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Impeachment: A Handbook
Originally published at the height of the Watergate crisis, Charles Black’s classic A Handbook has long been the premier guide to the subject of presidential impeachment. Now thoroughly updated with new chapters by Philip Bobbitt, it remains essential reading for every concerned citizen.
Praise for Impeachment:
“To understand impeachment, read this book. It shows how the rule of law limits power, even of the most powerful, and reminds us that the impact of the law on our lives ultimately depends on the conscience of the individual American.”—Bill Bradley, former United States senator
“The most important book ever written on presidential impeachment.”—Lawfare
“A model of how so serious an act of state should be approached.”—Wall Street Journal
“A citizen’s guide to impeachment. . . . Elegantly written, lucid, intelligent, and comprehensive.”—New York Times Book Review
“The finest text on the subject I have ever read.”—Ben Wittes
Praise for Impeachment:
“To understand impeachment, read this book. It shows how the rule of law limits power, even of the most powerful, and reminds us that the impact of the law on our lives ultimately depends on the conscience of the individual American.”—Bill Bradley, former United States senator
“The most important book ever written on presidential impeachment.”—Lawfare
“A model of how so serious an act of state should be approached.”—Wall Street Journal
“A citizen’s guide to impeachment. . . . Elegantly written, lucid, intelligent, and comprehensive.”—New York Times Book Review
“The finest text on the subject I have ever read.”—Ben Wittes
- GenresLawPoliticsNonfiction
184 pages, Paperback
Published September 18, 2018
About the author
Charles L. Black Jr.
17 books8 followersCharles Lund Black, Jr. was an American scholar of constitutional law, which he taught as professor of law from 1947 to 1999.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles...
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 16, 2019
Both essays make for a very quick read, particularly Charles L. Black's original essay, whose five parts are written in a concise, minimalist prose that cuts right to the meat of the book's subject of impeachment. Black doesn't stop to go over particular legal technicalities, and thus this "handbook" isn't an abstract, theoretical document, but a work of living history too as the book was written simultaneous to the Nixon proceedings in the mid-seventies. This background is likewise duplicated in Bobbit's section of the book, which in all but letter, describes the "hypothetical" situation that would lead some "hypothetical" president to be impeached based on some unprecedented, but very clearly unconstitutional (or at least constitutionally dubious), actions. Whether these will lead to an impeachment trial are yet to be seen, however any scant reading of either Black's essay or Bobbit's addendum (which recounts the shadow that other impeachment proceedings cast on any future proceedings, beginning with the Nixon Saga and ending with the grounds for impeaching Obama; additionally, Bobbit goes over some fallacies regarding impeachment, which amounts to a review of Black's original essay and general housekeeping that may not have been covered in the body of the two essays directly) suggests that it's unlikely at this time. No need for elaboration aside from imploring that anyone who has an interest in the future politics of our country, protecting the institutions formed in the Constitution, read this excellent little handbook.
January 8, 2019
"...I confess to a very strong sense of the dreadfulness of the step of removal, of the deep wounding such a step must inflict on the country, and thus approach it as one would approach high-risk major surgery, to be resorted to only when the rightness of diagnosis and treatment is sure" (Charles L. Black, Jr., "Impeachment: A Handbook, New Edition").
Like the delicate scent of flowers in springtime, talk of impeachment is in the air. Whether such talk is mindful or mental, partisan or patriotic, there's no question that the question of the "Big I" hasn't consumed this much bandwidth since the dial-up days of 1998.
Charles L. Black, Jr. of Yale Law School published his brief handbook on presidential impeachment in 1974, near the height of the Nixon debacle. He intended, like a modern-day legal Prometheus, to capture the incandescent legalese of impeachment practice and theory, and bring it down to the level of common humanity. He succeeded.
The first 61 pages of Black's reissued handbook is his original work, a masterful parsing of the issues in terms the thoughtful layman can understand. What does "high Crimes and misdemeanors" really mean? Should the Supreme Court have jurisdiction to review a Senate vote for conviction under articles of impeachment? Does a president need to commit an explicitly criminal action to be liable for impeachment, or can impeachment proceed for something that isn't in the criminal code? If so, what actions are severe enough to trigger impeachment proceedings, and what aren't?
I found most helpful Black's discussion of why the Constitutional Framers chose not to include "maladministration" as a grounds for presidential impeachment, a charge which many original state constitutions did include as an impeachable offense for state-level officials. The Framers thus avoided the British system of parliamentary governance, in which the executive serves at the pleasure of the legislative. Impeachment is not a no-confidence vote. It is not a means to remove an unpopular president, or a president whose policies are disliked by any given Congress. Rather, to suffer impeachment, a president must engage in treason (very narrowly defined), bribery, or "high Crimes and misdemeanors" — whatever that means.
