Impeaching the President: Past, Present, and Future

by Hirsch, Alan

" Impeaching the President is lucid, balanced, and deeply informed. Anyone in search of a reasoned guide to the unreason of our current situation should read it."— Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction "Ousting a president is a complicated and uncertain endeavor, according to this perceptive study of impeachments. . . . [This book] shrewdly assesses the impeachability of President Trump based on his alleged offenses . … Hirsch's lucid prose and careful analysis make the book a fine corrective to cavalier popular rhetoric surrounding discussions of impeachment."— Publishers Weekly "A masterpiece for the masses."— Ralph Nader "Amid the partisan passion, an illuminating primer of analysis and context lowers the temperature on this hot-button issue. . . . A cogent analysis that builds a common-sense case for proceeding with caution and against using impeachment as a partisan weapon."— Kirkus Reviews " The reader gets a hearty mix of American history, political intrigue, and constitutional law, all adhered with Hirsch's amazing writing. He captures the political chaos surrounding each prior case, yanking the reader out of our present exceptionalism to see the evolution of impeachment with the proper context and clarity. Can't recommend it enough."— Travis Cohen, Brookline Booksmith, MA "In an era when the notion of impeachment is tossed around as the ultimate political indictment, Alan Hirsch guides us with a steady hand through our own history to consider the three presidents who faced that ultimate punishment. This is a sober, precise, and carefully argued analysis that should be read by every member of Congress—and every president."— David K. Shipler, former reporter for the New York Times and Pulitzer Prize recipient "Alan Hirsch brings clarity, wisdom, and wit to a contentious and critical subject. Impeaching the President is must reading for all concerned citizens."— Howard Shapiro, former FBI General Counsel "Incredibly readable, well-researched, analytically sound and important."— Alan B. Morrison , Associate Dean for Public Interest & Public Service at the George Washington Law School Donald J. Trump is only the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. Constitutional scholar Alan Hirsch offers clear and to-the-point guidance for all matters relating to removing a sitting president, the Founders' vision for checking presidential power; the impeachment stories of presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton; wrongdoing in the Trump administration; and the availability of the 25th Amendment and presidential self-pardon. Illustrated throughout with historical engravings, photographs, and other impeachment documentation, this concise, timely, and accessible analysis offers an invaluable perspective on how the Constitution provides stability during times of political upheaval.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction

184 pages, Paperback

Published November 6, 2018

About the author

Instructor in the Humanities and Chair of the Justice and Law Studies program at Williams College, is the author of numerous works of legal scholarship and many books including Impeaching the President: Past, Present, and Future and For the People: What the Constitution Really Says About Your Rights (Free Press, coauthored with Akhil Amar). He received a J.D. from Yale Law School and B.A. from Amherst College. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, Newsday, and the Village Voice. Hirsch also serves as a trial consultant and expert witness on interrogations and criminal confessions, testifying around the nation. He lives in Williamstown, Massachusettes.

Reviews

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciate this book for helping me understand the impeachment process, how and why it with be used, how it has been used, and how it may be appropriate to use in the future.

At the time of this writing, the Mueller investigation was still underway. At the time I’ve read this book, the investigation is over and the report has been given. In fact, the president had just been impeached by congress and the nation is awaiting the trial in the senate.

One thing that I found especially interesting, and I appreciated having it explained to me, was the 25th amendment to the constitution. I was a little bit surprised that it took our nation until 1965 to come to an agreement as to what to do in case of the president’s inability to fulfill his duties, whether due to a basic medical procedure that may incapacitate him for a few hours, or due to any other reason, long term or short term.

This answered a lot of questions for me regarding this tumultuous time in which we live. I’m glad I found this book.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

All hail the chief...of impeachment history, legality, and reason. Mr. Hirsch puts the politics aside and not only looks at the facts but also goes beyond tweets, sound bites, and emotional rants from the left, right, and center. The book is an actual well-thought out mini thesis (with endnotes and ibids and all that!) with an introduction, hypothesis, research of previous presidential impeachment efforts, a look at impeachment alternatives, and ten “lessons” or conclusions (informed from the previous chapters) on when impeachment is justified.

Then and only then — but probably where most readers will immediately jump to — there is a thorough look at our current predicament and which actions (ahem, of the many) that are impeachable according to Hirsch.

