https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Impeachment_Hastings.htm
Mar 17, 1987 Subsequent investigation of Hastings’ actions led the panel of 11th Circuit Court judges to conclude that Hastings had lied during the trial and was guilty of perjury and bribery, and that he had fabricated his defense. The 27-judge panel certified that Hastings had “engaged in conduct which might constitute grounds for impeachment,” and recommended impeachment to the House of Representatives.
Apr 18, 1988 U.S. Supreme Court rejected Hastings attempt to invalidate the Judicial Councils Reform and Judicial Conduct and Disability Act.
May 18, 1988 House Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice began investigating charges against Hastings.
Jul 7, 1988 House Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice voted 7 to 0 in favor of impeachment.
Jul 26, 1988 House Judiciary Committee voted 32 to 1 to approve 15 articles of impeachment, and approved 2 other articles by voice vote.
Aug 3, 1988 House of Representatives voted 413 to 3 to approve 17 articles of impeachment.
Aug 9, 1988 House of Representatives formally presented impeachment resolution to the Senate.
Jan 26, 1989 Senate Rules Committee heard arguments from House Managers and Hastings’ attorneys on how to conduct impeachment trial. Defense attorneys also asked that Hastings be allowed use of Senate funds in his defense.
Mar 15, 1989 Senate began impeachment proceedings. Hastings appeared before the Senate, asking that the articles be dismissed, claiming a second trial would amount to “double jeopardy.”
Mar 16, 1989 After a two-hour closed session, the Senate rejected Hastings’ motion for dismissal by 92 to 1 vote. (Senator Howard Metzenbaum later stated that he believed Hastings had already been tried and a further trial was not warranted and violated protections against “double jeopardy.”)
Mar 16, 1989 Senate passed S. Res. 38, creating a 12-member Senate Impeachment Trial Committee.
Apr 12-13, 1989 Senate Trial Committee deliberated in closed session.
May 18, 1989 Senate Trial Committee rejected Hastings’ request for Senate funding of his defense.
Jul 5, 1989 Judge Gerhard A. Gessell dismissed Hastings’ complaint that he would not receive fair trial unless the full Senate heard all evidence and testimony.
Jul 10, 1989 Senate Trial Committee began hearing evidence, a process that continued until August 3, 1989.
Oct 2, 1989 Senate Trial Committee presented its report to the Senate.
Oct 2, 1989 Senate Trial Committee presented its report to the Senate.
Oct 18, 1989 Case came before the full Senate. Hastings, on the Senate floor, spoke in his own defense.
Oct 19, 1989 Senate deliberated in closed session.
Oct 20, 1989 Senate voted on 11 articles of impeachment, convicting Hastings on 8 articles, with 2 articles falling short of the necessary two-thirds majority for conviction, and a third article receiving a 95 to 0 vote for not guilty. The president pro tempore of the Senate ordered Hastings removed from office.
Closed Sessions:
Trial Committee:
Apr 12 and 13, 1989
Full Senate:
Mar 16, 1989 (2 hours)
Oct 19, 1989, 2:05 p.m. to 9:20 p.m.
Votes
Votes on Articles:
Article 1: 69 guilty; 26 not guilty
Article 2: 68 guilty; 27 not guilty
Article 3: 69 guilty; 26 not guilty
Article 4: 67 guilty; 28 not guilty
Article 5: 67 guilty; 28 not guilty
Article 6: 48 guilty; 47 not guilty
Article 7: 69 guilty; 26 not guilty
Article 8: 68 guilty; 27 not guilty
Article 9: 70 guilty; 25 not guilty
Articles 10-15: Senate chose not to vote on these articles.
Article 16: 0 guilty; 95 not guilty
Article 17: 60 guilty; 35 not guilty
Vote for Removal and/or Disqualification:
No separate vote was taken. Having found Hastings guilty on 8 of the 17 articles of impeachment, the president pro tempore ordered him removed from office. He was not disqualified for future office.
Senate Impeachment Trial Committee
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chairman
Arlen Specter (R-PA), vice chairman
Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
David Pryor (D-AR)
Richard Bryan (D-NV)
J. Robert Kerrey (D-NE)
Joseph Lieberman (D-CT)
David Durenberger (R-MN)
Warren Rudman (R-NH)
Christopher Bond (R-MO)
Slade Gorton (R-WA)
Conrad Burns (R-MT)
House Managers & Counsel
House Managers:
John W. Bryant (D-TX), lead prosecutor
Peter W. Rodino, Jr.
John Conyers, Jr.
Don Edwards
Hamilton Fish, Jr.
