The constitutional text

Article I · Section 3

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The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, [chosen by the Legislature thereof,]* for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; [and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.]* No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

Source: National Constitution Center edition. Original wording is preserved; commentary explains historical and superseded provisions.

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Article I, Section 3, Clause 7 — separate proceedings

Criminal accountability remains a separate question

Current text
but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

What it means

Conviction in impeachment does not shield the person from lawful indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment. The political proceeding and the criminal process therefore serve different functions.

Historical setting

The clause rejects the idea that impeachment exhausts every possible legal consequence. At the same time, the Constitution limits impeachment’s own sanctions so that a legislature cannot simply administer criminal punishment through removal proceedings.

What it does

Any criminal case must establish the applicable offense and satisfy the safeguards and legal rules governing that prosecution. This sentence should not be read as resolving every separate immunity, timing, or jurisdiction question involving a President.

Debate & interpretation

The separation encourages precise questions: whether the official should remain in office, whether a criminal law was violated, and which tribunal may decide each issue. Collapsing those questions can distort both political accountability and criminal justice.

A common misreading

The clause does not make impeachment conviction a universal prerequisite for prosecuting any federal official.

Think it through

What facts could justify removal from public trust while leaving a separate criminal charge unproven?

Follow the connection

Sources & further reading

Original Madison Center commentary. Explanations distinguish the text, historical context, and interpretive disagreements.

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