Nothing worried the framers more when the Constitution was being cast into shape than impeachment. In fact, the issue was never quite settled, and that’s why we find ourselves where we find ourselves this morning as the impeachment trial against President Trump begins in the Senate.
What loomed over the framers was the example of England, where the House of Commons asserted itself by the Bill of Attainder, or the legislative condemnation, of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, King Charles I’s first minister. The House declared Wentworth politically obnoxious and, without any trial, cut off his head. A long period of civil war followed. In the end, this principle was established: Governments rule only so long as they command “the confidence of the House.” The term for this doctrine is parliamentary sovereignty.
