<Ul> <Li> 1808: Senator John Smith, Democratic - Republican of Ohio, was implicated in the Aaron Burr - led conspiracy to invade Mexico and create a new country in the west . Senator John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts led the attempt to expel Smith from the Senate while Francis Scott Key defended Smith before the Senate . Expulsion failed 19 to 10, less than the two - thirds majority needed . At request of the Ohio Legislature, Smith resigned two weeks after the vote . </Li> <Li> 1856: Congressman Preston Brooks, Democrat of South Carolina, beat Senator Charles Sumner with a cane . For this incident, he avoided expulsion but resigned; he was then re-elected by the people of South Carolina, who considered him a hero . </Li> <Li> 1862: The expulsion of Senator Lazarus W. Powell, Democrat of Kentucky, was sought for support for Confederate rebellion . Unlike the three Senators expelled for that reason the same year and the eleven Senators the previous year, Powell was not expelled . </Li> <Li> 1873: Senator James W. Patterson, Republican of New Hampshire, was accused of corruption, and a Senate select committee recommended expulsion on February 27 . On March 1, a Republican caucus decided that there was insufficient time remaining in the session to deliberate the matter . Patterson's term expired March 3, and no further action was taken . </Li> <Li> 1893: Senator William N. Roach, Democrat of North Dakota, was accused of embezzlement that had allegedly occurred 13 years earlier . After extensive deliberation, the Senate took no action, assuming that it lacked jurisdiction over members' behavior before their election to the Senate . </Li> <Li> 1905: Senator John H. Mitchell, Republican of Oregon, was indicted on corruption charges on January 1, 1905, and was convicted on July 5 of that year, during a Senate recess . He died on December 8, while his case was still on appeal and before the Senate, which had convened on December 4, could take any action against him . </Li> <Li> 1907: Senator Reed Smoot, Republican of Utah, a leader in the LDS Church, was the subject of a two - year investigation by the Committee on Privileges and Elections, which found that Smoot was not due his seat in the Senate because he was "a leader in a religion that advocated polygamy and a union of church and state, contrary to the U.S. Constitution ." Smoot's expulsion failed by a vote of 27 - 43 after the Senate decided that he fit the constitutional requirements to be a Senator . </Li> <Li> 1919: Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr., Republican of Wisconsin, was accused of disloyalty after a 1917 speech he gave in opposition to U.S. entry into World War I . The Committee on Privileges and Elections recommended that La Follette not be expelled and the Senate concurred in a 50 - 21 vote . </Li> <Li> 1924: Senator Burton K. Wheeler, Democrat of Montana, was indicted for conflict of interest, specifically acting as a lawyer, while a senator, in cases in which the U.S. was a party . A Senate committee, however, found that his dealings related to litigation before state courts and that he received no compensation for any service before federal departments . The Senate exonerated him by a vote of 56 - 5 . </Li> <Li> 1934: The Committee on Privileges and Elections, jointly considering the case of Senators John H. Overton, Democrat, and Huey P. Long, Democrat, both of Louisiana, determined that the evidence to support charges of election fraud were insufficient to warrant further consideration . </Li> </Ul> <Li> 1808: Senator John Smith, Democratic - Republican of Ohio, was implicated in the Aaron Burr - led conspiracy to invade Mexico and create a new country in the west . Senator John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts led the attempt to expel Smith from the Senate while Francis Scott Key defended Smith before the Senate . Expulsion failed 19 to 10, less than the two - thirds majority needed . At request of the Ohio Legislature, Smith resigned two weeks after the vote . </Li> <Li> 1856: Congressman Preston Brooks, Democrat of South Carolina, beat Senator Charles Sumner with a cane . For this incident, he avoided expulsion but resigned; he was then re-elected by the people of South Carolina, who considered him a hero . </Li> <Li> 1862: The expulsion of Senator Lazarus W. Powell, Democrat of Kentucky, was sought for support for Confederate rebellion . Unlike the three Senators expelled for that reason the same year and the eleven Senators the previous year, Powell was not expelled . </Li>

How to remove a member of congress from office