Bill Clinton's Questionable Constitutional Conduct

Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives in 1998, becoming the first US president to be impeached since Andrew Johnson. The impeachment proceedings were based on allegations that Clinton had lied about and covered up his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a 22-year-old White House intern. The House approved two articles of impeachment against the President, centred on perjury and Clinton using the powers of the presidency to commit obstruction of justice. However, Clinton was acquitted by the Senate on both charges in 1999.

Clinton's impeachment trial

The impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, began in the U.S. Senate on January 7, 1999, and concluded with his acquittal on February 12. The impeachment inquiry was opened on October 8, 1998, and he was formally impeached by the House on December 19, 1998, on two charges: perjury and obstruction of justice.

The charges for which Clinton was impeached stemmed from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones, an Arkansas state employee. During pre-trial discovery in the lawsuit, Clinton gave testimony denying that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. Lewinsky had told a friend that she had been having a relationship with the President, and she later admitted to lying about it.

The catalyst for the president's impeachment was the Starr Report, a September 1998 report prepared by Independent Counsel Ken Starr for the House Judiciary Committee. The Starr Report included details outlining a sexual relationship between Clinton and Lewinsky.

Clinton was acquitted on both articles of impeachment, with neither receiving the two-thirds majority needed for a conviction, and remained in office. The vote for acquittal was 55 to 45 on the grand jury perjury charge, and 50 to 50 on the obstruction of justice charge.

The Starr Report

The House Judiciary Committee relied heavily on the Starr Report to inform its own report recommending impeachment, which was released on December 16, 1998. The Committee report recommended impeachment on four counts: perjury during a criminal grand jury, perjury during a civil deposition, obstruction of justice, and abuse of office.

On December 19, 1998, the House voted to approve the first two articles of impeachment, and Clinton was acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. The acquittal occurred as all 45 Democrats and 10 Republicans voted against conviction.

Clinton's alleged perjury

Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998, on two charges: perjury and obstruction of justice. The specific allegations against Clinton were lying under oath and obstruction of justice. These charges stemmed from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Clinton by Paula Jones, an Arkansas state employee, in 1994. During pre-trial discovery in the lawsuit, Clinton gave testimony denying that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern.

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.

Clinton was formally impeached by the House on two charges: perjury and obstruction of justice. The perjury charge was based on Clinton's testimony before a grand jury about his sexual relationship with Lewinsky and his efforts to cover it up. The obstruction of justice charge related to both the civil lawsuit and the grand jury proceedings.

The Senate trial of Clinton began on January 7, 1999, and he was acquitted on February 12, 1999, on both articles of impeachment. Neither article received the two-thirds majority vote of the senators present that was needed for conviction and removal from office. 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.

While Clinton was not convicted of perjury, he was not without consequences for his actions. 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. As a result, Clinton was assessed a $90,000 fine and the matter was referred to the Arkansas Supreme Court to determine if disciplinary action was warranted.

Additionally, on the day before leaving office on January 20, 2001, Clinton 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. Clinton was also automatically suspended from the United States Supreme Court bar as a result of his law license suspension.

Clinton's alleged obstruction of justice

Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998, on two counts: lying under oath and obstruction of justice. The charges stemmed from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones, an Arkansas state employee, who accused Clinton of sexual harassment when he was governor of Arkansas.

The catalyst for the impeachment was the Starr Report, a September 1998 report prepared by Independent Counsel Ken Starr for the House Judiciary Committee. The report included details of a sexual relationship between Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern.

Starr believed that Clinton had lied in trying to cover up the affair and that he had instructed others to lie on his behalf, including his secretary, Betty Currie, whom he allegedly "coached" into repeating his denials.

The House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment on December 11, 1998, and the House impeached Clinton on December 19. The Senate trial began on January 7, 1999, and Clinton was acquitted on both counts on February 12, 1999, as neither received the necessary two-thirds majority vote for conviction and removal from office.

The Clinton impeachment raised the issue of what the threshold is for "high crimes and misdemeanors." While some argued that Clinton's actions constituted "low" and private matters, others contended that even in private matters, a President who commits perjury and obstructs justice is subverting the rule of law, making it a "high crime."

The Independent Counsel Act

The Act created a special prosecutor position, later changed to independent counsel, which could be used by Congress or the Attorney General to investigate individuals holding or formerly holding certain high positions in the federal government. The prosecutor was appointed by a special panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and could only be dismissed by the Attorney General for "good cause" or by the special panel when the investigation was complete. The law gave the prosecutor an unlimited budget and no deadline, and the President could not dismiss those investigating the executive branch.

The constitutionality of the Act was challenged in the 1988 Supreme Court case Morrison v. Olson, where the Supreme Court upheld the law as constitutional, finding that it did not interfere "unduly" or "impermissibly" with the executive branch's powers. However, the law faced criticism, including from Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who argued that it weakened the Presidency and exposed the head of the executive branch to "debilitating criminal investigations".

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