turning point. n. 1. a moment when the course of events is changed: the turning point of his career. 2. a point at which there is a change in direction or motion. 3. (Mathematics) maths a stationary point at which the first derivative of a function changes sign, so that typically its graph does not cross a horizontal tangent.
Because high Crimes and Misdemeanors was a term of art used in English impeachments, a plausible reading supported by many scholars is that the grounds for impeachment can be not only the defined crimes of treason and bribery, but also other criminal or even noncriminal behavior amounting to a serious dereliction of duty.
The House Committee of Impeachment Managers in the Senate Chamber, Washington, D.C. âThe 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.â. â U.S. Constitution, Article II, section 4. The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the sole power to impeach an official, and it makes the Senate the sole court for impeachment trials.