Can the impeachment proceedings continue over from one Congress to the next?
Birmingham, Alabama – 5/11/00 According to past congressional practice, yes. Although some law professors have speculated otherwise, their position would have to be litigated to have any practical application to the pending case of President Clinton. Congress is acting based on the assumption of continuing authority. Its position is based on three grounds: (1) Logic. Impeachment is not legislation, which dies at the end of every Congress. It represents an official confrontation between two branches of government and it remains a confrontation until disposed of. Furthermore, the Senate is a continuing body; it does not dissolve at the end of a Congress as does the House. If the Articles are with the Senate at the end of a Congress, continuance does not arise as an issue. (2) Parliamentary practice. Jefferson’s Manual, in discussing impeachment, clearly states the premise we inherited from the British practice. It states: “An impeachment is not discontinued by the dissolution of Parliame
