Impeachment Basics: Part II

In part II, I share the text of the Constitution that concerns impeachment. I explain a little and show the parts that are confusing and require more context and other sources to understand.

Cover of explainer comic says, “Impeachment Basics: Straight from the Source by Maddy Buck.” The illustration is of a U.S. Constitution parchment paper with arms and legs saying, “What I say is very important. And I don’t take questions.”

This page of the explainer comic quotes Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. What does Article II, Section 4 means? The text says, “Translation: This tells us who can be impeached. Who are “All civil Officers” is hazy on the edges. Based o precedent, it does include Federal judges and probably Cabinet-level executive officials and probably not members of Congress.” At the top is an illustration of some officials and some judges behind a bench.

This page quotes Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. What does this provision mean? The text says, “Translation: These are the grounds/reasons someone can be impeached. To understand potential meanings of ‘high Crimes and Misdemeanors requires looking at past impeachments and other sources.”

This page quotes Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution. What does this provision mean? The text says, “Translation: Only the House can impeach. Remember, the House’s impeachment does not mean removal from office.” The illustration above shoes the House holding a piece of paper that shows itself pointing a finger at an official.

This page also quotes Article I, Section 2, Clause 5. It says, “Note: This doesn’t describe the details of how the House will do this. That’s where House rules, precedent, and politics come in.”

This page quotes Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 of the U.S. Constitution. It includes an illustration of the Senate putting someone on trial for impeachment.

This page quotes Article I, Section 3, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution. What does this provision mean? The text says, “Translation: A conviction of impeachment does not itself trigger any other legal penalty. Once out of office, the individual could be sued or criminally charged for the conduct that led to the impeachment and removal.” The illustration shows the Senate kicking an official out which does not equal that person behind bars.

This page also quotes Article I, Section 3, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution. It then says, “Note: In past impeachment convictions (for federal judges), the Senate has voted separately on whether the individual should also be barred from holding public office in the future.

This page quotes Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. What does this provision mean? The text says, “Translation: A President cannot pardon impeachment convictions. But ‘in cases of impeachment’ is a bit unclear. Could the President pardon someone in a way that undermines an impeachment proceeding? The illustration shows Congress as a whole kicking out an official. On top of it are the words “No Pardons.”

The text on this page of the explainer comic says, “It’s important to start with the primary source: the Constitution. But when you do, you see the spots where things aren’t crystal clear. For more clarity, you should look to other writings, past impeachments, and Senate and House rules. The goal should be to interpret correctly. But even if we gain clarity from other sources, politics is still a part of this rarely used process and can influence the interpretation of contentious issues.” Th illustration shows the U.S. Constitution character with arms and legs, surrounded by books labeled as “Precedent, History, Other” and by more papers with arms and legs labeled as “the Federalist Papers.”

Impeachment Basics: Part I

Although it may soon come to an end, the topic of impeachment is everywhere right now. We may know some buzzwords and have a vague sense of the concept, but I find that it’s so easy to not know the basics behind impeachment. So, here’s Part I of my attempt to do some explaining of the impeachment process in general.

The first page of this explainer comic shows a person with their hands over their eyes, distressed, saying, “Help! Need basics!” Out of there head is a tornado filled with color and words relating to impeachment. By Maddy Buck 2020.

The text of this illustration says, “What is impeachment? It is a procedure for removing certain public officials from office for committing ‘treason, bribery, or other high Crimes and misdemeanors.’ “ Below the text is a Constitution scroll with arms and legs saying “Those are my words!” The illustration is colorful.

This illustration says “How does it work? First the U.S. House of Representatives must impeach (accuse) the individual. Then the U.S. Senate must decide to convict the individual and remove them from office.” The image is of the U.S. Capitol with the words “House of Representatives” drawn into the left side and the “Senate” drawn into the right side.

The text on this page says, “The House must vote to impeach (accuse) the individual for committing ‘treason, bribery, or other high Crimes and misdemeanors.” This does NOT remove the individual from office. The illustration shows the House side of Congress, with arms and legs, holding a paper showing itself pointing at a suited figure. Below is an equation, that is words and pictures: The House’s Impeachment does not equal the House kicking that person from office.

In this panel, the text says, “Then the Senate holds a trial to evaluate the House’s impeachment (their accusation of misconduct). The Senate then votes on the rules of the trial, listens to the arguments, and votes (like a jury) on whether to convict and remove.” We see this is by Maddy Buck. The illustration shows the right side of the U.S. Capitol with some stick figure people behind benches voting.

In this panel, the illustration shows the Senate side of Congress, with arms and legs. It shows the Senate divided into “Yes, convict and remove” and “No, don’t.” The percentage that says, “Yes” appears to be larger than the “No” votes, so the Senate figure is kicking the suited figure out with its foot. The text says, “If 2/3 of the Senate votes to convict the impeached individual, that vote removes the individual from office.”

The text on this panel says, “SAYS WHO? The U.S. Constitution lays out this framework. House and Senate rules cover the detailed procedure within the House’s impeachment and the Senate’s trial. Next up: What are the exact words the Constitution uses to describe impeachment and removal?” The illustration is of the Constitution, in pale yellow, a pointing at itself. It has arms and legs.

Minnesota Daily Coverage →

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Minnesota Daily reporter Ksenia Gorinshteyn about my illustrations and how I came to drawing legal concepts. What fun to see the lovely story in print!

You can find the full article online here.