George Gekas
John Brooks
Mike Synar
House Counsel:
Alan Baron (former assistant U.S. attorney in Maryland), special counsel
Defense Team
Professor Terence J. Anderson, University of Miami School of Law, chief counsel
Patricia Williams, counsel
John W. Karr, attorney
William G. McLaine, attorney
Robert S. Catz, attorney
Procedural Issues and Precedents
First official impeached on the recommendation of the Judicial Conference, acting under PL 96-458 giving the judiciary a process for investigating complaints against members, taking some limited disciplinary action and/or recommending impeachment proceedings to the House.
First time official was impeached and tried after being acquitted in criminal court.
Second time the Senate referred case to a Senate Impeachment Trial Committee, authorized by impeachment rule XI.
Second impeached official (first was Charles Swayne, 1905) to ask for Senate funds to mount a defense. The Senate again rejected the request.
Articles of Impeachment
ARTICLE 1. From some time in the first half of 1981 and continuing through October 9, 1981, Judge Hastings and William Borders, then a Washington, D.C. attorney, engaged in a corrupt conspiracy to obtain $150,000 from defendants in United States v. Romano, a case tried before Judge Hastings, in return for the imposition of sentences which would not require incarceration of the defendants.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 2. From January 18, 1983, until February 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was a defendant in a criminal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In the course of the trial of that case, Judge Hastings, while under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, did knowingly and contrary to that oath make a false statement which was intended to mislead the trier of fact.
The false statement was, in substance, that Judge Hastings and William Borders, of Washington, D.C., never made any agreement to solicit a bribe from defendants in United States v. Romano, a case tried before Judge Hastings.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 3. From January 18, 1983, until February 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was a defendant in a criminal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In the course of the trial of that case, Judge Hastings, while under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, did knowingly and contrary to that oath make a false statement which was intended to mislead the trier of fact.
The false statement was, in substance, that Judge Hastings never agreed with William Borders, of Washington, D.C., to modify the sentences of defendants in United States v. Romano, a case tried before Judge Hastings, from a term in the Federal penitentiary to probation in return for a bribe from those defendants.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 4. From January 18, 1983, until February 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was a defendant in a criminal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In the course of the trial of that case, Judge Hastings, while under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, did knowingly and contrary to that oath make a false statement which was intended to mislead the trier of fact.
The false statement was, in substance, that Judge Hastings never agreed with William Borders, of Washington, D.C., in connection with a payment on a bribe, to enter, within ten days of that payment, an order returning a substantial amount of property to the defendants in United States v. Romano, a case tried before Judge Hastings. Judge Hastings had previously ordered that property forfeited.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offence warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 5. From January 18, 1983, until February 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was a defendant in a criminal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In the course of the trial of that case, Judge Hastings, while under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, did knowingly and contrary to that oath make a false statement which was intended to mislead the trier of fact.
The false statement was, in substance, that Judge Hastings’ appearance at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, on September 16, 1981, was not part of a plan to demonstrate his participation in a bribery scheme with William Borders of Washington, D.C., concerning United States v. Romano, a case tried before Judge Hastings, and that Judge Hastings expected to meet Mr. Borders at that place and on that occasion.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 6. From January 18, 1983, until February 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was a defendant in a criminal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In the course of the trial of that case, Judge Hastings, while under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, did knowingly and contrary to his oath make a false statement which was intended to mislead the trier of fact.
The false statement was, in substance, that Judge Hastings did not expect William Borders, of Washington, D.C., to appear at Judge Hastings’ room in the Sheraton Hotel in Washington, D.C., on September 12, 1981.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 7. From January 18, 1983, until February 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was a defendant in a criminal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In the course of the trial of that case, Judge Hastings, while under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, did knowingly and contrary to his oath make a false statement which was intended to mislead the trier of fact.
The false statement concerned Judge Hastings’ motive for instructing a law clerk, Jeffrey Miller, to prepare an order on October 5, 1981, in United States v. Romano, a case tried before Judge Hastings, returning a substantial portion of property previously ordered forfeited by Judge Hastings. Judge Hastings stated in substance that he so instructed Mr. Miller primarily because Judge Hastings was concerned that the order would not be completed before Mr. Miller’s scheduled departure, when in fact the instruction on October 5, 1981, to prepare such order was in furtherance of a bribery scheme concerning that case.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 8. From January 18, 1983, until February 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was a defendant in a criminal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In the course of the trial of that case, Judge Hastings, while under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, did knowingly and contrary to his oath make a false statement which was intended to mislead the trial of fact.
