Impeachment of Bill Clinton
Floor proceedings of the U.S. Senate during the trial of President Bill Clinton in 1999, Chief Justice William Rehnquist presiding
AccusedBill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
Proponents
DateDecember 19, 1998 (1998-12-19) to February 12, 1999 (1999-02-12)
OutcomeAcquitted by the U.S. Senate, remained in office
ChargesPerjury (2), obstruction of justice, abuse of power
CauseClinton's testimony denying that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Clinton by Paula Jones; allegations made in the Starr Report
Congressional votes
Voting in the U.S. House of Representatives
AccusationPerjury / grand jury
Votes in favor228
Votes against206
ResultApproved
AccusationPerjury / Jones case
Votes in favor205
Votes against229
ResultRejected
AccusationObstruction of justice
Votes in favor221
Votes against212
ResultApproved
AccusationAbuse of power
Votes in favor148
Votes against284
ResultRejected
Voting in the U.S. Senate
AccusationArticle I – perjury / grand jury
Votes in favor45 "guilty"
Votes against55 "not guilty"
ResultAcquitted (67 "guilty" votes necessary for a conviction)
AccusationArticle II – obstruction of justice
Votes in favor50 "guilty"
Votes against50 "not guilty"
ResultAcquitted (67 "guilty" votes necessary for a conviction)

Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, was impeached by the United States House of Representatives of the 105th United States Congress on December 19, 1998, for "high crimes and misdemeanors". The House adopted two articles of impeachment against Clinton, with the specific charges against Clinton being lying under oath and obstruction of justice. Two other articles had been considered but were rejected by the House vote.

Clinton's impeachment came after a formal House inquiry, which had been launched on October 8, 1998. The charges for which Clinton was impeached stemmed from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Clinton by Paula Jones. During pre-trial discovery in the lawsuit, Clinton gave testimony denying that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The catalyst for the president's impeachment was the Starr Report, a September 1998 report prepared by Ken Starr, Independent Counsel, for the House Judiciary Committee. The Starr Report included details outlining a sexual relationship between Clinton and Lewinsky[1] Clinton was the second American president to be impeached, the first being Andrew Johnson, who was impeached in 1868.[lower-alpha 1]

The approved articles of impeachment would be submitted to the United States Senate on January 7, 1999. A trial in the Senate then began, with Chief Justice William Rehnquist presiding. On February 12, Clinton was acquitted on both counts as neither received the necessary two-thirds majority vote of the senators present for conviction and removal from office—in this instance 67 votes were needed. On Article One, 45 senators voted to convict while 55 voted for acquittal. On Article Two, 50 senators voted to convict while 50 voted for acquittal.[3] Clinton remained in office for the remainder of his second term.[4]

Background

In 1994, Paula Jones filed a lawsuit accusing Clinton of sexual harassment when he was governor of Arkansas.[5] Clinton attempted to delay a trial until after he left office, but in May 1997 the Supreme Court unanimously rejected Clinton's claim that the Constitution immunized him from civil lawsuits, and shortly thereafter the pre-trial discovery process commenced.[6]

Separate from this, in January 1994, Attorney General Janet Reno appointed Robert B. Fiske as an Independent counsel to investigate the Whitewater controversy.[7] In August of that year, Ken Starr was appointed to replace Fiske in this role.[7]

In 1997, the first effort in Congress to start an impeachment against Clinton was launched by Republican Congressman Bob Barr.[8]

In a January 17, 1998, sworn deposition, Clinton denied having a "sexual relationship", "sexual affair", or "sexual relations" with Lewinsky.[9] His lawyer, Robert S. Bennett, stated with Clinton present that Lewinsky's affidavit showed there was no sex in any manner, shape or form between Clinton and Lewinsky. The Starr Report states that the following day, Clinton "coached" his secretary Betty Currie into repeating his denials should she be called to testify.

After rumors of the scandal reached the news, Clinton publicly said, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."[10] But months later, Clinton admitted his relationship with Lewinsky was "wrong" and "not appropriate". Lewinsky engaged in oral sex with Clinton several times.[11][12]

The judge in the Jones case later ruled the Lewinsky matter immaterial, and threw out the case in April 1998 on the grounds that Jones had failed to show any damages. After Jones appealed, Clinton agreed in November 1998 to settle the case for $850,000 while still admitting no wrongdoing.[13]

The Starr Report was released to Congress on September 9, 1998, and to the public on September 11.[7][14] In the report, Starr argued that there were eleven possible grounds for impeachment of Clinton, including perjury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and abuse of power. The report also detailed explicit and graphic details of the sexual relationship between Clinton and Lewinsky.[7][15]

Independent counsel investigation

The charges arose from an investigation by Ken Starr, an Independent Counsel.[16] With the approval of United States Attorney General Janet Reno, Starr conducted a wide-ranging investigation of alleged abuses, including the Whitewater controversy, the firing of White House travel agents, and the alleged misuse of FBI files. On January 12, 1998, Linda Tripp, who had been working with Jones's lawyers, informed Starr that Lewinsky was preparing to commit perjury in the Jones case and had asked Tripp to do the same. She also said Clinton's friend Vernon Jordan was assisting Lewinsky. Based on the connection to Jordan, who was under scrutiny in the Whitewater probe, Starr obtained approval from Reno to expand his investigation into whether Lewinsky and others were breaking the law.

