If the President or a Senator commits a felony, can they be arrested and removed from office?

John

Before anyone can be charged, Articles of Impeachment must be filed against any public official that commits a felony. In the case of a President or Senator, the Speaker of the House must bring Articles of Impeachment to the floor. The offending individual is then tried in the Senate. If the President is being impeached, the Chief Justice of the United States presides. In order to convict the defendant, 2/3 of present Senators must vote for conviction. Then, either a President or Senator can be arrested on criminal charges and tried on those, except in a case where the President committed a felony protected by executive privilege.

stratm663

the first step is a hearing, then impeachment, and then removal, and possibly incarceration (if determined appropriate)
this process is accounted for by law.

Bash Limpbutt's Oozing CystÂ©

For the President, the only option is impeachment. Upon conviction the only penalty is removal from office. Impeachment proceedings are started in the House and the trial takes place in the Senate and is presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Only 2 Presidents have been impeached -- Andrew Johnson & Bill Clinton -- but both were acquitted at trial in the Senate.

Richard Nixon was the only President to resign from office and while he did so under the threat of impeachment (and likely would have been convicted) he never was found guilty of any crime.

What could happen to a former President removed from office via impeachment remains to be seen. There are potential Constitutional issues as to whether any further prosecution could take place, at least at the Federal level. Some Constitutional scholars argue that double jeopardy would inure but others argue that double jeopardy only applies if the accused is found innocent of the charges. With a little luck, we'll never know for sure how that could work out.

Impeachment is also the normal procedure for a member of the Senate. Only one sitting US Senator -- William Blount in 1797 -- was ever impeached and the charges were dismissed in 1799.

red top

yes and they have been, remember Nixon

Jay

The president can be arrested but he never would be. Instead he would be indicted by a grand jury. In the meantime he would be impeached and a trial would be held in the Senate. I am sure that you have studied the cases of Bill Clinton who committed a felony and was impeached.

Justine 2

Yes it is possible but highly improbable , they protect their own more than any drug cartel ever would .

Bonzo The Wonder Pig

I think , though may be corrected, the process involved would be impeachment. This could lead to the official being forced to stand down from office until the case has been proved or otherwise. I do not think that they can be arrested while they are still in office.

MartinK

They would have to be removed from office, then arrested I think.

IRS is stealing your money

They don't go to jail. They pardon themselves. What ever happened to Charlie Wrangle? NOTHING. Absolutely nothing. And he is just one of many of the elected white collar criminals win washington who get away with not paying their taxes, taking bribe money, etc etc.....VOTE OUT ALL INCUMBENTS NEXT ELECTION AND DO YOUR COUNTRY AND YOURSELF A FAVOR.

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