j g, re a part of in the argument on impeachment by Hamilton is "... and in such cases there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties, than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt."
j g, in that letter, if you read the whole thing, you would see that Hamilton was chiefly laying out the reasoning behind the decision of the convention to have the House recommend (prefer) impeachment proceedings, and to have the Senate conduct the trial. He acknowledged, in the sentence you highlighted, the political forces always at work: Hence, the process would be divided into two steps: the House would conduct the initial inquiry, but then the Senate would conduct a trial to determine guilt or innocence:
"It is not disputed that the power of originating the inquiry, or, in other words, of preferring the impeachment, ought to be lodged in the hands of one branch of the legislative body. Will not the reasons which indicate the propriety of this arrangement strongly plead for an admission of the other branch of that body to a share of the inquiry? The model from which the idea of this institution has been borrowed, pointed out that course to the convention. In Great Britain it is the province of the House of Commons to prefer the impeachment, and of the House of Lords to decide upon it." Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Papers, letter to the People of New York. |