A much-quoted statement from Clinton's grand jury testimony showed him questioning the precise use of the word "is". Contending his statement that "there's nothing going on between us" had been truthful because he had no ongoing relationship with Lewinsky at the time he was questioned, Clinton said, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the—if he—if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not—that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement."[17] Starr obtained further evidence of inappropriate behavior by seizing the computer hard drive and email records of Monica Lewinsky. Based on the president's conflicting testimony, Starr concluded that Clinton had committed perjury. Starr submitted his findings to Congress in a lengthy document, the Starr Report, which was released to the public via the Internet a few days later and included descriptions of encounters between Clinton and Lewinsky.[18] Starr was criticized by Democrats for spending $70 million on the investigation.[19] Critics of Starr also contend that his investigation was highly politicized because it regularly leaked tidbits of information to the press in violation of legal ethics, and because his report included lengthy descriptions which were humiliating and irrelevant to the legal case.[20][21]

Impeachment inquiry by the House Committee on the Judiciary

On October 8, 1998, the United States House of Representatives voted to authorize a broad impeachment inquiry, thereby initiating the impeachment process.[22] The Republican controlled House of Representatives had decided this with a bipartisan vote of 258–176, with 31 Democrats joining Republicans.[23] Since Ken Starr had already completed an extensive investigation, the House Judiciary Committee conducted no investigations of its own into Clinton's alleged wrongdoing and held no serious impeachment-related hearings before the 1998 midterm elections. Impeachment was one of the major issues in those elections.

In the November 1998 House elections, the Democrats picked up five seats in the House, but the Republicans still maintained majority control. The results went against what House Speaker Newt Gingrich predicted, who, before the election, had been reassured by private polling that Clinton's scandal would result in Republican gains of up to thirty House seats. Shortly after the elections, Gingrich, who had been one of the leading advocates for impeachment, announced he would resign from Congress as soon as he was able to find somebody to fill his vacant seat;[24][25] Gingrich fulfilled this pledge, and officially resigned from Congress on January 3, 1999.[26]

Impeachment proceedings were held during the post-election, "lame duck" session of the outgoing 105th United States Congress. Unlike the case of the 1974 impeachment process against Richard Nixon, the committee hearings were perfunctory but the floor debate in the whole House was spirited on both sides. The Speaker-designate, Representative Bob Livingston, chosen by the Republican Party Conference to replace Gingrich as House Speaker, announced the end of his candidacy for Speaker and his resignation from Congress from the floor of the House after his own marital infidelity came to light.[27] In the same speech, Livingston also encouraged Clinton to resign. Clinton chose to remain in office and urged Livingston to reconsider his resignation.[28] Many other prominent Republican members of Congress (including Dan Burton,[27] Helen Chenoweth,[27] and Henry Hyde,[27] the chief House manager of Clinton's trial in the Senate) had infidelities exposed about this time, all of whom voted for impeachment. Publisher Larry Flynt offered a reward for such information, and many supporters of Clinton accused Republicans of hypocrisy.[27]

Impeachment by House of Representatives

On December 11, 1998, the House Judiciary Committee agreed to send four articles of impeachment to the full House for consideration. The vote on two articles, grand jury perjury and obstruction of justice, was 21–17, both along party lines. On the other, perjury in the Paula Jones case, the committee voted 20–18, with Republican Lindsey Graham joining with Democrats, in order to give President Clinton "the legal benefit of the doubt".[29] The next day, December 12, the committee agreed to send a fourth and final article, for abuse of power, to the full House by a 21–17 vote, again, along party lines.[30]

Although proceedings were delayed due to the bombing of Iraq, on the passage of H. Res. 611, Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998, on grounds of perjury to a grand jury (first article, 228–206)[31] and obstruction of justice (third article, 221–212).[32] The two other articles were rejected, the count of perjury in the Jones case (second article, 205–229)[33] and abuse of power (fourth article, 148–285).[34] Clinton thus became the second U.S. president to be impeached; the first, Andrew Johnson, was impeached in 1868.[35][36] The only other previous U.S. president to be the subject of formal House impeachment proceedings was Richard Nixon in 1973–74. The Judiciary Committee agreed to a resolution containing three articles of impeachment in July 1974, but Nixon resigned from office soon thereafter, before the House took up the resolution.[37]

H. Res. 611 – Impeaching President Bill Clinton
December 19, 1998
First article
(perjury / grand jury)
Party Total votes[31]
Democratic Republican Independent
Yea check 5 223 0 228
Nay 200 5 1 206
First proposed article
(perjury / Jones case)
Party Total votes[33]
Democratic Republican Independent
Yea 5 200 0 205
Nay check 200 28 1 229
Third article
(obstruction of justice)
Party Total votes[32]
Democratic Republican Independent
Yea check 5 216 0 221
Nay 199 12 1 212
Fourth article
(abuse of power)
Party Total votes[34]
Democratic Republican Independent
Yea 1 147 0 148
Nay check 203 81 1 285

Five Democrats (Virgil Goode, Ralph Hall, Paul McHale, Charles Stenholm and Gene Taylor) voted for the first three articles of impeachment, but only Taylor voted for the abuse of power charge. Five Republicans (Amo Houghton, Peter King, Connie Morella, Chris Shays and Mark Souder) voted against the first perjury charge. Eight more Republicans (Sherwood Boehlert, Michael Castle, Phil English, Nancy Johnson, Jay Kim, Jim Leach, John McHugh and Ralph Regula), but not Souder, voted against the obstruction charge. Twenty-eight Republicans voted against the second perjury charge, sending it to defeat, and eighty-one voted against the abuse of power charge.

