Impeachment Inquiry Act

Legislature State Legislature
1

The Impeachment Inquiry Act

STATE OF FIRESTONE

September 30th, 2023

Whereas, the House of Representatives has the constitutional responsibility of proposing Articles of Impeachment against government officials, and a responsibility to hold government officials accountable.

Whereas, the House of Representatives is responsible for prosecuting impeached Government Officials and has a mandate to effectively and efficiently do so in the interest of accountability.

Whereas, there exists no formal legislation defining the lengths at which Congress can go to act on their constitutional authority and ensure that constitutional authority is used correctly and efficiently.

SECTION I: SEVERABILITY; EFFECTIVENESS

  1. This act shall be deemed effective once all conditions outlined by the constitution necessary for its passage are fulfilled properly.

SECTION II: CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES

  1. The House of Representatives of the State of Firestone shall have the authority to open official inquiries that seek to gather information to investigate impeachable Government Officials and their conduct.
  2. These inquiries shall be conducted by committees established below.
  3. Additional forms of inquiry may be created by statute.

SECTION III: ESTABLISHING IMPEACHMENT INVESTIGATIONS

  1. The House of Representatives of the State of Firestone shall have the authority to conduct an impeachment investigation with the intent of gathering information to determine whether impeachment is appropriate
  2. Impeachment investigations shall be conducted by a committee established by House resolution.
  3. In order to establish an impeachment committee, a Representative must submit a resolution that passes the House of Representatives that details;
    1. Why the investigation is being conducted,
    2. The name of the chairperson of the committee (must be a member of Congress),
  4. An impeachment committee may be provisionally established after the house resolution has been submitted with an official letter to the public, signed by the Speaker of the House or Speaker Pro Tempore (these shall be referred to as “Congressional Presiding Officers”), and at least one other member of the House of Representatives.
  5. If the resolution is retired or fails, the provisional committee shall cease operation and shall be prohibited from being reissued provisional status.
  6. These provisional committees shall automatically be suspended after 7 days of their establishment. If the resolution passes, then they shall be unsuspended and continue operations without provisional status. If the resolution fails, then they shall permanently cease operations.
  7. If an impeachment committee is provisionally established and then the house resolution is approved by Congress, then it shall no longer have provisional status.
  8. An impeachment committee must have at least 3 sitting members of the House of Representatives seated on the Committee within 48 hours of its establishment, not including the chairperson of the committee.
  9. If a member of the House is being investigated by the committee, then they shall be prohibited from being a member of the committee and prohibited from voting on any matters related to their investigation.
  10. After 30 days of operation, an impeachment committee shall automatically cease operations. This shall include days in which the impeachment committee operated with provisional status, but shall not include days in which the impeachment committee was suspended.
  11. With a resolution, the House of Representatives can dissolve an impeachment investigation.

SECTION IV: DECORUM OF IMPEACHMENT INVESTIGATIONS

  1. In the event the Chairperson of the impeachment committee resigns from the committee or from Congress, the committee shall be required to select a new Chairperson from Congress with a majority vote of committee members.
  2. The Chairperson of the impeachment committee shall have the authority to decide whether to select members based on appointment or an election process accommodated by the Speaker of the House. Members can be removed from the committee with a majority vote of the committee. The chairperson can be removed as chairperson with a majority vote of the committee.
  3. The committee shall vote on matters on an Aye, Nay, Abstain basis, where an Aye is a vote in favor of something, a Nay is a vote in negation of something, and an Abstain is an abstention from voting. Matters shall be considered to have passed if they receive a majority in favor of the matter amongst the non-abstained voters.
  4. The committee shall be able to overrule the chairperson with a majority vote of non-abstained voters. The chairperson shall be permitted to vote on all matters except attempts to overrule their decision.

