Generally, the first step in the impeachment process in the House of Representatives is to hold a formal inquiry into whether or not there are grounds for impeachment. This can be carried out by a House committee or an independent counsel. The House of Representatives can also just hold a floor vote on articles of impeachment without any committee or panel vetting them.
After much debate at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, the attendees—among them George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin —approved the concept behind the impeachment of government officials.
Article 2, Section 4 states 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.” This describes an abuse of power by a high-level public official.
Sources. Impeachment is a process in the House of Representatives that makes up the first major step required to remove a government official from office.
Some framers of the Constitution were opposed to the impeachment clause, because having the legislative branch sit in judgement over the executive might compromise the separation of powers they sought to establish between the three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial.
President Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998 over allegations of perjury and obstruction of justice stemming from a lawsuit filed against him relating to the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
A two-thirds majority of the Senate is required to convict. If a president is acquitted by the Senate, the impeachment trial is over. But if he or she is found guilty, the Senate trial moves to the sentencing or “punishment” phase.