Votes by member
District Member Party Votes on proposed articles
1st
(perjury/grand jury)
[38]
2nd
(perjury/Jones case)
[39]
3rd
(obstruction of justice)
[40]
4th
(abuse of power)
[41]
Hawaii 1 Neil Abercrombie
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 5 Gary Ackerman
D
NayNayNayNay
Alabama 4 Robert Aderholt
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Maine 1 Tom Allen
D
NayNayDid not voteDid not vote
New Jersey 1 Rob Andrews
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 7 Bill Archer
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Texas 26 Dick Armey
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Alabama 6 Spencer Bachus
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Kentucky 6 Scotty Baesler
D
NayNayNayNay
Louisiana 6 Richard Baker
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Maine 2 John Baldacci
D
NayNayNayNay
North Carolina 10 Cass Ballenger
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Michigan 5 James A. Barcia
D
NayNayNayNay
Georgia 7 Bob Barr
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Nebraska 3 Bill Barrett
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Wisconsin 5 Tom Barrett
D
NayNayNayNay
Maryland 6 Roscoe Bartlett
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Texas 6 Joe Barton
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
New Hampshire 2 Charles Bass
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Virginia 1 Joe Barton
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 30 Xavier Becerra
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 25 Ken Bentsen
D
NayNayNayNay
Nebraska 1 Doug Bereuter
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
California 26 Howard Berman
D
NayNayNayNay
Arkansas 1 Marion Berry
D
NayNayNayNay
California 49 Brian Bilbray
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Florida 9 Michael Bilirakis
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Georgia 2 Sanford Bishop
D
NayNayNayNay
Illinois 5 Rod Blagojevich
D
NayNayNayNay
Virginia 7 Thomas J. Bliley Jr.
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Florida 9 Michael Bilirakis
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Oregon 3 Earl Blumenauer
D
NayNayNayNay
Missouri 7 Roy Blunt
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
New York 23 Sherwood Boehlert
R
YeaYeaNayNay
Ohio 8 John Boehner
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Texas 23 Henry Bonilla
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Michigan 10 David Bonior
D
NayNayNayNay
California 44 Mary Bono
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Pennsylvania 3 Robert Borski
D
NayNayNayNay
Iowa 3 Leonard Boswell
D
NayNayNayNay
Virginia 9 Rick Boucher
D
NayNayNayNay
Florida 2 Allen Boyd
D
NayNayNayNay
Pennsylvania 1 Bob Brady
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 8 Kevin Brady
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 42 George Brown Jr.
D
NayNayNayNay
Ohio 13 Sherrod Brown
D
NayNayNayNay
Tennessee 7 Ed Bryant
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Kentucky 4 Jim Bunning
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
North Carolina 5 Richard Burr
R
YeaNayYeaNay
Indiana 6 Dan Burton
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Indiana 5 Steve Buyer
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Alabama 1 Sonny Callahan
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 43 Ken Calvert
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Michigan 4 Dave Camp
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 15 Tom Campbell
R
YeaNayYeaNay
Florida 12 Charles Canady
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Utah 3 Chris Cannon
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 22 Lois Capps
D
NayNayNayNay
Maryland 3 Ben Cardin
D
NayNayNayNay
Indiana 10 Julia Carson
D
NayNayNayNay
Delaware at-large Mike Castle
R
YeaNayNayNay
Ohio 1 Steve Chabot
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Georgia 8 Saxby Chambliss
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Idaho 1 Helen Chenoweth
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Nebraska 2 Jon Christensen
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Michigan 1 Bill Clay
D
NayNayNayNay
North Carolina 1 Eva Clayton
D
NayNayNayNay
Tennessee 5 Bob Clement
D
NayNayNayNay
South Carolina 6 Jim Clyburn
D
NayNayNayNay
North Carolina 6 Howard Coble
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Oklahoma 2 Tom Coburn
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Georgia 3 Mac Collins
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Texas 19 Larry Combest
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 18 Gary Condit
D
NayNayNayNay
Michigan 14 John Conyers
D
NayNayNayNay
Utah 2 Merrill Cook
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Louisiana 5 John Cooksey
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Illinois 12 Jerry Costello
D
NayNayNayNay
California 47 Christopher Cox
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Pennsylvania 14 William J. Coyne
D
NayNayNayNay
Alabama 5 Bud Cramer
D
NayNayNayNay
Illinois 8 Phil Crane
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Idaho 2 Mike Crapo
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Wyoming at-large Barbara Cubin
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Maryland 7 Elijah Cummings
D
NayNayNayNay
California 51 Duke Cunningham
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Missouri 6 Pat Danner
D
NayNayNayNay
Florida 11 Jim Davis
D
NayNayNayNay
Illinois 7 Danny K. Davis
D
NayNayNayNay
Virginia 11 Tom Davis
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Georgia 9 Nathan Deal
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Oregon 4 Peter DeFazio
D
NayNayNayNay
Colorado 1 Diana DeGette
D
NayNayNayNay
Massachusetts 10 Bill Delahunt
D
NayNayNayNay
Connecticut 3 Rosa DeLauro
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 22 Tom DeLay
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Florida 20 Peter Deutsch
D
NayNayNayNay
Florida 21 Lincoln Díaz-Balart
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Arkansas 4 Jay Dickey
R
YeaNayYeaNay
Washington 6 Norm Dicks
D
NayNayNayNay
Michigan 16 John Dingell
D
NayNayNayNay
California 32 Julian Dixon
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 10 Lloyd Doggett
D
NayNayNayNay
California 20 Cal Dooley
D
NayNayNayNay
California 4 John Doolittle
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Pennsylvania 18 Mike Doyle
D
NayNayNayNay
California 28 David Dreier
D
NayNayNayNay
Tennessee 2 Jimmy Duncan
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Washington 8 Jennifer Dunn
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Texas 11 Chet Edwards
D
NayNayNayNay
Michigan 3 Vern Ehlers
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Maryland 2 Bob Ehrlich
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Missouri 8 Jo Ann Emerson
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
New York 17 Eliot Engel
D
NayNayNayNay
Pennsylvania 21 Phil English
R
YeaNayNayNay
Nevada 1 John Ensign
R
YeaNayYeaNay
California 14 Anna Eshoo
D
NayNayNayNay
North Carolina 2 Bob Etheridge
D
NayNayNayNay
Illinois 17 Lane Evans
D
NayNayNayNay
Alabama 2 Terry Everett
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Illinois 15 Tom Ewing
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 17 Sam Farr
D
NayNayNayNay
Pennsylvania 2 Chaka Fattah
D
NayNayNayNay
Illinois 13 Harris Fawell
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
California 3 Vic Fazio
D
NayNayNayNay
California 50 Bob Filner
D
NayNayNayNay
Florida 16 Mark Foley
R
YeaNayYeaNay
New York 1 Michael Forbes
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Tennessee 9 Harold Ford Jr.
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 13 Vito Fossella
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Florida 4 Tillie Fowler
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Pennsylvania 13 Jon D. Fox
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Massachusetts 4 Barney Frank
D
NayNayNayNay
New Jersey 7 Bob Franks
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
New Jersey 11 Rodney Frelinghuysen
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Texas 24 Martin Frost
D
NayNayNayNay
Oregon 1 Elizabeth Furse
D
NayNayNayNay
California 23 Elton Gallegly
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Iowa 4 Greg Ganske
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Connecticut 2 Sam Gejdenson
D
NayNayNayNay
Pennsylvania 17 George Gekas
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Missouri 3 Dick Gephardt
D
