EXCLUSIVE – Trender News Report Offers You A Three Part Series, Just To Give You Some Background Before Getting Into The Nitty Gritty
Part Three
William Jefferson Clinton became the second President actually impeached in late fall of 1998 during the off year congressional elections. The Republican controlled House initiated impeachment hearings in October on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice after receipt of Special Counsel Kenneth Starr’s report regarding President Clinton’s marital affair with Monica Lewinsky. The Republicans actually lost a few seats in November, and the Lame Duck Congress decided to act. Formal impeachment was brought in December by close votes on both charges, mostly on party lines, and Chief Justice William Rehnquist officiated over Clinton’s trial in the Senate in January, 1999. It was the first Senate trial of a President in 131 years.
Clinton was acquitted on Lincoln’s birthday after the Senate voted 45-55 not to convict him of perjury and 50-50 on the Obstruction of justice charge. 67 votes were required on either charge to remove the President. Clinton apologized to the nation in a televised address for his personal behavior and the operation of running the federal government soon resumed, leading up to the split decision election of 2000, decided by the Supreme Court in the favor of George Walker Bush.
Impeachment has, of course, returned to the public dialogue this year with the House of Representative’s decision to impeach President Donald John Trump, strictly on party lines, of the charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power over his decision to withhold federal aid to Ukraine and to hold up a White House visit for Ukrainian President Vilensky unless and until his government investigated corruption charges against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Beau. A trial is expected to be held in the Senate with Chief Justice John Roberts presiding in January of 2020, just twenty-one years removed from the last presidential trial. Stay tuned!