The remainder of the book, written by Philip Bobbitt of Columbia Law School, provides important additional discussions arising from the unsuccessful impeachment of President Bill Clinton, as well as from impeachment investigations or talk which took place under the terms of Reagan, George W. Bush, and Obama. Along with rebuttals of common fallacies in thinking about impeachment, he also includes a brief discussion of what the 25th Amendment was actually meant to do (spoiler: it wasn't forged to support a palace coup).
While not to the level of Black's treatise (in my opinion, anyway), Bobbitt's discussion of impeachment theory and practice that has blossomed from recent history is quite helpful. If his addition fall shy of Black's masterpiece, it is perhaps because he writes while caught in the gears of the endless controversy machine that is the Trump presidency. His deep misgivings about the Trump administration are obvious, though he strives mightily (and I would say with overall success) to reach conclusions that transcend the current moment.
I opened this book already in agreement with Black, that impeachment should be the unthinkable final weapon in a war for democracy, not a crowbar to pry out an unlovable president. Removal of a chief executive by Congress directly overturns the electoral will of the people, and must be approached with sacred horror in a system that holds sacrosanct that will. And yet, like any other weapon, we must be ready to wield it, if necessary, to defend the hard-won Constitutional order gifted to us by the Framers.
Black and Bobbitt provide an invaluable and thoughtful aid toward determining when we must leave that sword of impeachment firmly in its sheath — and when, with regret but with determination, we must draw it out and let it do what it was meant to do.
Like the delicate scent of flowers in springtime, talk of impeachment is in the air. Whether such talk is mindful or mental, partisan or patriotic, there's no question that the question of the "Big I" hasn't consumed this much bandwidth since the dial-up days of 1998.
Charles L. Black, Jr. of Yale Law School published his brief handbook on presidential impeachment in 1974, near the height of the Nixon debacle. He intended, like a modern-day legal Prometheus, to capture the incandescent legalese of impeachment practice and theory, and bring it down to the level of common humanity. He succeeded.
The first 61 pages of Black's reissued handbook is his original work, a masterful parsing of the issues in terms the thoughtful layman can understand. What does "high Crimes and misdemeanors" really mean? Should the Supreme Court have jurisdiction to review a Senate vote for conviction under articles of impeachment? Does a president need to commit an explicitly criminal action to be liable for impeachment, or can impeachment proceed for something that isn't in the criminal code? If so, what actions are severe enough to trigger impeachment proceedings, and what aren't?
I found most helpful Black's discussion of why the Constitutional Framers chose not to include "maladministration" as a grounds for presidential impeachment, a charge which many original state constitutions did include as an impeachable offense for state-level officials. The Framers thus avoided the British system of parliamentary governance, in which the executive serves at the pleasure of the legislative. Impeachment is not a no-confidence vote. It is not a means to remove an unpopular president, or a president whose policies are disliked by any given Congress. Rather, to suffer impeachment, a president must engage in treason (very narrowly defined), bribery, or "high Crimes and misdemeanors" — whatever that means.
The remainder of the book, written by Philip Bobbitt of Columbia Law School, provides important additional discussions arising from the unsuccessful impeachment of President Bill Clinton, as well as from impeachment investigations or talk which took place under the terms of Reagan, George W. Bush, and Obama. Along with rebuttals of common fallacies in thinking about impeachment, he also includes a brief discussion of what the 25th Amendment was actually meant to do (spoiler: it wasn't forged to support a palace coup).
While not to the level of Black's treatise (in my opinion, anyway), Bobbitt's discussion of impeachment theory and practice that has blossomed from recent history is quite helpful. If his addition fall shy of Black's masterpiece, it is perhaps because he writes while caught in the gears of the endless controversy machine that is the Trump presidency. His deep misgivings about the Trump administration are obvious, though he strives mightily (and I would say with overall success) to reach conclusions that transcend the current moment.
I opened this book already in agreement with Black, that impeachment should be the unthinkable final weapon in a war for democracy, not a crowbar to pry out an unlovable president. Removal of a chief executive by Congress directly overturns the electoral will of the people, and must be approached with sacred horror in a system that holds sacrosanct that will. And yet, like any other weapon, we must be ready to wield it, if necessary, to defend the hard-won Constitutional order gifted to us by the Framers.
Black and Bobbitt provide an invaluable and thoughtful aid toward determining when we must leave that sword of impeachment firmly in its sheath — and when, with regret but with determination, we must draw it out and let it do what it was meant to do.
