United States Congress
Prior to December 19, 1998, only one president in U.S. history had been impeached by the House of Representatives.
On December 7, 1867, the House impeached President Andrew Johnson. A great deal of personal bitterness
was part of this impeachment because a great number of Republicans personally disliked the former Democrat
turned Republican. They disliked him because he ridiculed them while campaigning, and he questioned their
loyalty and dedication to both the Constitution and the nation. The most extreme radicals in the Republican
Party despised Johnson because he successfully blocked their favorite legislation. Johnson was impeached
on very broad charges in the partisan House of Representatives, despite arguments he could only be charged/impeached
if he had broken a criminal law. Among the articles of impeachment were charges that the president had
resisted the will of Congress, had attempted to bring Congress into ridicule, and had violated the Tenure
of Office Act [later determined to be unconstitutional]. The Senate proved more moderate than the House,
and despite pressure from Republican radicals, seven Republicans joined Democrats in acquitting the president.
In the history books Andrew Johnson was always designated as "the only American president impeached
while in office."
That all changed on December 19, 1998, when the House of Representatives voted to impeach President William
Jefferson Clinton on two of four articles brought by the House Judiciary Committee. This culminated years
of investigations by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr and cost over $40 million. First authorized to
investigate suspicious land dealings in the Whitewater case, Starr’s office expanded the search to look
into "travelgate," "filegate," the suicide of a presidential friend, and ultimately
the president’s sex life. Details of a presidential affair became public, and charges arose that he lied
under oath and organized a cover-up. The case became a question of partisan motives and actions on both
sides. Starr’s connections with tobacco companies and wealthy Clinton haters, maintained while investigating
the President, raised questions of his impartiality. Regular leaks emanating from the independent counsel’s
office to the press also raised concern and the level of Democratic outrage. As an obsessed mass media
reported nightly on the scandal, the public grew more disgusted with the entire process. The president’s
behavior disgusted most Americans, but they were equally appalled by what seemed Republican efforts to
railroad Clinton out of office and overturn the results of the 1996 election. Even many conservatives
were upset when the Republican majority in the House of Representatives decided to publish the Starr report,
a soft-porn saga of the president’s alleged actions. Whitewater and every other charge investigated over
the last four years was dismissed, but the story of sex and lying under oath to cover it up remained.
The House Judiciary Committee, filled with ideologues from both parties, voted to accept the Starr Report.
The Republican majority refused to hear any witnesses except Kenneth Starr himself, and passed four general
articles of impeachment on a straight party-line vote. They are listed below. The full House was just
as bitter, just as partisan, and even more bitter in its debates over impeachment. The United States public
was treated to days of twisted logic, tortured speeches, and venom from members of both parties. Charges
of hypocrisy arose as Republican members of the House were exposed for having had extramarital affairs
themselves. Republicans charged that this was just Watergate in reverse, that this time they had to prove
the president was not above the law. Democrats charged Republicans were not granting Clinton the same
fair trial everyone charged under our system of justice deserved. Polls showed Americans wanted the process
ended without impeachment, and voters in November of 1998 reinforced that wish as they reduced the Republican
majority in the House. But on December 19, 1998, the House of Representatives, virtually on a straight
party-line vote, approved two of the four articles of impeachment, setting the stage for a trial in the
United States Senate in 1999.
The trial of President William Jefferson Clinton was held in the U.S. Senate from January 7 through February
12, 1999. These proceedings, although less contentious than those in the House of Representatives, still
featured partisan divisions. In an attempt to increase collegiality (and avoid public scrutiny according
to some critics in both parties) many of the proceedings were held in secret. Strict rules for presentation
of evidence and debate were followed, and the Senate refused to open the hearings to the introduction
of the most salacious material. Senators on both sides tried to broker a compromise, but neither calls
for censure nor any other proposal gained bipartisan support. In the end the Senate ruled that no matter
how disgusting or disreputable the president’s actions were, they were not grounds for impeachment. The
vote on Article I (Perjury) was 45 guilty and 55 not guilty. The vote on Article II (Obstruction
of Justice) was a 50-50 tie. Ironically, the president’s approval ratings increased throughout the trial,
as most Americans perceived him as the victim of a partisan attack. Look over the four articles of impeachment
carefully. This is an issue that many Americans have deep feelings about, both for and against the president.
Do the charges reach the level of "High Crimes and Misdemeanors" in your opinion? |
