Due to the government shutdown the petitions page on whitehouse.gov is temporarily shutdown. Let's send a clear message to Mr. Barak Hussein Obama. We the people refuse to have a president that is unwilling to negotiate with congress. Impeachable offenses: In the United States, impeachment can occur both at the federal and state level. The Constitution defines impeachment at the federal level and limits impeachment to "The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States" who may be impeached and removed only for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors".[9] Several commentators have suggested that Congress alone may decide for itself what constitutes a "high crime or misdemeanor" especially since Nixon v. United States stated that the Supreme Court did not have the authority to determine whether the Senate properly "tried" a defendant.[citation needed] In 1970, then-House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford defined the criterion as he saw it: "An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history."[10] Four years later, Gerald Ford would become president when President Richard Nixon resigned under the threat of impeachment. As of Jan 16, 2013, to receive a response a petition must reach 100,000 signatures within 30 days.[5] The original threshold was set at 5,000 signatures,[6] and was raised to 25,000 on Oct 3, 2011.[4] However, the White House will typically not comment when a petition concerns any investigation which may be ongoing.[7]