Letter: Defining 'crimes and misdemeanors'

It is surprisingly short and to the point. Article II, Section 4 states: "The president, vice president and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

I don't think that there would be too much disagreement regarding the definition of treason or bribery, but what did the framers of the Constitution mean by "high crimes and misdemeanors"? Really, put yourself in their place a couple of hundred years ago. In 1970, then-Rep. Gerald Ford, R-Mich., had this to say regarding the definition of high crimes and misdemeanors: "An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history."

So, you've got a lame duck Democratic president and a Republican-controlled House (and Senate for that matter), and the House not only gets to define "high crimes and misdemeanors," but they also get to vote whether to begin the impeachment process. Give me tens of millions of dollars and four years, and I'll find just about everyone in America guilty of "high crimes and misdemeanors." Why? Because I get to legally say so.

I think that the Republicans have stumbled on to something here. As long as you control the House, you could pretty much -- within reason -- bring down virtually any president. Think back to some of our former presidents' exploits. High crimes and misdemeanors, indeed.

Ken Schott

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