High crimes and misdemeanours The charge of high crimes and misdemeanours covers allegations of misconduct that do not fall under a more clearly defined impeachable offence ; e.g. , high treason . This charge occurs only in cases of parliamentary impeachment and is unrelated to any offence in criminal law . British The impeachment of the King 's Chancellor , Michael de la Pole , Earl of Suffolk in 1386 was the first case to use this charge . One charge under this heading alleged that de la Pole broke a promise to Parliament . He had promised to follow the advice of a committee regarded improvement of the kingdom . Another charge said that he failed to pay a ransom for the town of Ghent , and that because of that the town fell to the French . The 1450 impeachment of William de la Pole , 1st Duke of Suffolk , a descendant of Michael's , was next to allege charges under this title . He was charged with using his influence to obstruct justice , cronyism , and wasting public money . Other charges against him included acts of high treason . Impeachment fell out of use after 1459 but Parliament revived it in the early 1600s to bring the King 's ministers to book . In 1621 , Parliament impeached the King 's Attorney General , Sir Henry Yelverton for high crimes and misdemeanours . The charges included failing to prosecute after starting lawsuits and using authority before it was properly his . After the Restoration the scope of the charge grew to include negligence , and abuse of power or trust while in office . For example , charges in the impeachment of Edward Russell , 1st Earl of Orford in 1701 included many violations of trust and his position . In this case , he abused his position in the Privy Council to make profits for himself ; as Chief of the Navy he embezzled funds ; and , as Lord High Admiral of England he got a commission for the pirate William Kidd . American High crimes and misdemeanors is a phrase from the United States Constitution , Article II , Section 4 : `` The President , Vice President and all civil officers of the United States , shall be removed from office on impeachment for , and conviction of , treason , bribery , or other high crimes and misdemeanors . `` `` High '' in the legal parlance of the 18th century means `` against the State '' . A high crime is one which seeks the overthrow of the country , which gives aid or comfort to its enemies , or which injures the country to the profit of an individual or group . In democracies and similar societies it also includes crimes which attempt to alter the outcome of elections . The first impeachment conviction by the U.S. Senate was in 1804 of District Judge John Pickering for the high crime and misdemeanor of chronic intoxication . Federal judges have been impeached and removed from office for tax evasion , conspiracy to solicit a bribe , and making false statements to a grand jury . In the impeachment of Bill Clinton in the late 1990 's for perjury , the exact meaning of the term `` High crimes and misdemeanors '' became the subject of debate . A particular subject of debate is exactly what rises to the level of `` High crimes and misdemeanors '' . Those in favor of Clinton 's impeachment felt that the act of perjury , a federal crime , certainly rose to that level . Those opposed felt that the act , while still illegal , did not reach that level . It is evident that in the absence of a clear legal definition , determining what rises to `` high crimes and misdemeanors '' is an inherently political process , which means that it is up to Congress and what it thinks constitutes an impeachable offense . See also High misdemeanor Categories : English law | United Kingdom law | Parliament of England | Parliament of Great Britain | Parliament of the United Kingdom | United States law 