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L E S O F I M P E A C H M E N T
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A R T I C L E I : O B S T R U C T I O N O F J U S T I C E
Following is the text of the obstruction of justice
article approved by the
House Judiciary Committee:
In his conduct of the office of President of the
United States, Richard M.
Nixon, in violation of his constitutional oath
faithfully to execute the office of
President of the United States, and, to the best of
his ability, preserve, protect,
and defend the Constitution of the United States, and
in violation of his
constitutional duty to take care that the laws be
faithfully executed, has
prevented, obstructed, and impeded the administration
of justice, in that:
On June 17, 1972, and prior thereto, agents of the
Committee for the Reelection
of the President committed unlawful entry of the
headquarters of the
Democratic National Committee in Washington, District
of Columbia, for the
purpose of securing political intelligence. Subsequent
thereto, Richard M.
Nixon, using the powers of his high office, engaged
personally and through his
close subordinates and agents, in a course of conduct
or plan designed to delay,
impede, and obstruct the investigation of such
unlawful entry; to cover up,
conceal and protect those responsible; and to conceal
the existence and scope
of other unlawful covert activities.
The means used to implement this course of conduct or
plan included one or
more of the following:
(1) making false or misleading statements to lawfully
authorized investigative
officers and employees of the United States;
(2) withholding relevant and material evidence or
information from lawfully
authorized investigative officers and employees of the
United States;
(3) approving, condoning, acquiescing in, and
counseling witnesses with
respect to the giving of false or misleading
statements to lawfully authorized
investigative officers and employees of the United
States and false or misleading
testimony in duly instituted judicial and
congressional proceedings;
(4) interfering or endeavoring to interfere with the
conduct of investigations
by the Department of Justice of the United States, the
Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the Office of Watergate Special
Prosecution Force, and
Congressional Committees;
(5) approving, condoning, and acquiescing in, the surreptitious
payment of
substantial sums of money for the purpose of obtaining
the silence or
influencing the testimony of witnesses, potential
witnesses or individuals who
participated in such unlawful entry and other illegal
activities;
(6) endeavoring to misuse the Central Intelligence
Agency, an agency of the
United States;
(7) disseminating information received from officers
of the Department of
Justice of the United States to subjects of
investigations conducted by lawfully
authorized investigative officers and employees of the
United States, for the
purpose of aiding and assisting such subjects in their
attempts to avoid criminal
liability;
(8) making or causing to be made false or misleading
public statements for
the purpose of deceiving the people of the United
States into believing that a
thorough and complete investigation had been conducted
with respect to
allegations of misconduct on the part of personnel of
the executive branch of
the United States and personnel of the Committee for
the Re-election of the
President, and that there was no involvement of such
personnel in such
misconduct; or
(9) endeavoring to cause prospective defendants, and
individuals duly tried
and convicted, to expect favored treatment and
consideration in return for their
silence or false testimony, or rewarding individuals
for their silence or false
testimony.
In all of this, Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner
contrary to his trust as
President and subversive of constitutional government,
to the great prejudice of
the cause of law and justice and to the manifest
injury of the people of the
United States.
Wherefore Richard M. Nixon, by such conduct, warrants
impeachment and
trial, and removal from office.
輸dopted July 27, 1974, by a 27-11 vote
A R T I C L E I I : A B U S E O F P O W E R
Following is the text of the abuse of power article
approved by the House
Judiciary Committee:
Using the powers of the office of President of the
United States, Richard M.
Nixon, in violation of his constitutional oath
faithfully to execute the office of
President of the United States and, to the best of his
ability, preserve, protect,
and defend the Constitution of the United States, and
in disregard of his
constitutional duty to take care that the laws be
faithfully executed, has
repeatedly engaged in conduct violating the
constitutional rights of citizens,
impairing the due and proper administration of justice
and the conduct of lawful
inquiries, or contravening the laws governing agencies
of the executive branch
and the purposes of these agencies.