We’re in the middle of significant history right now and 2019 will be, I suspect, all about whether or not our current president will be impeached or slither his way across the White House lawn to either resign or somehow hang on to another year in office before the 2020 elections. This book brings some rational thought to our very collective, emotional predicament.

[Melinda Brasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very interesting.

I liked the structure. It talked about the constitution, the framers' ideas of impeachment, and the legalities and technicalities of the process. Then it went through the precedents of Johnson, Nixon, and Clinton. The next chapter talked about the alternative to impeachment: the 25th Amendment (removing a president "unable to discharge" duties due to illness, etc). Then there was a chapter of lessons learned, which was probably the least objective but the best summary and application of everything in the book. Finally, we got to Trump. Very nice layout.

For me, it was too dry and detailed when it got down to the specifics of each case. I didn't really care what time congress adjourned or the exact vote on every single article of impeachment through the years. But overall it was very interesting.

I'm not an expert, but it felt fairly rounded and objective, and was very educational. I'll have to read one of the others similar books out there to compare.

I would recommend it.

[Claire Corsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent read! I walked away a more informed reader on American history and the founders' rationale for the Constitutional remedy of impeachment (and the 25th A). I knew nothing about Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial but Hirsch delivered a succinct recounting of the political climate during Reconstruction. The book generally disapproves of impeachment except in the most compelling circumstances, citing several lessons that past impeachments have taught us. The analysis on Trump's myriad of misdeeds has me oh so eager to read Robert Mueller's conclusions whenever the FBI publishes them.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting History of three impeachment’s processes, followed by ten lessons learned. Lastly, the chapter in Trump’s case is outdated since the Mueller Investigation was ongoing, the Mueller Report wasn’t published yet. I skimmed lightly over those pages.
All in all, very good history lesson on Johnson’s and a good review of Nixon’s (resignation) and Clinton’s. Just thinking about living through two impeachments (resignation) and possibly 3, or even more to come, who knows.
I heard the author interviewed on KPFA, Letters & Politics

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this 2018 book, Alan Hirsch reviews the reasoning and historical context of why the previous 3 impeachment investigations happened, how, and what history and or country has learned as a result. He discusses Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton, and how their impeachments related to the possibility (at the time) of Trump's being impeached. He lays out lessons to be recognized from these cases, and also possible prospects for what Trump might have been impeached for as a result.

This passed by my desk one day at the end of summer. I've been trying to work on getting my way through it ever since, though real progress wasn't made until I actually made it a priority this week. I have my own political views on the Trump administration, but wanted to see where my thoughts laid as compared to someone so much more well-versed in politics than I. I'm usually a romance and cosy mystery fluff reader, but made the time to get a little bit more educated.

Hirsch's analogy that is sticking with me the most is the rotten fruit one. Say someone goes to a store to buy a fruit. They keep picking up one rotten piece of fruit after another. If after switching to another type of fruit, if all they keep finding is more rotten fruit, a reasonable assumption would be to think there's something going on with the whole store.

Now that I'm finished with this, I'll likely go back and review what ACTUALLY happened with regard to Trump's impeachments, so I can get like I've gotten a better handle on the whole thing. Even though this book is currently dated, (I hope Hirsch will update it to adjust the considerations on the possible, to instead reflect what ACTUALLY occurred.) I recommend a read-through if, like me, you weren't quite on top of the previous impeachment attempts.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not recommended. Impeachment: An American History is better in just about every way - it's more thoroughly researched, pays more attention to the historical context, and lays out multiple sides to its arguments, whereas Hirsch tends to present only one. Impeaching the President has a stronger narrative throughout, but I think that mixing facts with opinions as done here creates more problems than it solves.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impeachment should always be a last resort, constitutional scholar Alan Hirsch argues in this cogent and careful overview of presidential impeachment episodes.

Hirsch starts at the very beginning, with the framing of the U.S. Constitution and the republic's founders' inclusion of 'high crimes and misdemeanors' as grounds for impeachment. He then examines the cases of Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton before turning his analytical skills to the question of whether Donald Trump has committed impeachable offenses.

The chapter on the adoption of the 25th Amendment and the solution to the problem of the vice president's office becoming vacant is illuminating. (I hadn't realized how often in U.S. history presidents had governed without a vice president or how recently this issue had been resolved.)

In the current overheated political climate, Impeaching the President provides vital background to an important constitutional issue.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good examination of our nation’s history of impeachment usage. It doesn’t look good for the Cheeto-In-Chief.

[James Bechtel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.