Understanding Impeachment

The latest news in America’s political rollercoaster ride is the (maybe?) impeachment of the current president, Donald Trump. But what does that even mean?

Those of us who remember Bill Clinton’s impeachment hearings maybe recall it as just being a bunch of inquiries into his extramarital dalliances, and then a big nothing; he was still president afterward. So could this be more of the same? What exactly is the President being accused of (abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, by the way), and how is Congress attempting to call him on it? And, the most important question of all, what happens next (whether or not he’s found guilty)?

Below is a selection of a booklist created by librarian Corina B., to help you understand the process. She’s included a sampling “to appeal to people with different learning styles” ranging from “content imbedded in a narrative” to books that outline “this is how impeachment works and these are all the rules.”

Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide by Cass R. Sunstein is a no-frills manual to the constitutional design behind impeachment, including actual and imaginable arguments for removing a sitting president from office.

Impeachment: An American History by Jon Meacham, Timothy Naftali, Peter Baker, and Jeffrey A. Engel includes an examination by the four authors of the three times impeachment has been invoked—against Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton—and what it means for today’s elected leaders.

All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward is THE authoritative text on contesting a president’s power and tenure; a firsthand account of the Watergate scandal by the reporters who essentially brought down Richard Nixon.

In Crisis and Command: The History of Executive Power from George Washington to George W. Bush, author John Yoo argues that the founding fathers deliberately left the Constitution vague on the limits of presidential authority, drawing on history to demonstrate the benefits to the nation of a strong executive office.

The Federal Impeachment Process: A Constitutional and Historical Analysis by Michael J. Gerhardt gets into the nuts and bolts of impeachment with a complete analysis of the constitutional and legal issues raised in every impeachment proceeding in American history, arguing that it’s designed to expose and remedy political crimes.

Visit the full list online to explore all the titles, and for more information on impeachment procedures, American government, and American history, visit your neighborhood library and speak to a librarian.