Michael “Ozzie” Myers was expelled from the House on October 2, 1980. The roll call was 376–30. The House’s institutional register identifies his bribery conviction as the reason and lists the action under H. Res. 794. He was the fourth person expelled from the House and the first since three members were expelled during the Civil War. [1]
Expulsion is the chamber’s most severe disciplinary action. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of members present and voting. A criminal conviction and an expulsion therefore answer different questions: a court determines criminal liability; the House exercises its own constitutional power over membership and conduct. One does not automatically perform the other’s work. [1]
This helps make sense of the different ABSCAM outcomes. Calling everyone “expelled” folds resignations and election defeats into a vote that did not occur for those people. Conversely, the fact that another member left before a final disciplinary vote is not evidence that the underlying conviction vanished. The dates and form of departure matter when asking how Congress reacted. Myers supplies the clearest case: a named resolution, a substantial majority and an actual removal from the chamber. [1]