impeach

To impeach means to charge a public official with a crime or misconduct. In politics, it could mean to proceed against a public official for their crime or malfeasance before a court using articles of impeachment .

To impeach could also mean to accuse, charge liability upon or sue. One could also use the word impeach to mean to dispute , disparage, deny, or contradict; see Wolfgram v. Town of Schoepke . In the law of evidence , impeachment would mean to call in the question of a witness 's veracity. Impeachment would be used to challenge testimony or other evidence by accusing the witness. To impeach could mean challenging the accuracy or authenticity of a legal document.

[Last reviewed in March of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

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