NayNayNayNay
Nevada 2 Jim Gibbons
R
YeaNayYeaYea
Maryland 1 Wayne Gilchrest
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Ohio 5 Paul Gillmor
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
New York 20 Benjamin Gilman
R
YeaNayYeaNay
Georgia 6 Newt Gingrich
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Texas 20 Henry B. González
D
NayNayNayNay
Virginia 5 Virgil Goode
D
YeaYeaYeaNay
Virginia 6 Bob Goodlatte
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Pennsylvania 19 Bill Goodling
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Tennessee 6 Bart Gordon
D
NayNayNayNay
Florida 14 Porter Goss
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
South Carolina 3 Lindsey Graham
R
YeaNayYeaYea
Texas 12 Kay Granger
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Texas 29 Gene Greene
D
NayNayNayNay
Pennsylvania 8 Jim Greenwood
R
YeaNayYeaNay
Illinois 4 Luis Gutiérrez
D
NayNayNayNay
Minnesota 1 Gil Gutknecht
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Ohio 3 Tony P. Hall
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 4 Ralph Hall
D
YeaYeaYeaNay
Indiana 9 Lee Hamilton
D
NayNayNayNay
Utah 1 Jim Hansen
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 36 Jane Harman
D
NayNayNayNay
Illinois 14 Dennis Hastert
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Florida 23 Alcee Hastings
D
NayNayNayNay
Washington 4 Doc Hastings
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Arizona 6 J. D. Hayworth
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Colorado 5 Joel Hefley
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
North Carolina 8 Bill Hefner
D
NayNayNayNay
California 2 Wally Herger
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Montana at-large Rick Hill
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Tennessee 4 Van Hilleary
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Alabama 7 Earl Hilliard Sr.
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 26 Maurice Hinchey
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 15 Rubén Hinojosa
D
NayNayNayNay
Ohio 7 Dave Hobson
R
YeaNayYeaNay
Michigan 2 Pete Hoekstra
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Pennsylvania 6 Tim Holden
D
NayNayNayNay
Oregon 5 Darlene Hooley
D
NayNayNayNay
California 38 Steve Horn
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Indiana 8 John Hostettler
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
New York 31 Amo Houghton
R
NayNayNayNay
Maryland 5 Steny Hoyer
D
NayNayNayNay
Missouri 9 Kenny Hulshof
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
California 52 Duncan L. Hunter
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Arkansas 3 Asa Hutchinson
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Illinois 6 Henry Hyde
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
South Carolina 4 Bob Inglis
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Oklahoma 5 Ernest Istook
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Illinois 2 Jesse Jackson Jr.
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 18 Sheila Jackson Lee
D
NayNayNayNay
Louisiana 2 William Jefferson
D
NayNayNayNay
Tennessee 1 Bill Jenkins
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Louisiana 7 Chris John
D
NayNayNayNay
Connecticut 6 Nancy Johnson
R
YeaYeaNayNay
Wisconsin 8 Jay Johnson
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 30 Eddie Bernice Johnson
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 3 Sam Johnson
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
North Carolina 3 Walter B. Jones Jr.
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Pennsylvania 11 Paul Kanjorski
D
NayNayNayNay
Ohio 9 Marcy Kaptur
D
NayNayNayNay
Ohio 12 John Kasich
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
New York 19 Sue Kelly
R
YeaNayYeaNay
Massachusetts 8 Joseph P. Kennedy II
D
NayNayNayNay
Rhode Island 1 Patrick J. Kennedy
D
NayNayNayNay
Connecticut 1 Barbara B. Kennelly
D
NayNayNayNay
Michigan 9 Dale Kildee
D
NayNayNayNay
Michigan 15 Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick
D
NayNayNayNay
California 41 Jay Kim
R
YeaNayNayNay
Wisconsin 3 Ron Kind
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 3 Peter King
R
NayNayNayNay
Georgia 1 Jack Kingston
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Wisconsin 4 Jerry Kleczka
D
NayNayNayNay
Pennsylvania 4 Ron Klink
D
NayNayNayNay
Wisconsin 2 Scott Klug
R
YeaNayYeaNay
Michigan 11 Joe Knollenberg
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Arizona 5 Jim Kolbe
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Ohio 10 Dennis Kucinich
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 29 John LaFalce
D
NayNayNayNay
Illinois 18 Ray LaHood
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Texas 9 Nick Lampson
D
NayNayNayNay
California 12 Tom Lantos
D
NayNayNayNay
Oklahoma 1 Steve Largent
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Iowa 5 Tom Latham
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Ohio 19 Steve LaTourette
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
New York 2 Rick Lazio
R
YeaNayYeaNay
Iowa 1 Jim Leach
R
YeaYeaNayNay
California 9 Barbara Lee
D
NayNayNayNay
Michigan 12 Sander Levin
D
NayNayNayNay
California 40 Jerry Lewis
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Georgia 5 John Lewis
D
NayNayNayNay
Kentucky 2 Ron Lewis
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Georgia 11 John Linder
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Illinois 3 Bill Lipinski
D
NayNayNayNay
Louisiana 1 Bob Livingston
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
New Jersey 2 Frank LoBiondo
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
California 16 Zoe Lofgren
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 18 Nita Lowey
D
NayNayNayNay
Oklahoma 6 Frank Lucas
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Minnesota 6 Bill Luther
D
NayNayNayNay
Connecticut 5 James H. Maloney
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 14 Carolyn Maloney
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 7 Tomas Manton
D
NayNayNayNay
Illinois 16 Don Manzullo
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Massachusetts 7 Ed Markey
D
NayNayNayNay
California 31 Matthew G. Martínez
D
NayNayNayNay
Pennsylvania 20 Frank Mascara
D
NayNayNayNay
California 5 Bob Matsui
D
NayNayNayNay
Missouri 5 Karen McCarthy
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 4 Carolyn McCarthy
D
NayNayNayNay
Florida 8 Bill McCollum
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Louisiana 4 Jim McCrery
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Pennsylvania 10 Joseph M. McDade
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Washington 7 Jim McDermott
D
NayNayNayNay
Massachusetts 3 Jim McGovern
D
NayNayNayNay
Pennsylvania 15 Paul McHale
D
YeaYeaYeaNay
New York 24 John M. McHugh
R
YeaYeaNayNay
Colorado 3 Scott McInnis
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Indiana 2 David McIntosh
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
North Carolina 7 Mike McIntyre
D
NayNayNayNay
California 25 Buck McKeon
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Georgia 4 Cynthia McKinney
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 21 Michael McNulty
D
NayNayNayNay
Massachusetts 4 Marty Meehan
D
NayNayNayNay
Florida 17 Carrie Meek
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 6 Gregory Meeks
D
NayNayNayNay
New Jersey 13 Bob Menendez
D
NayNayNayNay
Washington 2 Jack Metcalf
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Florida 7 John Mica
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 37 Juanita Millender-McDonald
D
NayNayNayNay
California 7 George Miller
D
Did not voteDid not voteDid not voteDid not vote
Florida 13 Dan Miller
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Minnesota 2 David Minge
D
NayNayNayNay
Hawaii 2 Patsy Mink
D
NayNayNayNay
Massachusetts 9 Joe Moakley
D
NayNayNayNay
West Virginia 1 Alan Mollohan
D
NayNayNayNay
Kansas 1 Jerry Moran
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Virginia 8 Jim Moran
D
NayNayNayNay
Maryland 8 Connie Morella
R
NayNayNayNay
Pennsylvania 12 John Murtha
D
NayNayNayNay
North Carolina 9 Sue Myrick
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
New York 8 Jerry Nadler
D
NayNayNayNay
Massachusetts 2 Richard Neal
D
NayNayNayNay
Washington 5 George Nethercutt
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Wisconsin 1 Mark Neumann
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Ohio 18 Bob Ney
R
YeaNayYeaNay
Kentucky 3 Anne Northup
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Georgia 10 Charlie Norwood