The false statement was, in substance, that Judge Hastings’ October 5, 1981, telephone conversation with William Borders, of Washington, D.C., was in fact about writing letters to solicit assistance for Hemphill Pride of Columbia, South Carolina, when in fact it was a coded conversation in furtherance of a conspiracy with Mr. Borders to solicit a bribe from defendants in United States v. Romano, a case tried before Judge Hastings.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 9. From January 18, 1983, until February 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was a defendant in a criminal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In the course of the trial of that case, Judge Hastings, while under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, did knowingly and contrary to his oath make a false statement which was intended to mislead the trier of fact.
The false statement was, in substance, that three documents that purported to be drafts of letters to assist Hemphill Pride, of Columbia, South Carolina, had been written by Judge Hastings on October 5, 1981, and were the letters referred to by Judge Hastings in his October 5, 1981, telephone conversation with William Borders, of Washington, D.C.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 10. From January 18, 1983, until February 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was a defendant in a criminal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In the course of the trial of that case, Judge Hastings, while under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, did knowingly and contrary to that oath, make a false statement which was intended to mislead the trier of fact.
The false statement was, in substance, that on May 5, 1981, Judge Hastings talked to Hemphill Pride by placing a telephone call to 803-758-8825 in Columbia, South Carolina.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 11. From January 18, 1983, until February 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was a defendant in a criminal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In the course of the trial of that case, Judge Hastings, while under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, did knowingly and contrary to that oath make a false statement which was intended to mislead the trier of fact.
The false statement was, in substance, that on August 2, 1981, Judge Hastings talked to Hemphill Pride by placing a telephone call to 803-782-9387 in Columbia, South Carolina.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 12. From January 18, 1983, until February 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was a defendant in a criminal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In the course of the trial of that case, Judge Hastings, while under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, did knowingly and contrary to that oath make a false statement which was intended to mislead the trier of fact.
The false statement was, in substance, that on September 2, 1981, Judge Hastings talked to Hemphill Pride by placing a telephone call to 803-758-8825 in Columbia, South Carolina.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 13. From January 18, 1983, until February 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was a defendant in a criminal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In the course of the trial of that case, Judge Hastings, while under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, did knowingly and contrary to that oath make a false statement which was intended to mislead the trier of fact.
The false statement was, in substance, that 803-777-7716 was a telephone number at a place where Hemphill Pride could be contacted in July 1981.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 14. From January 18, 1983, until February 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was a defendant in a criminal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In the course of the trial of that case, Judge Hastings, while under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, did knowingly and contrary to that oath make a false statement which was intended to mislead the trier of fact.
The false statement was, in substance, that on the afternoon of October 9, 1981, Judge Hastings called his mother and Patricia Williams from his hotel room at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 15. From January 18, 1983, until February 4, 1983, Judge Hastings was a defendant in a criminal case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In the course of the trial of that case, Judge Hastings, while under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, did knowingly and contrary to that oath make a false statement which was intended to mislead the trier of fact concerning his motives for taking a plane on October 9, 1981, from Baltimore-Washington International Airport rather than from Washington National Airport.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 16. From July 15, 1985, to September 15, 1985, Judge Hastings was the supervising judge of a wiretap instituted under chapter 119 of title 18, United States Code (added by title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968). The wiretap was part of certain investigations then being conducted by law enforcement agents of the United States.
As supervising judge, Judge Hastings learned highly confidential information obtained through the wiretap. The documents disclosing this information, presented to Judge Hastings as the supervising judge, were Judge Hastings’ sole source of the highly confidential information.
On September 6, 1985, Judge Hastings revealed highly confidential information that he learned as the supervising judge of the wiretap, as follows: On the morning of September 6, 1985, Judge Hastings told Stephen Clark, the Mayor of Dade County, Florida, to stay away from Kevin “Waxy” Gordon, who was “hot” and was using the Mayor’s name in Hialeah, Florida.
As a result of this improper disclosure, certain investigations then being conducted by law enforcement agents of the United States were thwarted and ultimately terminated.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
ARTICLE 17. Judge Hastings, who as a Federal judge is required to enforce and obey the Constitution and laws of the United States, to uphold the integrity of the judiciary, to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety, and to perform the duties of his office impartially, did through–
(1) a corrupt relationship with William Borders of Washington, D.C.;
(2) repeated false testimony under oath at Judge Hastings’ criminal trial;
(3) fabrication of false documents which were submitted as evidence at his criminal trial; and
(4) improper disclosure of confidential information acquired by him as supervisory judge of a wiretap; undermine confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary and betray the trust of the people of the United States, thereby bringing disrepute on the Federal courts and the administration of justice by the Federal courts.
Wherefore, Judge Alcee L. Hastings is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.
See post 55
EXCELLENT!
Nice work.......
Hastings has always been known as a corrupt POS politician so I expect him to be eulogized by his corrupt Dem comrades