How to impeach a president

To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment. By Laurence Tribe and Joshua Matz. Basic Books; 304 pages; $28.

FOR obvious reasons, interest in the process of impeaching an American president is soaring. But public understanding of what that would entail is not. The constitution calls for removal from office upon “Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” The House of Representatives has the “sole power” to determine whether there will be a trial in the Senate, where conviction requires a two-thirds majority. The House has voted to impeach two presidents—Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Richard Nixon averted impeachment by resigning. No president has ever been convicted. Johnson escaped in the Senate by a single vote; Mr Clinton was acquitted after 50 senators, all Republicans, voted against him.