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Iowa 2 Jim Nussle
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Michigan 8 Jim Oberstar
D
NayNayNayNay
Wisconsin 7 Dave Obey
D
NayNayNayNay
Massachusetts 1 John Olver
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 27 Solomon Ortiz
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 11 Major Owens
D
NayNayNayNay
Ohio 4 Mike Oxley
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 48 Ron Packard
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
New Jersey 6 Frank Pallone
D
NayNayNayNay
New Jersey 12 Mike Pappas
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Missouri 4 Michael Parker
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
New Jersey 8 Bill Pascrell
D
NayNayNayNay
Arizona 2 Ed Pastor
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 14 Ron Paul
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Texas 27 Bill Paxon
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
New Jersey 10 Donald M. Payne
D
NayNayNayNay
Indiana 7 Ed Pease
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 8 Nancy Pelosi
D
NayNayNayNay
Minnesota 7 Collin Peterson
D
NayNayNayNay
Pennsylvania 5 John Peterson
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Wisconsin 6 Tom Petri
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Missouri 3 Chip Pickering
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Virginia 2 Owen B. Pickett
D
NayNayNayNay
Pennsylvania 16 Joe Pitts
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 11 Richard Pombo
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
North Dakota at-large Earl Pomeroy
D
NayNayNayNay
Illinois 10 John Porter
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Ohio 2 Rob Portman
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Illinois 19 Glenn Poshard
D
NayNayNayNay
North Carolina 4 David Price
D
NayNayNayNay
Ohio 15 Deborah Pryce
R
YeaNayYeaNay
New York 30 Jack Quinn
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
California 19 George Radanovich
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
West Virginia 3 Nick Rahall
D
NayNayNayNay
Minnesota 3 Jim Ramstad
R
YeaNayYeaNay
New York 15 Charles Rangel
D
NayNayNayNay
New Mexico 3 Bill Redmond
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Ohio 16 Ralph Regula
R
YeaYeaNayNay
Texas 16 Silvestre Reyes
D
NayNayNayNay
California 1 Frank Riggs
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Alabama 3 Bob Riley
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Michigan 13 Lynn Rivers
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 28 Ciro Rodriguez
D
NayNayNayNay
Indiana 3 Tim Roemer
D
NayNayNayNay
California 27 James E. Rogan
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Kentucky 5 Hal Rogers
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
California 45 Dana Rohrabacher
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Florida 18 Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
New Jersey 9 Steve Rothman
D
NayNayNayNay
New Jersey 5 Marge Roukema
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 33 Lucille Roybal-Allard
D
NayNayNayNay
California 39 Ed Royce
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Illinois 1 Bobby Rush
D
NayNayNayNay
Kansas 2 Jim Ryun
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Minnesota 5 Martin Olav Sabo
D
NayNayNayNay
Arizona 1 Matt Salmon
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 46 Loretta Sanchez
D
NayNayNayNay
Vermont at-large Bernie Sanders
I
NayNayNayNay
Texas 1 Max Sandlin
D
NayNayNayNay
South Carolina 1 Mark Sanford
R
YeaNayYeaYea
Ohio 14 Tom Sawyer
D
NayNayNayNay
New Jersey 3 Jim Saxton
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Florida 1 Joe Scarborough
R
YeaNayYeaNay
Colorado 6 Daniel Schaefer
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Colorado 4 Bob Schaffer
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
New York 9 Chuck Schumer
D
NayNayNayNay
Virginia 3 Bobby Scott
D
NayNayNayNay
Wisconsin 9 Jim Sensenbrenner
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
New York 16 José E. Serrano
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 5 Pete Sessions
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Arizona 4 John Shadegg
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Florida 22 Clay Shaw
R
YeaNayYeaNay
Connecticut 4 Chris Shays
R
NayNayNayNay
California 14 Brad Sherman
D
NayNayNayNay
Illinois 20 John Shimkus
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Pennsylvania 9 Bud Shuster
R
YeaNayYeaNay
Virginia 4 Norman Sisisky
D
NayNayNayNay
Colorado 2 David Skaggs
D
NayNayNayNay
New Mexico 2 Joe Skeen
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Missouri 4 Ike Skelton
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 28 Louise Slaughter
D
NayNayNayNay
Michigan 7 Nick Smith
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
New Jersey 7 Chris Smith
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Oregon 2 Bob Smith
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Texas 21 Lamar Smith
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Washington 9 Adam Smith
D
NayNayNayNay
Washington 3 Linda Smith
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Kansas 3 Vince Snowbarger
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Arkansas 2 Vic Snyder
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 22 Gerald Solomon
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Indiana 4 Mark Souder
R
NayNayYeaNay
South Carolina 2 Floyd Spence
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
South Carolina 5 John Spratt
D
NayNayNayNay
Michigan 8 Debbie Stabenow
D
NayNayNayNay
California 13 Pete Stark
D
NayNayNayNay
Florida 6 Cliff Stearns
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Texas 17 Charles Stenholm
D
YeaYeaYeaNay
Ohio 11 Louis Stokes
D
NayNayNayNay
Ohio 6 Ted Strickland
D
NayNayNayNay
Arizona 3 Bob Stump
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Michigan 1 Bob Stupak
D
NayNayNayNay
New Hampshire 1 John E. Sununu
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Missouri 2 Jim Talent
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Tennessee 8 John Tanner
D
NayNayNayNay
California 10 Ellen Tauscher
D
NayNayNayNay
Louisiana 3 Billy Tauzin
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Mississippi 5 Gene Taylor
D
YeaYeaYeaYea
North Carolina 11 Charles Taylor
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 21 Bill Thomas
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Mississippi 2 Bennie Thompson
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 13 Mac Thornberry
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
South Dakota at-large John Thune
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Florida 5 Karen Thurman
D
NayNayNayNay
Kansas 4 Todd Tiahrt
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Massachusetts 6 John F. Tierney
D
NayNayNayNay
California 34 Esteban Torres
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 10 Edolphus Towns
D
NayNayNayNay
Ohio 17 James Traficant
D
NayNayNayNay
Texas 2 Jim Turner
D
NayNayNayNay
Michigan 6 Fred Upton
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
New York 12 Nydia Velázquez
D
NayNayNayNay
Minnesota 4 Bruce Vento
D
NayNayNayNay
Indiana 1 Pete Visclosky
D
NayNayNayNay
New York 25 James T. Walsh
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Tennessee 3 Zach Wamp
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 35 Maxine Waters
D
NayNayNayNay
Oklahoma 3 Wes Watkins
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
North Carolina 12 Mel Watt
D
NayNayNayNay
Oklahoma 4 J. C. Watts
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 29 Henry Waxman
D
NayNayNayNay
Florida 15 Dave Weldon
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Pennsylvania 7 Curt Weldon
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Illinois 11 Jerry Weller
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Illinois 19 Robert Wexler
D
NayNayNayNay
Rhode Island 2 Robert Weygand
D
NayNayNayNay
Washington 1 Rick White
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Kentucky 1 Ed Whitfield
R
YeaYeaYeaNay
Kentucky 1 Roger Wicker
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
New Mexico 1 Heather Wilson
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
West Virginia 2 Bob Wise
D
NayNayNayNay
Virginia 10 Frank Wolf
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
California 6 Lynn Woolsey
D
NayNayNayNay
Maryland 4 Albert Wynn
D
NayNayNayNay
Illinois 9 Sidney R. Yates
D
NayNayNayNay
Alaska at-large Don Young
R
YeaYeaYeaYea
Florida 10 Bill Young
R
YeaYeaYeaYea

