Gavin Howe
Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, had a law degree from Yale and taught law at the University of Arkansas before entering politics. However, his career was marred by a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones, which led to an impeachment trial in the Senate on charges of lying under oath and obstruction of justice. The scandal also involved his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, an intern at the White House. As a result, Clinton faced legal consequences, including a fine and disbarment, which raises the question: Can he still practice law?
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Impeachment | Bill Clinton was impeached by the United States House of Representatives of the 105th United States Congress on December 19, 1998 |
| Charges | Lying under oath, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and abuse of power |
| Law License | Bill Clinton resigned from the Supreme Court bar and accepted a $25,000 fine |
| Law Career | Clinton worked for a Little Rock law firm and taught law at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville |
What You'll Learn
Bill Clinton's impeachment
On December 19, 1998, Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, was impeached by the United States House of Representatives of the 105th United States Congress. The House adopted two articles of impeachment against Clinton: lying under oath and obstruction of justice. Two other articles (perjury, and abuse of office) had been considered but were rejected by the House vote.
The 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 him by Paula Jones, who accused Clinton of sexual harassment when he was governor of Arkansas. 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, an Independent Counsel, for the House Judiciary Committee. The report outlined 11 possible grounds for impeachment, including perjury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and abuse of power. It also detailed explicit and graphic details of the sexual relationship between Clinton and Lewinsky.
In January 1998, Clinton had denied having a "sexual relationship", "sexual affair", or ""sexual relations" with Lewinsky. His lawyer, Robert S. Bennett, stated that Lewinsky's affidavit showed there was no sex between Clinton and Lewinsky. However, Lewinsky was secretly recorded by the FBI discussing her relationship with Clinton, and in July 1998, she testified before a grand jury that she and Clinton had had a sexual relationship. Clinton subsequently admitted to lying under oath.
On February 12, 1999, 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. Clinton remained in office for the remainder of his second term.
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The Lewinsky scandal
The Clinton–Lewinsky scandal refers to the sexual relationship between former US President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. The scandal broke in January 1998 and led to Clinton's impeachment by the United States House of Representatives in December 1998.
Lewinsky had denied a relationship with Clinton in an affidavit submitted in the Paula Jones case, in which Jones accused Clinton of sexual harassment when he was governor of Arkansas. However, in January 1998, Linda Tripp discovered that Lewinsky had attempted to persuade her to commit perjury in the Jones case. Tripp gave the tapes to Ken Starr, who was investigating Clinton on other matters, including the Whitewater controversy and the White House FBI files controversy. Armed with evidence of Lewinsky's admission of a physical relationship with Clinton, Starr broadened the investigation to include Lewinsky and her possible perjury in the Jones case.
On January 17, 1998, Clinton denied having a "sexual relationship", "sexual affair", or "sexual relations" with Lewinsky. However, in grand jury testimony on August 17, 1998, Clinton admitted that he had engaged in an "improper physical relationship" with Lewinsky. The Starr Report, released to Congress on September 9, 1998, and to the public on September 11, provided explicit and graphic details of the sexual relationship between Clinton and Lewinsky. The report also argued that there were eleven possible grounds for Clinton's impeachment, including perjury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and abuse of power.
Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998, on charges of lying under oath and obstruction of justice. However, he was acquitted on both counts by the Senate on February 12, as neither received the necessary two-thirds majority vote for conviction and removal from office. Clinton remained in office for the remainder of his second term. Interestingly, Clinton's approval ratings actually skyrocketed following the scandal, with many Americans thinking that the Republicans were being hyperpartisan in pursuing impeachment.
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The Starr Report
The report detailed explicit and graphic accounts of a sexual relationship between Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern at the time. Clinton had initially denied the affair in a sworn deposition on January 17, 1998, and through his lawyer, Robert S. Bennett. However, the Starr Report alleged that Clinton had "coached" his secretary, Betty Currie, to repeat his denials should she be called to testify.
As the scandal gained media attention, Clinton publicly denied the relationship, stating, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." However, he later admitted that the relationship was "wrong" and "not appropriate". Lewinsky confirmed the sexual nature of their encounters in her testimony, stating that she had engaged in oral sex with Clinton on several occasions.
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The Jones sexual harassment lawsuit
On May 6, 1994, Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state clerk, filed a lawsuit against President Bill Clinton in the federal court in Little Rock, Arkansas, seeking $700,000 in damages. Jones claimed that Clinton, while governor of Arkansas, sexually harassed her and then defamed her after she went public with her accusations.
In August 1994, Clinton's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss Jones's suit, citing presidential immunity. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Webber Wright ruled that a trial could not take place until Clinton had left office but allowed the investigation into Jones's allegations to proceed. Jones appealed and, in 1996, won the right to proceed to trial in the Supreme Court. Clinton then filed a request to delay the trial until he left office, which was unanimously rejected by the Supreme Court in May 1997. The pre-trial discovery process commenced shortly thereafter.
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. In January 1998, Clinton again denied having a "sexual relationship", "sexual affair", or "sexual relations" with Lewinsky. However, in the same month, Linda Tripp, who had been working with Jones's lawyers, informed Independent Counsel Ken Starr that Lewinsky was preparing to commit perjury in the Jones case and had asked her to do the same.
The catalyst for Clinton's impeachment was the Starr Report, a September 1998 report prepared by Starr for the House Judiciary Committee. The report outlined eleven possible grounds for impeachment, including perjury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and abuse of power. It also detailed explicit and graphic details of the sexual relationship between Clinton and Lewinsky.
Clinton was impeached by the United States House of Representatives of the 105th United States Congress on December 19, 1998, on two articles of impeachment: lying under oath and obstruction of justice. He was acquitted on both counts in the Senate trial, as neither received the necessary two-thirds majority vote for conviction and removal from office.
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Clinton's resignation from the Supreme Court bar
On November 9, 2001, former US President Bill Clinton resigned from the Supreme Court bar, as a result of the fallout from his affair with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern. Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives due to statements made about the Lewinsky affair, but he was not removed from office following a trial in 1999.
Clinton's lawyer, David Kendall, informed the court's clerk of the decision to resign. This came after the high court gave the president 40 days to explain why he should not be disbarred, as per its rules, after being suspended from the Arkansas Bar Association. Kendall stated that Clinton had been a member in good standing of the Arkansas bar for over 25 years and had never faced any professional discipline. However, on January 19, 2001, Clinton entered into an agreement with the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct, surrendering his law license.
The practical impact of Clinton's resignation was minimal, as he had not practiced before the Supreme Court and was not expected to argue any cases in the future. The resignation was one of several legal consequences that Clinton faced due to the Lewinsky scandal, including a $25,000 fine, a five-year suspension of his Arkansas law license, and a civil contempt penalty of over $90,000.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Bill Clinton attended Yale Law School and graduated in 1973.
After graduating from law school, Clinton moved back to Arkansas and taught law at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. However, he quickly became involved in politics and began campaigning for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
No, Bill Clinton was disbarred and resigned from the Supreme Court bar following the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He also accepted a $25,000 fine and a five-year suspension of his Arkansas law license.
