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In the beginning: The electors of
President and Vice President shall be appointed, in each State,
on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, in every
fourth year succeeding every election of a President and Vice
President.
Now: The election of the President is
no longer by Congress but by a popular and electoral vote
In the beginning: The President is to
be protected by law in the same manner as all citizens.
Now: Special laws were drafted to
protect the members of the executive branch on a federal level
-here's the code....
- (a) Whoever kills (1) any individual who is the President
of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice
President, or, if there is no Vice President, the officer
next in the order of succession to the Office of the
President of the United States, the Vice President-elect,
or any person who is acting as President under the
Constitution and laws of the United States, or (2) any
person appointed under section 105(a)(2)(A) of title 3 employed in the
Executive Office of the President or appointed under
section 106(a)(1)(A)
of title 3 employed in the Office of the Vice President,
shall be punished as provided by sections 1111 and 1112 of
this title.
- (b) Whoever kidnaps any individual designated in
subsection (a) of this section shall be punished (1) by
imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or (2) by
death or imprisonment for any term of years or for life,
if death results to such individual.
- (c) Whoever attempts to kill or kidnap any individual
designated in subsection (a) of this section shall be
punished by imprisonment for any term of years or for
life.
- (d) If two or more persons conspire to kill or kidnap any
individual designated in subsection (a) of this section
and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the
object of the conspiracy, each shall be punished (1) by
imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or (2) by
death or imprisonment for any term of years or for life,
if death results to such individual.
- (e) Whoever assaults any person designated in subsection
(a)(1) shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not
more than ten years, or both. Whoever assaults any person
designated in subsection (a)(2) shall be fined under this
title, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and
if the assault involved the use of a dangerous weapon, or
personal injury results, shall be fined under this title,
or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
- (f) The terms ''President-elect'' and ''Vice-President-elect''
as used in this section shall mean such persons as are
the apparent successful candidates for the offices of
President and Vice President, respectively, as
ascertained from the results of the general elections
held to determine the electors of President and Vice
President in accordance with title 3, United States Code,
sections 1 and 2.
- (g) The Attorney General of the United States, in his
discretion is authorized to pay an amount not to exceed $100,000
for information and services concerning a violation of
subsection (a)(1). Any officer or employee of the United
States or of any State or local government who furnishes
information or renders service in the performance of his
official duties shall not be eligible for payment under
this subsection.
- (h) If Federal investigative or prosecutive jurisdiction
is asserted for a violation of this section, such
assertion shall suspend the exercise of jurisdiction by a
State or local authority, under any applicable State or
local law, until Federal action is terminated.
- (i) Violations of this section shall be investigated by
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistance may be
requested from any Federal, State, or local agency,
including the Army, Navy, and Air Force, any statute,
rule, or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding.
- (j) In a prosecution for an offense under this
section the Government need not prove that the
defendant knew that the victim of the offense was
an official protected by this section.
- (k) There is extraterritorial jurisdiction over
the conduct prohibited by this section.
In the Beginning: A President must
commit a crime to be impeached.
For a while: Congress passed the Tenure
of Office Act....
The action of President Johnson that led directly to
his impeachment was his deliberate violation of the Tenure of
Office Act. By discharging Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton on
February 21, 1868, Johnson intentionally defied Congress.
The Constitutionality of the Act
was a major point of contention during the trial. Harper’s
Weekly discussed the "obscurity of the law" in one
acticle, "The Unsettling Settlement," which was printed
a month after Johnson’s term ended.
The Tenure of Office Act was
repealed in 1887. In 1926, the Supreme Court ruled that it was
unconstitutional even though it had been repealed almost 40 years
before. The ruling came in the Myers v. U.S. case
that dealt with the ability of Congress to limit the removal
powers of the President with regard to postmasters.
Now: It's back to the former
In the Beginning: There was no limit on
the number of terms a President could serve
After Franklin D. Roosevelt served
four, this was limited.
Now: A President is restricted to two
terms.
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