Articles referred to Senate

Article I, charging Clinton with perjury, alleged in part that:

On August 17, 1998, William Jefferson Clinton swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth before a federal grand jury of the United States. Contrary to that oath, William Jefferson Clinton willfully provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony to the grand jury concerning one or more of the following:

  1. the nature and details of his relationship with a subordinate government employee;
  2. prior perjurious, false and misleading testimony he gave in a federal civil rights action brought against him;
  3. prior false and misleading statements he allowed his attorney to make to a federal judge in that civil rights action; and
  4. his corrupt efforts to influence the testimony of witnesses and to impede the discovery of evidence in that civil rights action.[42][43]

Article II, charging Clinton with obstruction of justice alleged in part that:

The means used to implement this course of conduct or scheme included one or more of the following acts:

  1. ... corruptly encouraged a witness in a Federal civil rights action brought against him to execute a sworn affidavit in that proceeding that he knew to be perjurious, false and misleading.
  2. ... corruptly encouraged a witness in a Federal civil rights action brought against him to give perjurious, false and misleading testimony if and when called to testify personally in that proceeding.
  3. ... corruptly engaged in, encouraged, or supported a scheme to conceal evidence that had been subpoenaed in a Federal civil rights action brought against him.
  4. ... intensified and succeeded in an effort to secure job assistance to a witness in a Federal civil rights action brought against him in order to corruptly prevent the truthful testimony of that witness in that proceeding at a time when the truthful testimony of that witness would have been harmful to him.
  5. ... at his deposition in a Federal civil rights action brought against him, William Jefferson Clinton corruptly allowed his attorney to make false and misleading statements to a Federal judge characterizing an affidavit, in order to prevent questioning deemed relevant by the judge. Such false and misleading statements were subsequently acknowledged by his attorney in a communication to that judge.
  6. ... related a false and misleading account of events relevant to a Federal civil rights action brought against him to a potential witness in that proceeding, in order to corruptly influence the testimony of that witness.
  7. ... made false and misleading statements to potential witnesses in a Federal grand jury proceeding in order to corruptly influence the testimony of those witnesses. The false and misleading statements made by William Jefferson Clinton were repeated by the witnesses to the grand jury, causing the grand jury to receive false and misleading information.[42][44]

