Clinton's Impeachment: What Laws Were Broken?

The impeachment of Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, was approved by the House of Representatives on two articles of impeachment: perjury to a federal grand jury 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. During the lawsuit, Clinton denied having a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern, which was later proven to be false. This led to an investigation by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, who accused Clinton of lying under oath and obstruction of justice, among other charges. Clinton was ultimately acquitted on both articles of impeachment by the Senate, which failed to reach the two-thirds majority vote required for conviction and removal from office.

Lying under oath

On December 19, 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the United States House of Representatives of the 105th United States Congress. The impeachment came after a formal House inquiry, which was launched on October 8, 1998. The House adopted two articles of impeachment against Clinton, with the specific charges being lying under oath and obstruction of justice.

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

Clinton was accused of lying under oath about his relationship with Lewinsky. In January 1998, Clinton denied having a "sexual relationship", "sexual affair", or "sexual relations" with Lewinsky. He also denied the relationship in a sworn deposition on January 17, 1998. However, in August 1998, Clinton acknowledged to prosecutors that he had had an extramarital affair with Lewinsky.

Clinton's lawyers argued that his testimony had been immaterial to the Paula Jones case and should have been dismissed. However, Judge Wright expressly held that "such evidence might have been relevant to plaintiff's case," and could have been used to establish "intent, absence of mistake, motive, and habit on the part of the President."

Starr's report alleged that there were eleven possible grounds for Clinton's impeachment, including perjury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and abuse of power. The House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment, including two related to perjury, one for obstructing justice, and one for abuse of office.

On December 19, 1998, the House voted in favor of two articles of impeachment, finding that Clinton had committed perjury before the grand jury and had obstructed justice. The Senate held a trial in early 1999, and on February 12, 1999, Clinton was acquitted on both charges. The prosecution needed a two-thirds majority to convict but failed to achieve even a bare majority.

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 charges: perjury to a grand jury and obstruction of justice. The Senate acquitted him of both charges on February 12, 1999, and he remained in office for the rest of his second term.

The obstruction of justice charge against Clinton was related to his alleged attempts to cover up his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. The scandal first came to light in January 1998 when Linda Tripp, a disgruntled former colleague of Lewinsky's, approached investigators working for Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr with evidence of the affair.

Starr was already investigating Clinton's financial dealings, but he expanded his investigation to include the president's sexual behaviour, suspecting that Lewinsky was being paid off by the White House to keep quiet. In the course of Starr's investigation, Clinton was questioned under oath about his relationship with Lewinsky. He denied having a sexual relationship with her, and subsequent evidence emerged that he had instructed others to lie on his behalf.

The Starr Report, released in September 1998, outlined 11 possible grounds for Clinton's impeachment, including perjury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and abuse of power. The report also included explicit details of the sexual relationship between Clinton and Lewinsky.

The House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against Clinton, one of which charged him with obstruction of justice relating to both the civil lawsuit filed by Paula Jones and the grand jury proceedings. The specific allegation was that Clinton had attempted to influence the testimony of potential witnesses, including his personal assistant, and had encouraged others to lie about his relationship with Lewinsky.

The Senate trial of President Clinton began in mid-January 1999 and ended on February 12 with an acquittal on both charges. The prosecution failed to achieve even a bare majority, with a 50-50 split on the obstruction of justice charge.

Abuse of power

The abuse of power article of impeachment was rejected by the full House, with a vote of 148-285. This article specifically charged Clinton with abuse of office by refusing to respond to certain requests for admission from Congress and making untruthful responses to Congress during the investigation into his behaviour.

Clinton's impeachment stemmed from an investigation into his financial transactions, specifically the Whitewater real estate development during his tenure as attorney general and then governor of Arkansas. During this investigation, Paula Jones, an Arkansas state employee, filed a civil suit against Clinton, alleging that he had sexually harassed her in 1991 while he was governor.

Clinton denied the allegations, but evidence emerged that he had been involved in an affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. Lewinsky initially corroborated Clinton's denial but later testified that she and Clinton had a sexual relationship. Clinton subsequently admitted to lying under oath.

Witness tampering

The impeachment of Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, was the result of a formal House inquiry launched on October 8, 1998. The inquiry was based on allegations of perjury and obstruction of justice in relation to a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Clinton by Paula Jones. During pre-trial discovery, Clinton denied engaging in a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern.

The House of Representatives concluded that Clinton had ""corruptly encouraged a witness in a Federal civil rights action brought against him to execute a sworn affidavit [...] that he knew to be perjurious, false, and misleading." This act violated witness tampering statutes, specifically 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1512(b)(1)-(2) (1994 & Supp. 1996).

Furthermore, Clinton was accused of engaging in a ""continuing plot to [...] tamper with witnesses," which included encouraging Lewinsky to conceal evidence. In her grand jury testimony, Lewinsky stated that Clinton had suggested she could "always say [she] was coming to see Betty or that [she] was bringing me letters," indicating an attempt to influence her testimony.

The witness tampering charges against Clinton were part of a broader pattern of obstruction of justice and abuse of power, as outlined in the Starr Report, which provided explicit details of Clinton's relationship with Lewinsky and served as a basis for the impeachment proceedings.

Perjury

Clinton was accused of lying under oath about his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern at the time. In January 1998, Clinton denied having a sexual relationship with Lewinsky, both in a deposition by Jones' lawyers and in a public statement. However, evidence emerged that contradicted Clinton's testimony, including secret recordings made by FBI agents and Lewinsky's own testimony before a grand jury.

The perjury charge against Clinton was based on his false statements during the Paula Jones lawsuit, as well as his subsequent grand jury testimony about the relationship. Clinton eventually admitted to the relationship but denied that he had lied under oath.

The House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against Clinton, including perjury before a grand jury. The Senate, however, failed to reach the two-thirds majority vote required to convict Clinton and remove him from office. He was acquitted on both articles of impeachment in February 1999.

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