Some irrefutable FACTS: 1: The 'impeachment,' of a President of the United States, is a political process, not criminal.
I. Impeachment
..............A. Being formally accused of unlawful activity, committing a crime
..............B. Not necessarily being kicked out of office
II. Who can be Impeached? Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution
..............A. “President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United States”
..............B. Civil Officers include people appointed by the President (cabinet members and judges)
C. Members of Congress are NOT civil officers
..............1. Justice Department or an independent council investigates charges & presents them to the House Judiciary Committee
..............2. House Judiciary Committee (HJC) reviews evidence
..............3. HJC drafts Articles of Impeachment
..............4. HJC debates Articles of Impeachment (Nixon)
I would would argue that no specific charges were brought against Nixon, but they were in fact debating / deliberating just what to charge(s) {a.k.a. High Crimes & Misdemeanors } him {Nixon} with. Gerald Ford told Nixon, he didn't have the votes necessary to avoid an Impeachment. Hence Nixon resigned. {Democrats chance to avenge Alger Hiss} A young congressman from California named Richard M. Nixon was determined to expose Alger Hiss, a State Department official, as a communist.
..............5. Entire House of Representatives debates Articles of Impeachment & votes on them (Simple Majority)
..............a. If this happens, President is considered Impeached
..............6. Senate holds the Trial "Will the official be kicked out of office"
..............a. House Judiciary Committee acts as the prosecution-- presents evidence against the accused
..............b. Accused chooses own lawyers to present defense
..............c. Chief Justice of Supreme Court acts as Judge and rules on admissibility of evidence
..............d. Senate acts as the Jury
7. A 2/3 majority of the Senate must vote against accused to remove the person from office (Andrew Johnson, Clinton)
"You are missing the point. Charges were made, ..."
Charges were made. Nixon was impeached. The purpose of the impeachment trial is to verify that the charges made were a true bill. The process was not carried to the end because Nixon essentially admitted his involvement by resigning rather than allowing the trial to complete. It took two years from the time of the Watergate discovery of operators loosed by Nixon's advisors (June 1972) until July 27, 1974 when the charges were laid (click here to read the entire article).
Excerpts:
July 27, 1974:
On this day in 1974, the House of Representatives charges President Richard M. Nixon with the first of three articles of impeachment for obstruction of justice after he refused to release White House tape recordings that contained crucial information regarding the Watergate scandal.
. . . .
Nixon vigorously denied involvement in the burglary cover-up, most famously in November 1973 when he declared, “I am not a crook.”
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You have laid out what looks to be what caused Nixon to resign. Good job, I think. But what I said to you was correct, wasn't it?
That was more than half a life ago for me, the year I turned 38, one which for many reasons was quite memorable. Were you in the audience?