Senate trial

Tickets dated January 14 and 15, 1999, for President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial

Preparation

Between December 20 and January 5, Republican and Democratic Senate leaders negotiated about the pending trial.[45] There was some discussion about the possibility of censuring Clinton instead of holding a trial.[45] Disagreement arose as to whether to call witnesses. This decision would ultimately not be made until after the opening arguments from the House impeachment managers and the White House defense team.[45] On January 5, the Republican Majority Leader Trent Lott, announced that the trial would start on January 7.[45]

Officers

Thirteen House Republicans from the Judiciary Committee served as "managers", the equivalent of prosecutors: Henry Hyde (chairman), Jim Sensenbrenner, Bill McCollum, George Gekas, Charles Canady, Steve Buyer, Ed Bryant, Steve Chabot, Bob Barr, Asa Hutchinson, Chris Cannon, James E. Rogan and Lindsey Graham.[46]

Clinton was defended by Cheryl Mills. Clinton's counsel staff included Charles Ruff, David E. Kendall, Dale Bumpers, Bruce Lindsey, Nicole Seligman, Lanny A. Breuer and Gregory B. Craig.[47]

Process and schedule

The Senate trial began on January 7, 1999, with Chief Justice of the United States William Rehnquist presiding. The first day consisted of formal presentation of the charges against Clinton, and of Rehnquist swearing in all senators.[45]

A resolution on rules and procedure for the trial was adopted unanimously on the following day;[48] however, senators tabled the question of whether to call witnesses in the trial. The trial remained in recess while briefs were filed by the House (January 11) and Clinton (January 13).[49][50]

The managers presented their case over three days, from January 14 to 16, arguing for removal of the President from office by virtue of what they characterized as Clinton's "willful, premeditated, deliberate corruption of the nation's system of justice through perjury and obstruction of justice".[51] The defense presentation took place January 19–21. Clinton's defense counsel argued that the case made against Clinton was, "an unsubstantiated, circumstantial case that does not meet the constitutional standard to remove the President from office".[51] January 22 and 23 were devoted to questions from members of the Senate to the House managers and Clinton's defense counsel. Under the rules, all questions (over 150) were to be written down and given to Rehnquist to read to the party being questioned.[45][52][53]

On January 25, Senator Robert Byrd moved for dismissals of both articles of impeachment. On the following day, Representative Bryant moved to call witnesses to the trial, a question the Senate had scrupulously avoided to that point. In both cases, the Senate voted to deliberate on the question in private session, rather than public, televised procedure. On January 27, the Senate voted on both motions in public session; the motion to dismiss failed on a nearly party line vote of 56–44, while the motion to depose witnesses passed by the same margin. A day later, the Senate voted down motions to move directly to a vote on the articles of impeachment and to suppress videotaped depositions of the witnesses from public release, Senator Russ Feingold again voting with the Republicans.

Over three days, February 1–3, House managers took videotaped closed-door depositions from Monica Lewinsky, Clinton's friend Vernon Jordan, and White House aide Sidney Blumenthal.[54] On February 4, however, the Senate voted 70–30 that excerpting these videotapes would suffice as testimony, rather than calling live witnesses to appear at trial. The videos were played in the Senate on February 6, featuring 30 excerpts of Lewinsky discussing her affidavit in the Paula Jones case, the hiding of small gifts Clinton had given her, and his involvement in procurement of a job for Lewinsky.

On February 8, closing arguments were presented with each side allotted a three-hour time slot. On the President's behalf, White House Counsel Charles Ruff declared:

There is only one question before you, albeit a difficult one, one that is a question of fact and law and constitutional theory. Would it put at risk the liberties of the people to retain the President in office? Putting aside partisan animus, if you can honestly say that it would not, that those liberties are safe in his hands, then you must vote to acquit.[51]

Chief Prosecutor Henry Hyde countered:

A failure to convict will make the statement that lying under oath, while unpleasant and to be avoided, is not all that serious ... We have reduced lying under oath to a breach of etiquette, but only if you are the President ... And now let us all take our place in history on the side of honor, and, oh, yes, let right be done.[51]

Acquittal

On February 9, 1999, after voting against a public deliberation on the verdict, the Senate began closed-door deliberations instead. On February 12, 1999, the Senate emerged from its closed deliberations and voted on the articles of impeachment. A two-thirds vote, equal to 67 votes if all Senators voted, would have been necessary to convict on either charge and remove the President from office. The perjury charge was defeated with 45 votes for conviction and 55 against, and the obstruction of justice charge was defeated with 50 for conviction and 50 against.[3][55][56] Senator Arlen Specter voted "not proved"[lower-alpha 2] for both charges,[57] which was considered by Chief Justice Rehnquist to constitute a vote of "not guilty". All 45 Democrats in the Senate voted "not guilty" on both charges, as did five Republicans; they were joined by five additional Republicans in voting "not guilty" on the perjury charge.[3][55][56]

Robe worn by Chief Justice William Rehnquist during the impeachment trial
Congressional Record page, February 12, 1999, opening of the final day of the impeachment trial
Articles of Impeachment, U.S. Senate judgement
(67 "guilty" votes necessary for a conviction)
Article One[58]
(perjury / grand jury)
Party Total votes
Democratic Republican
Guilty 0 45 45
Not guilty check 45 10 55
Article Two[59]
(obstruction of justice)
Party Total votes
Democratic Republican
Guilty 0 50 50
Not guilty check 45 5 50

Subsequent events

Contempt of court citation

In April 1999, about two months after being acquitted by the Senate, Clinton was cited by federal District Judge Susan Webber Wright for civil contempt of court for his "willful failure" to obey her orders to testify truthfully in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit. For this, Clinton was assessed a $90,000 fine and the matter was referred to the Arkansas Supreme Court to see if disciplinary action would be appropriate.[60]

