Impeachment Process

General Information A sitting President may be removed from office before his term expires only by impeachment process This process begins with the House of Representatives

Sufficient Evidence If there is sufficient evidence, the House drafts a bill of impeachment, which must be approved by the majority of its membership Then trial in the Senate follows

Trial In the trial, the Chief Justice of the U.S. acts as the judge and the Senators as the jury

History Only two American presidents have ever been impeached – Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton

Impeachment of Bill Clinton Impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998 Acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999 The charges were : perjury, obstruction of justice and abuse of power Arose from the Monica Lewinsky scandal

Investigation Kenneth Starr investigated Clinton’s conduct during the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former Arkansas government employee Paula Jones Starr obtained taped telephone conversation in which Lewinsky, a former White House Intern, discussed having sex with Clinton However, Clinton denied Further evidence; by seizing computer hard drive and records of Lewinsky Starr concluded that Clinton committed perjury

The January 1998 Press Conference After rumors of the scandal reached the news, Clinton publicly stated: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky” In his deposition he swore: “ I have never had an affair with her” Months later, Clinton admitted that his relationship with Lewinsky was “wrong” and “not appropriate”

To Convict or to Acquit No Democratic Senators voting for conviction Only 5 Democratic Representatives voting to impeach The Senate acquitted Bill Clinton because it failed to reach the two thirds of votes needed to convict the President

The Response of the Public Polls conducted during 1998 and early 1999 showed that only one third of Americans supported Clinton’s impeachment or conviction Later, when it was clear that House impeachment would not lead to ouster of the President, half of Americans said that they supported impeachment and 42% disapproved of the Senate’s decision to keep him in office

Discussion And what is your opinion?