High Crimes And Misdemeanors

High crimes and misdemeanors is the ambiguous constitutional phrase at the center of [[PresidentialImpeachment|presidential impeachment]]. In 173.弹劾：如何罢免一位总统, the phrase is presented as inherited from British impeachment practice and carried into the United States Constitution without a precise statutory definition.

The episode’s interpretation, following Cass Sunstein, is that the phrase should not mean any crime, any lie, any incompetence, or any policy mistake. The “high” quality points toward high office, public trust, and constitutional stakes: bribery, treason, abuse of official power, private use of public authority, or systemic violation of rights are closer to the core than ordinary private wrongdoing.

Key Claims

• The standard is intentionally flexible but cannot be infinitely elastic.
• The key test is whether presidential conduct corrupts office or harms constitutional government.
• An illegal act may fail to be impeachable if it does not involve presidential power or public trust.
• A technically legal act may still be impeachable if it uses public office for private, factional, or anti-constitutional ends.
• The phrase leaves room for judgment, which makes political discipline and institutional restraint essential.

Connections

• Presidential Impeachment - process governed by the standard.
• United States Constitution and Separation Of Powers - constitutional setting.
• Cass Sunstein and [[ImpeachmentBook|《弹劾》]] - source interpretation.
• Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump - historical cases used by the episode to test the standard.
• Presidential Conflict Of Interest - adjacent problem where formally legal behavior can still threaten public trust.