Adjunct Professor Jerry Goldfeder addresses the concept of bribery and how it relates to the impeachment process in the second installment of his “Impeachment Sidebar” series, set to run for the next several months in the New York Law Journal.
As practically everyone by now knows, the U.S. Constitution lays out the standard. A president or other civil officer may be impeached if he or she is guilty of “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” The provision is simply stated, but somewhat elusive.
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One would ordinarily think that bribery is a relatively straightforward crime, spelled out in the United States Code. But, first of all, there is a robust debate as to the statute’s application.
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Given this complexity, former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti recently urged the House to consider bypassing the offense of bribery and rely on the more traditional—and “simpler”—allegation in impeachment hearings, abuse of power.
Next up: High Crimes and Misdemeanors