by direction of the
Committee
[[Page 2064]]
on the Judiciary I present a privileged report upon House
Resolution 67, which I send to the desk.
The Speaker: (17) The Clerk will report the
resolution.
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17. William B. Bankhead (Ala.).
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The Clerk read House Resolution 67.
Mr. Hobbs: Mr. Speaker, this is a unanimous report from the
Committee on the Judiciary adversing this resolution. I move to lay
the resolution on the table.
The Speaker: The question is on the motion of the gentleman
from Alabama to lay the resolution on the table.
The motion was agreed to.
Sec. 7.9 Where an impeachment resolution was pending before the
Committee on the Judiciary, and the official charged resigned, the
committee reported out a resolution recommending that the further
consideration of the charges be discontinued.
On Feb. 13, 1932,(18) the Committee on the Judiciary
reported adversely on impeachment charges and its resolution was
adopted by the House:
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18. 75 Cong. Rec. 3850, 72d Cong. 1st Sess.
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Impeachment Charges--Report From Committee on the Judiciary
Mr. [Hatton W.] Sumners of Texas: Mr. Speaker, I offer a report
from the Committee on the Judiciary, and I would like to give
notice that immediately upon the reading of the report I shall move
the previous question.
The Speaker: (19) The gentleman from Texas offers a
report, which the Clerk will read.
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19. John N. Garner (Tex.).
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The Clerk read the report, as follows:
House of Representatives--Relative to the Action of the
Committee on the Judiciary With Reference to House Resolution
92
Mr. Sumners of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary,
submitted the following report (to accompany H. Res. 143):
I am directed by the Committee on the Judiciary to submit
to the House, as its report to the House, the following
resolution adopted by the Committee on the Judiciary indicating
its action with reference to House Resolution No. 92 heretofore
referred by the House to the Committee on the Judiciary:
Whereas Hon. Wright Patman, Member of the House of
Representatives, filed certain impeachment charges against Hon.
Andrew W. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury, which were
referred to this committee; and
Whereas pending the investigation of said charges by said
committee, and before said investigation had been completed,
the said Hon. Andrew W. Mellon was nominated by the President
of the United States for the post of ambassador to the Court of
St. James and the said nomination was duly confirmed by the
United States Senate pursuant to law, and the said Andrew W.
Mellon has resigned the position of Secretary of the Treasury:
Be it
Resolved by this committee, That the further consideration
of the said charges made against the said Andrew W. Mellon, as
Secretary of the Treasury, be, and the same are hereby
discontinued.
[[Page 2065]]
Minority Views
We can not join in the majority views and findings. While
we concur in the conclusions of the majority that section 243
of the Revised Statutes, upon which the proceedings herein were
based, provides for action in the nature of an ouster
proceeding, it is our view that the Hon. Andrew W. Mellon, the
former Secretary of the Treasury, having removed himself from
that office, no useful purpose would be served by continuing
the investigation of the charges filed by the Hon. Wright
Patman. We desire to stress that the action of the undersigned
is based on that reason alone, particularly when the
prohibition contained in said section 243 is not applicable to
the office now held by Mr. Mellon.
Fiorello H. LaGuardia.
Gordon Browning.
M. C. Tarver.
Francis B. Condon.
Mr. Sumners of Texas: Mr. Speaker I think the resolution is
fairly explanatory of the views held by the different members of
the committee. No useful purpose could be served by the consumption
of the usual 40 minutes, so I move the previous question.
The previous question was ordered.
The Speaker: The question is on agreeing to the resolution.
The resolution was agreed to.
Sec. 7.10 On one occasion, the Committee on the Judiciary reported
adversely on impeachment charges, finding the evidence did not
warrant impeachment, but the House rejected the report and voted
for impeachment.
On Feb. 24, 1933, the House considered House Resolution 387 (H.
Rept. No. 2065) from the Committee on the Judiciary, which included the
finding that charges against Judge Harold Louderback did not warrant
impeachment. Under a previous unanimous-consent agreement, an amendment
in the nature of a substitute, recommended by the minority of the
committee and impeaching the accused, was offered. The previous
question was ordered on the amendment and it was adopted by the
House.(20)
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20. 76 Cong. Rec. 4913-25, 72d Cong. 2d Sess. For analyses of the
Louderback proceedings in the House, see Sec. Sec. 17.1-17.4,
infra, and 6 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 514.
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