IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 198 

To establish standards defining impeachable ‘‘high crimes and misdemeanors’’ 

within the meaning of Article II, section 4 as applied to the President 

of the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2015 

Mr. YOHO submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

To establish standards defining impeachable ‘‘high crimes 

and misdemeanors’’ within the meaning of Article II, 

section 4 as applied to the President of the United 

States. 

Whereas Article II, section 4 of the Constitution provides 

that, ‘‘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’’; 

Whereas Article I, section 2, clause 5 provides that, ‘‘The 

House of Representatives . . . shall have the sole Power 

of Impeachment’’; 

Whereas the constitutional convention rejected ‘‘neglect of 

duty’’ or ‘‘maladministration’’ as impeachment standards 


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•HRES 198 IH 

in favor of ‘‘high crimes and misdemeanors’’ because the 

former terms were too broad; 

Whereas Alexander Hamilton in Federalist 65 explained that 

impeachable offenses ‘‘proceed from the misconduct of 

public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust. They are of a nature which 

may with peculiar propriety be denominated POLITICAL, as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately 

to the society itself’’; 

Whereas impeachable ‘‘high crimes and misdemeanors’’ has 

an objective meaning based on the intent of the Constitution’s framers and British impeachment precedents; 

Whereas the House of Representatives has voted articles of 

impeachment against two Presidents, one Cabinet officer, 

one Senator, one Supreme Court Justice, and fourteen 

(14) Federal judges without providing a general standard 

for defining an impeachable offense; 

Whereas the law should warn before it strikes; 

Whereas the absence of impeachment standards creates an 

appearance that impeachment is a partisan exercise, 

which undermines its legitimacy and deters its use; 

Whereas the impeachment power of the House of Representatives is a cornerstone safeguard against Presidential tyranny; and 

Whereas the past neglect of the House of Representatives to 

use the impeachment power against Presidential 

usurpations and lawlessness has concentrated alarming 

power in the executive branch, crippled liberty, undermined transparency, and encouraged Presidents to further aggrandizements: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, 


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•HRES 198 IH 

1 SECTION 1. DEFINITION OF PRESIDENTIAL IMPEACHABLE 

2 OFFENSES. 

3 The House of Representatives declares the following 

4 Presidential actions shall constitute impeachable ‘‘high 

5 crimes and misdemeanors’’ within the meaning of Article 

6 II, section 4, which will cause the House to vote an article 

7 or articles of impeachment to send to the Senate for 

8 trial— 

9 (1) initiating war without express congressional 

10 authorization; 

11 (2) killing American citizens in the United 

12 States or abroad who are not then engaged in active 

13 hostilities against the United States without due 

14 process (unless the killing was necessary to prevent 

15 imminent serious physical danger to third parties); 

16 (3) failing to superintend subordinates guilty of 

17 chronic constitutional abuses; 

18 (4) spending appropriated funds in violation of 

19 conditions imposed for expenditure; 

20 (5) intentionally lying to Congress to obtain an 

21 authorization for war; 

22 (6) failing to take care that the laws be faith23 fully executed through signing statements or system24 atic policies of nonenforcement; 

25 (7) substituting executive agreements for trea26 ties; 


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•HRES 198 IH 

1 (8) intentionally lying under oath to a Federal 

2 judge or grand jury; 

3 (9) misusing Federal agencies to advance a par4 tisan political agenda; 

5 (10) refusing to comply with a congressional 

6 subpoena for documents or testimony issued for a le7 gitimate legislative purpose; and 

8 (11) issuing Executive orders or Presidential 

9 memoranda that infringe upon or circumvent the 

10 constitutional powers of Congress. 

11 SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

12 This Resolution shall take effect upon passage by the 

13 House of Representatives. 

Æ 


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