The Impeachment Power: The Law, Politics, and Purpose of an Extraordinary Constitutional Tool

What exactly is impeachment within the framework of the United States federal government? Whittington (political science, Princeton Univ.; Speak Freely) expertly addresses this question in his very engaging work. Readers will come away with a better understanding of the historical origins of the impeachment power within the English Parliament and how it was modified for the American context; what exactly the Constitution says about impeachment; and how the power has evolved over time. Public perception of impeachment is typically associated with a congressional effort to remove the president. However, that has rarely been attempted. Most impeachments involve federal judges accused of misconduct, and this work references several of the more prominent examples to illustrate how impeachment has been implemented. The impeachment process has some similarities to a judicial process. The U.S. Senate sits as an impeachment court, for example, but the author does an excellent job of explaining how impeachment is more a political process than a legal one.