The Impeachment of Bill Clinton,
the 42nd President of the United States, was initiated by the House of Representatives on
two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice, on December 19, 1998.
The charges stemmed from his extramarital
affair with former White House Intern Monica Lewinsky and his
testimony about the affair during a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him
by Paula Jones.
He was subsequently acquitted of these charges by the Senate on February 12, 1999.[1] Two
other impeachment articles – a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of power –
failed in the House.
Independent Counsel Ken Starr turned
over documentation to the House Judiciary Committee. The Chief Prosecutor,
David Schippers, and his team reviewed the material and determined there was
sufficient evidence to impeach the president. As a result, four charges were
considered by the full House of Representatives; two passed, making Clinton the second United States President to be
impeached after Andrew Johnson, and only the third for whom the
House had considered such proceedings (Richard Nixon's presidency
is the only one to be ended in the wake of the impeachment process).
The trial in the
United States Senate began right after the seating of the 106th Congress, in which the Republicans
began with 55 senators. A two-thirds vote (67
senators) was required to remove Clinton from office. Fifty senators voted to
remove Clinton on the obstruction of justice charge and 45 voted to remove him
on the perjury charge; no Democrat voted guilty on either charge. Clinton was
acquitted, becoming the second sitting United States President to be formally
charged with a crime (impeached) and subsequently declared not guilty
(acquitted).And not removed from office.