January 4, 2020
The original text from Black provides an excellent foundation for the legal and judicial nature of impeachment, examining the similarities and differences between it and a criminal proceeding, and giving a logical analysis for what counts as an "impeachable offense." Bobitt's updates fittingly examine recent charges against the President, and reviews Black's text in light of the Clinton impeachment. All in all, well worth a read to cut through the cynical punditry surrounding the latest impeachment.
September 13, 2019
I think the original part of the book is better; in the new section Bobbitt adds important new context from the past 40 years, but doesn't manage to sound as neutral as Black did. (No relation.)
Still, I strongly recommend this book so you know the Constitutional issues in play, whether or not you feel the current president should be impeached. I agree with Bobbitt that Black's writing is amazingly clear.
Still, I strongly recommend this book so you know the Constitutional issues in play, whether or not you feel the current president should be impeached. I agree with Bobbitt that Black's writing is amazingly clear.
January 15, 2024
This would be a helpful read for anyone interested in American politics, especially currently, but it should be a required read for any civics or government class in America, let alone anyone serving in Congress.
I don't necessarily agree with every single proposition put forth, but this is an accessible, effective dive into the most important questions surrounding a particularly thorny topic in public debate.
I don't necessarily agree with every single proposition put forth, but this is an accessible, effective dive into the most important questions surrounding a particularly thorny topic in public debate.
August 17, 2019
Very clear answers to the practical questions about impeachment, past and future. Of course, the answers are sometimes "there is no precedent for that". Opinions are usually stated as such. New section covering the events since Watergate is more opinionated but just as cogent. Required reading for anyone who wants to take a position on this issue in present day circumstances!
January 10, 2021
Readable for people who aren't legal scholars, but still very detailed. Sometimes, I wish it had been more specific instead of dealing with hypotheticals that were very close to actual events during Nixon's and Clinton's impeachments.
April 15, 2019
Very clear. Half was written in the run up to Nixon's potential impeachment. The second half is updated to include the Clinton impeachment and potentially Trump (however unlikely).
May 24, 2019
A very detailed look at the concept of impeachment and its history; I learned a great deal about a political concept that is far trickier to implement than I gave our founding father credit for.
October 1, 2019
This is **the** book to read on impeachment.
November 28, 2019
Everyone needs to read this.
Read
January 5, 2020Excellent read.
November 26, 2019
If one is to read any book to understand Impeachment it is this one. It is split into two parts, the first written by Charles Black Jr in 1974 in the midst of Watergate, the second written in 2018 by Philip Bobbit. The book is an attempt to explain the procedures to be followed and what actually counts as an impeachable offense.
The first part unsurprising uses examples that were current at the time as it was written in the shadow of Watergate so examples like improper campaign tactics, obstruction of justice, income tax fraud and more were considered. Black also tries to give some clarity to the the terms "Treason, bribery and high crimes and misdemeanors".
The second half , written by Philip Bobbit more or less brings us up to date from the Watergate to the current administration although this was written well before the current impeachment proceeding had even started. Bobbit looks at not only the aftermath of Watergate but also looks at other President crisis like Reagan-Iran/Contra, Clinton and Gingrich, Bush and the Iraq War and even Obama and Executive Discretion. He even tries to dispel several fallacy's regarding impeachment. A couple of popular examples are whether a crime is essential for impeachment and another whether any crime regardless of seriousness is grounds of impeachment.
As I said before I do find this book and essential reading if you want a real understanding of what is currently going on in our government. I recommend this for those interested in civics, current events and American history.
The first part unsurprising uses examples that were current at the time as it was written in the shadow of Watergate so examples like improper campaign tactics, obstruction of justice, income tax fraud and more were considered. Black also tries to give some clarity to the the terms "Treason, bribery and high crimes and misdemeanors".
The second half , written by Philip Bobbit more or less brings us up to date from the Watergate to the current administration although this was written well before the current impeachment proceeding had even started. Bobbit looks at not only the aftermath of Watergate but also looks at other President crisis like Reagan-Iran/Contra, Clinton and Gingrich, Bush and the Iraq War and even Obama and Executive Discretion. He even tries to dispel several fallacy's regarding impeachment. A couple of popular examples are whether a crime is essential for impeachment and another whether any crime regardless of seriousness is grounds of impeachment.
As I said before I do find this book and essential reading if you want a real understanding of what is currently going on in our government. I recommend this for those interested in civics, current events and American history.
February 19, 2020
Fascinating read on what legal scholars think of impeachment. Well written but ultimately idealistic.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews