{
  "id": "98-843",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "98-843",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 105246,
      "date": "1998-12-08",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:48:32.978941",
      "title": "Censure of the President by the Congress",
      "summary": "There is no express constitutional provision which authorizes Congress to \"censure\" the\nPresident\nor any other executive branch official. A censure of the President does not appear to be, and has not\ntraditionally been, part of the impeachment process, which involves an impeachment in the House\nand a trial and conviction in the Senate. A censure of the President is clearly not part of Congress'\nexpress authority to \"punish\" its own Members (Article I, Section 5, clause 2), nor would it be in\nmost cases within the inherent contempt powers of legislatures to protect the dignity, privileges and\nproceedings of the institution and its Members. Rather, a \"censure\" has been and would most likely\nbe in the nature of \"sense of the Congress,\" or sense of the Senate or House, resolutions which have\ndeveloped in congressional practice as vehicles to state opinions or facts in non-binding,\nnonlegislative instruments. The House and Senate have, on infrequent occasions, and mostly in the\n19th Century, expressed their disapproval, reproof or censure of executive officials, including the\nPresident, or certain of their actions in simple resolutions. Precedents indicate that one action of the\nSenate (Andrew Jackson in 1834, although expunged in 1837) and two actions of the House (Tyler\nin 1842 and Buchanan in 1860) may be categorized in a broad definition of a congressional \"censure\"\nof a President. \n  Similar to a censure of the President, there is no express constitutional authority to \"fine\" the\nPresident or any other individual outside of Congress, or to require anyone outside of Congress to\nmake a monetary restitution. However, unlike a censure or other \"sense of\" the House or Senate\nresolution used to express an opinion, a  mandatory  fine  legislated  by\nCongress against a particular\nindividual may run afoul of the \"Bill of Attainder\" Clause of the Constitution, as well as, if directed\nat the President, raise issues concerning the constitutional prohibition on diminishing the salary of\nthe President. Also, unlike censure or other statement of disapproval formally expressed by\nCongress, there have been found no precedents for the Congress to legislate or formally adopt a\nresolution expressly directing a specified individual, who is not a Member of Congress, to pay a fine\nor a restitution to the Government.\n  It may at least be theoretically possible for an agreement to be reached between the President\nand the Congress for the President to voluntarily \"accept\" a congressional statement, suggestion\nand/or direction concerning particular restitution or other act of contrition, and not to challenge the\nauthority or constitutionality of any such legislative statement or act. In such a case, as a practical\nmatter, it may be difficult for anyone other than the individual actually aggrieved or harmed (that is,\nthe President), to possess the requisite legal standing to challenge in court such an arrangement on\nthe basis of an alleged absence of legislative authority or violation of constitutional precepts. Such\nlegal questions of authority, power and standing aside, however, there may be implications for policy\nand precedent which the Congress may wish to consider and weigh in adopting a congressional\nresponse to alleged wrongdoing by an executive official, particularly the President, when such\nresponse is other than through impeachment, and is not provided for in the Constitution.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "American Law",
    "Constitutional Questions"
  ]
}