SECTION V: POWERS OF THE IMPEACHMENT COMMITTEE

  1. The committee, with a majority vote of all committee members, shall have the ability to subpoena any individual relevant to the committee's purpose to appear before the committee.
  2. Upon approval of the committee (with the simple majority vote noted above), a subpoenaed individual must be sent a letter giving the location and time of questioning. This letter shall be made public. Reasonable efforts must be made to contact the requested individual to inform them of their subpoena to appear.
  3. The committee, with a majority vote of all committee members, shall have the ability to subpoena any information relevant to the committee’s purpose.
  4. In the event any of the information being subpoenaed is classified, the committee must have a valid belief that more likely than not the information is related to the impeachment inquiry. If the individual, department, or organization in possession of the classified information refuses to voluntarily turn over the information and declassify it, then the committee must receive written verification from a judge or justice of the State of Firestone affirming that there is a valid belief that the information being requested is more likely than not related to the impeachment inquiry. If the committee receives this written verification, then the individual, department, or organization subpoenaed to provide the information must provide the entire committee the information in a closed setting. The committee members and individual providing the information shall be exempt from any civil or criminal liability for providing and being in possession of this information. The committee members shall not share the classified information publicly or to non-committee members, except with the individual who provided the information, else be punished by relevant law.
  5. In the event impeachment is recommended and the committee wishes to include the classified information in the articles of impeachment or their recommendation for impeachment, the committee shall create a closed setting with all members of the House of Representatives where they shall share the classified information. The committee and all representatives shall be exempt from civil or criminal liability that would result from this. The House of Representatives shall not share the classified information publicly or to non-House members, else be punished by relevant law. This process shall also apply to information obtained from a whistleblower, however, the committee shall not be required to share the name of the whistleblower with the House of Representatives.
  6. The committee shall then vote on whether to appoint one or three of the following individuals to decide which information should be redacted from public view. These individuals shall be the Attorney General, Governor, FBI Director, Deputy Attorney General, and FBI Deputy Director. The committee cannot appoint a person being impeached. Only information that would compromise state security or obstruct the pursuit of justice can be redacted, however, it is not required to be redacted if the benefit of releasing the information outweighs the risk of releasing it. Anything not redacted, even if classified, shall be considered declassified by the committee. The information without the redacted information shall be included in the articles of impeachment or recommendation for impeachment and shall be considered public. This process shall also apply to information obtained from a whistleblower, however, the committee shall not be required to share the name of the whistleblower with the individuals chosen to decide which information should be redacted.
  7. Upon approval of the committee (with the simple majority vote noted above), a letter requesting subpoenaed information must be sent to the official responsible for that information giving instructions on who to send the information to. This letter shall be made public. If the official who sent the request is not able to fulfill that request, they must notify the sender. Reasonable efforts must be made to contact this official to inform them of the subpoena for information.
  8. Individuals being questioned by the committee shall be sworn to an oath of honesty in which they acknowledge that providing testimony that they believe to be false to the committee is prohibited. Violation of this oath shall be considered perjury and punished as set by relevant law.
  9. If a whistleblower confidentially provides classified information to the committee that pertains to allegations being investigated by the committee, both the committee and the whistleblower shall be protected from civil and criminal liability, as well as disciplinary action so long as they acted reasonably and with a good faith belief that the information being provided to the committee is reasonably relevant to their investigation.
  10. The committee may prematurely conclude its investigation with a simple majority vote of committee members. A vote to conclude an investigation shall also contain the committee’s formal response and recommended action to the House of Representatives, including any relevant evidence and testimony collected during committee proceedings. This formal response and recommended action shall also be relayed to the public.

SECTION VI: AMENDMENTS

  1. Chapter 6, Section 2 of the Firestone Criminal Code currently states:

    “(a) The act of contempt of Congress shall be recognized as an unlawful criminal offense within the State of Firestone.

    (a1) Contempt of Congress shall be the act of obstructing the proceedings of the State Legislature, or obstructing a committee inquiry, given that such committee is recognized in law. Any person summoned before Congress willfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any question pertinent to the question under inquiry (and not protected under the right against self incrimination), shall be guilty of this offense. Before a Congressional witness may be convicted of contempt, it must be established that the matter under investigation is a subject which Congress has the power under law to legislate.

    (for the sake of this legislation, contempt of congress shall be a criminal offense that a member of (cgoc) congress can prosecute, if they want they can have DOJ do it)”

  2. Chapter 6, Section 2 of the Firestone Criminal Code shall be amended to state:

    “(a) The act of contempt of Congress shall be recognized as an unlawful criminal offense within the State of Firestone.

    (a1) Contempt of Congress shall be the act of obstructing the proceedings of the State Legislature, or obstructing a committee inquiry, given that such committee is recognized in law or established by a process defined by law. Any person summoned before Congress or an established/recognized committee that fails to appear or refuses to answer any question pertinent to the question under inquiry (and not protected under the right against self incrimination), shall be guilty of this offense. Any individual who fails to comply with a subpoena for information issued by an established or recognized committee shall be guilty of this offense. Any individual who provides false information in response to a subpoena for information issued by an established or recognized committee shall be guilty of this offense. Before an individual may be convicted of contempt, it must be established that the matter under investigation is a subject which Congress or the committee has the power under law to legislate.

    Contempt of Congress shall also be an impeachable offense.”

    CHIEF SPONSOR(S)

    Senator AestheticallyHappy

    Speaker of the House CanadlanLaw (Author)

    CO SPONSOR(S)

    Senator AydenJulien

    Senator Mega_Goalie16

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