This conduct has included one or more of the
following:
(1) He has, acting personally and through his
subordinates and agents,
endeavored to obtain from the Internal Revenue
Service, in violation of the
constitutional rights of citizens, confidential
information contained in income
tax returns for purposes not authorized by law, and to
cause, in violation of the
constitutional rights of citizens, income tax audits
or other income tax
investigations to be initiated or conducted in a
discriminatory manner.
(2) He misused the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
the Secret Service, and
other executive personnel, in violation or disregard
of the constitutional rights
of citizens, by directing or authorizing such agencies
or personnel to conduct or
continue electronic surveillance or other
investigations for purposes unrelated
to national security, the enforcement of laws, or any
other lawful function of
his office; he did direct, authorize, or permit the
use of information obtained
thereby for purposes unrelated to national security,
the enforcement of laws, or
any other lawful function of his office; and he did
direct the concealment of
certain records made by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation of electronic
surveillance.
(3) He has, acting personally and through his
subordinates and agents, in
violation or disregard of the constitutional rights of
citizens, authorized and
permitted to be maintained a secret investigative unit
within the office of the
President, financed in part with money derived from
campaign contributions,
which unlawfully utilized the resources of the Central
Intelligence Agency,
engaged in covert and unlawful activities, and
attempted to prejudice the
constitutional right of an accused to a fair trial.
(4) He has failed to take care that the laws were
faithfully executed by failing
to act when he knew or had reason to know that his
close subordinates
endeavored to impede and frustrate lawful inquiries by
duly constituted
executive, judicial, and legislative entities
concerning the unlawful entry into the
headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, and
the coverup thereof,
and concerning other unlawful activities including
those relating to the
confirmation of Richard Kleindienst as Attorney
General of the United States,
the break-in into the offices of Dr. Lewis Fielding
and the campaign financing
practices of the Committee to Re-elect the President.
(5) In disregard of the rule of law, he knowingly
misused the executive
branch, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
the Criminal Division,
and the Office of Watergate Special Prosecution Force,
of the Department of
Justice, and the Central Intelligence Agency, in
violation of his duty to take care
that the laws be faithfully executed.
In all of this, Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner
contrary to his trust as
President and subversive of constitutional government,
to the great prejudice of
the cause of law and justice and to the manifest
injury of the people of the
United States.
Wherefore Richard M. Nixon, by such conduct, warrants
impeachment and
trial, and removal from office.
輸dopted July 29, 1974, by a 28-10 vote
C O N T E M P T O F C O N G R E S S
Following is the text of the contempt of Congress
article approved by the
House Judiciary Committee:
In his conduct of the office of President of the
United States, Richard M.
Nixon, contrary to his oath faithfully to execute the
office of President of the
United States and, to the best of his ability,
preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution of the United States, and in violation of
his constitutional duty to
take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has
failed without lawful cause or
excuse to produce papers and things as directed by
duly authorized subpoenas
issued by the Committee on the Judiciary of the House
of Representatives on
April 11, 1974, May 15, 1974, May 30, 1974, and June
24, 1974, and willfully
disobeyed such subpoenas. The subpoenaed papers and
things were deemed
necessary for the Committee in order to resolve by
direct evidence
fundamental, factual questions relating to
Presidential direction, knowledge, or
approval of actions demonstrated by other evidence to
be substantial grounds
for impeachment of the President. In refusing to
produce these papers and
things Richard M. Nixon, substituting his judgment as
to what materials were
necessary for the inquiry, interposed the powers of
the Presidency against the
lawful subpoenas of the House of Representatives,
thereby assuming to himself
functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of
the sole power of
impeachment vested by the Constitution in the House of
Representatives.
In all of this, Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner
contrary to his trust as
President and subversive of constitutional government,
to the great prejudice of
the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest
injury of the people of the
United States.
Wherefore, Richard M. Nixon by such conduct, warrants
impeachment and
trial, and removal from office.
輸dopted July 30, 1974, by a 21-17 vote