Regarding Clinton's January 17, 1998, deposition where he was placed under oath, Webber Wright wrote:

Simply put, the president's deposition testimony regarding whether he had ever been alone with Ms. (Monica) Lewinsky was intentionally false, and his statements regarding whether he had ever engaged in sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky likewise were intentionally false.[60]

On the day before leaving office on January 20, 2001, Clinton, in what amounted to a plea bargain, agreed to a five-year suspension of his Arkansas law license and to pay a $25,000 fine as part of an agreement with independent counsel Robert Ray to end the investigation without the filing of any criminal charges for perjury or obstruction of justice.[61][62] Clinton was automatically suspended from the United States Supreme Court bar as a result of his law license suspension. However, as is customary, he was allowed 40 days to appeal the otherwise automatic disbarment. Clinton resigned from the Supreme Court bar during the 40-day appeals period.[63]

Civil settlement with Paula Jones

Eventually, the court dismissed the Paula Jones harassment lawsuit, before trial, on the grounds that Jones failed to demonstrate any damages. However, while the dismissal was on appeal, Clinton entered into an out-of-court settlement by agreeing to pay Jones $850,000.[64][65]

Political ramifications

Opponents of Clinton's impeachment demonstrating outside the Capitol in December 1998

Polls conducted during 1998 and early 1999 showed that only about one-third of Americans supported Clinton's impeachment or conviction. However, one year later, when it was clear that impeachment would not lead to the ousting of the President, half of Americans said in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll that they supported impeachment, 57% approved of the Senate's decision to keep him in office, and two-thirds of those polled said the impeachment was harmful to the country.[66]

While Clinton's job approval rating rose during the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal and subsequent impeachment, his poll numbers with regard to questions of honesty, integrity and moral character declined.[67] As a result, "moral character" and "honesty" weighed heavily in the next presidential election. According to The Daily Princetonian, after the 2000 presidential election, "post-election polls found that, in the wake of Clinton-era scandals, the single most significant reason people voted for Bush was for his moral character."[68][69][70] According to an analysis of the election by Stanford University:

A more political explanation is the belief in Gore campaign circles that disapproval of President Clinton's personal behavior was a serious threat to the vice president's prospects. Going into the election the one negative element in the public's perception of the state of the nation was the belief that the country was morally on the wrong track, whatever the state of the economy or world affairs. According to some insiders, anything done to raise the association between Gore and Clinton would have produced a net loss of support—the impact of Clinton's personal negatives would outweigh the positive impact of his job performance on support for Gore. Thus, hypothesis four suggests that a previously unexamined variable played a major role in 2000—the retiring president's personal approval.[71]

The Stanford analysis, however, presented different theories and mainly argued that Gore had lost because he decided to distance himself from Clinton during the campaign. The writers of it concluded:[71]

We find that Gore's oft-criticized personality was not a cause of his under-performance. Rather, the major cause was his failure to receive a historically normal amount of credit for the performance of the Clinton administration ... [and] failure to get normal credit reflected Gore's peculiar campaign which in turn reflected fear of association with Clinton's behavior.[71]

According to the America's Future Foundation:

In the wake of the Clinton scandals, independents warmed to Bush's promise to 'restore honor and dignity to the White House'. According to Voter News Service, the personal quality that mattered most to voters was 'honesty'. Voters who chose 'honesty' preferred Bush over Gore by over a margin of five to one. Forty four percent of Americans said the Clinton scandals were important to their vote. Of these, Bush reeled in three out of every four.[72]

Political commentators have argued that Gore's refusal to have Clinton campaign with him was a bigger liability to Gore than Clinton's scandals.[71][73][74][75][76] The 2000 U.S. Congressional election also saw the Democrats gain more seats in Congress.[77] As a result of this gain, control of the Senate was split 50–50 between both parties,[78] and Democrats would gain control over the Senate after Republican Senator Jim Jeffords defected from his party in early 2001 and agreed to caucus with the Democrats.[79]

Al Gore reportedly confronted Clinton after the election, and "tried to explain that keeping Clinton under wraps [during the campaign] was a rational response to polls showing swing voters were still mad as hell over the Year of Monica". According to the AP, "during the one-on-one meeting at the White House, which lasted more than an hour, Gore used uncommonly blunt language to tell Clinton that his sex scandal and low personal approval ratings were a hurdle he could not surmount in his campaign ... [with] the core of the dispute was Clinton's lies to Gore and the nation about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky."[80][81][82] Clinton, however, was unconvinced by Gore's argument and insisted to Gore that he would have won the election if he had embraced the administration and its good economic record.[80][81][82]

Partial retraction from Starr

In January 2020, while testifying as a defense lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump during his first Senate impeachment trial, Starr himself would retract some of the allegations he made to justify Clinton's impeachment.[83] Slate journalist Jeremy Stahl pointed out that as he was urging the Senate not to remove Trump as president, Starr contradicted various arguments he used in 1998 to justify Clinton's impeachment.[83] In defending Trump, Starr also claimed he was wrong to have called for impeachment against Clinton for abuse of executive privilege and efforts to obstruct Congress, and stated that the House Judiciary Committee was right in 1998 to have rejected one of the planks for impeachment he had advocated for.[83] He also invoked a 1999 Hofstra Law Review article by Yale law professor Akhil Amar, who argued that the Clinton impeachment proved just how impeachment and removal causes "grave disruption" to a national election.[83]

See also

Notes

  1. Prior to Bill Clinton, the only other U.S. president aside from Andrew Johnson to be the subject of formal House impeachment proceedings was Richard Nixon in 1973–74, but he resigned from the presidency on August 9, 1974, before the House voted on his impeachment.[2]
  2. A verdict used in Scots law. It was recorded as a "not guilty" vote.

References

  1. Glass, Andrew (October 8, 2017). "House votes to impeach Clinton, Oct. 8, 1998". Politico. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
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  3. 1 2 3 Baker, Peter (February 13, 1999). "The Senate Acquits President Clinton". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Co. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
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