The Impeachment Trial Of President Clinton Essay free essay sample

, Research Paper President William Jefferson Clinton is the 3rd president in our state # 8217 ; s history to confront the Constitutional menace of impeachment and merely the 2nd president to of all time be impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. Andrew Johnson was impeached by the House of Representatives in 1868 for go againsting the Tenure of Office Act of 1867 when he tried to throw out the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton ( Short History ) . Richard Nixon resigned from the Presidency before he was charged with condemnable confederacy in the Watergate Scandal ( Short History ) . Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution sets the evidences for impeachment. The Constitution provinces: # 8220 ; The President, the Vice President, and all other Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors # 8221 ; ( Renstrom 458 ) . The Clinton Impeachment Trial is unlike the Johnson and Nixon instances because he did non touch off any intra-governmental struggles like Johnson, nor did he take portion in a condemnable confederacy as Nixon did. Some Democrats question if the Clinton Articles of Impeachment are valid harmonizing to Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution. William Clinton began his early political calling as many politicians do. He was a bright pupil throughout his old ages in high school, college, and eventually jurisprudence school. A Rhodes bookman and Yale Law School alumnus, Clinton seemed to be on the right route to success. He served as Arkansas # 8217 ; Attorney General and Governor of the province for five footings. Clinton revived the Democratic Party and led it to two footings of White House control through the presidential term. However, Clinton # 8217 ; s lift to power took a incorrect bend when he was accused of sexually hassling a former Arkansas province employee named Paula Jones ( L.A. Times ) . Jones foremost spoke out against Clinton in 1994, but it wasn # 8217 ; t until January of 1998 that the president would hold to reply inquiries in his defence against Jones. It was besides at this clip that the independent advocate, Kenneth Starr, who had been look intoing Clinton for the Whitewater existent estate matter n ow claimed to be spread outing his probe. Starr alleged that a former 24-year old White House houseman named Monica Lewinsky had been asked to lie, in the Jones torment instance, about if she had sexual dealingss with the president by Clinton himself and friend Vernon Jordan ( L.A. Times ) . Starr began to dig deeper until he had adequate grounds against the president. On September 9th, 1998, Kenneth Starr delivered his expressed 453-paged study to the U.S. House of Representatives. For a president to be impeached at that place must foremost be a formal accusal brought up by the House of Representatives ( Short History ) . Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution states that the House of Representatives # 8220 ; shall hold the exclusive Power of Impeachment # 8221 ; ( Renstrom 452 ) . By December 12, the House Judiciary Committee had approved four impeachment articles that would travel to the floor of the house for a ballot. The four articles of impeachment against Clinton were: Perjury before a expansive jury, bearing false witness in the Paula Jones instance, obstructor of justness, and an maltreatment of power ( U.S News 23 ) . Even though the president # 8217 ; s attorneies had done a sensible occupation at supporting him in forepart of the House Judiciary Committee, the articles passed because the bulk of the commission members are Republicans, and is chaired by Representative Henry Hyde from Illinois. Prominent Congressional Democratic leaders like Sena te Majority leader Tom Daschle and House Minority leader Richard Gephardt sought after a Congressional animadversion for President Clinton alternatively of the full impeachment. However, the Democrats did non acquire a animadversion declaration for Clinton before the ballot took topographic point in the House of Representatives ( U.S. News 21 ) . For any of the articles to go through, a bulk of the House was necessary ( U.S. News 104 ) . House of Representatives Resolution 611, the impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton for high offenses and misdemeanours, took topographic point on December 19th. The 435-member House of Representatives voted for two of the four impeachment articles. The two articles that passed were obstructor of justness and bearing false witness before the expansive jury ( U.S. News ) . The bearing false witness charge against Clinton passed 228-206 and the obstructor of justness charge passed 221-212 ( Houston Chronicle ) . Although the House Republicans had wo n a triumph by acquiring two articles of impeachment approved, the Senate would hear the balance of the instance against President Clinton. As stated in Article I, Section 3 of the United States Constitution: # 8220 ; The Senate shall hold the exclusive Power to seek all Impeachments # 8221 ; ( Renstrom 452 ) . This subdivision of the Constitution besides sets up some extra guidelines that the Senate must follow. The Senate must move as the jury and # 8220 ; be on Oath or Affirmation. # 8221 ; Besides, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is instructed to p reside over the test. â€Å" ? no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two tierces of the Members present† pertains to the figure that it takes to make a strong belief ( Renstrom 452 ) . On January 7th, Republicans discourse how the test will continue, which lasts for a hebdomad. Get downing on January 14th, the 13 prosecuting officers of the instance, called impeachment test directors, started their gap remarks. The test directors were the Republican Representatives that serve on the House Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary Committee Chairman, Henry Hyde, was besides the caput test director. Along with Mr. Hyde were Representatives Bob Barr from Georgia, Charles Canandy from Florida, Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, Asa Hutchinson from Arkansas, James Sensenbrenner signifier Wisconsin, Steve Buyer from Indiana, George Gekas from Pennsylvania, Ed Bryant from Tennessee, Bill McCollum from Florida, Steve Chabot from Ohio, Christopher Cannon from Utah, and Jame s Rogan from California. This all-male, all Republican, all-lawyer squad argued that taking President Clinton was necessary to protect the regulation of jurisprudence and safeguard the â€Å"covenant of trust† between the president and the state ( Clinton Under Fire ) . The attorneies that defended President Clinton were main White House advocate Charles Ruff, David Kendall, Cheryl Mills, Nicole Seigelman, and former Senator and Clinton friend Dale Bumpers ( Clinton Under Fire ) . 74-year old Chief Justice William Rehnquist officiated the test as instructed by the Constitution. Previously, Rehnquist had written an history of the Andrew Johnson impeachment test called Grand Inquests ( Clinton Under Fire ) . The biggest struggle between Republicans and Democrats in this test revolved around informants. Originally, the House directors sought after Monica Lewinsky to attest, along with Vernon Jordan, and Sidney Blumenthal. Jordan was brought in because he had purportedly asked Lewinsky to lie under curse at the Paula Jones instance deposition she gave, denying that she had had any sexual dealingss with President Clinton. The test directors felt that by holding Sidney Blumenthal as a informant, it would assist the instance against Clinton # 8217 ; s obstructor of justness ( Clinton Under Fire ) . For about a month, Republicans and Democrats, House directors and White House attorneies, pitched their scheme for winning. On February 12th the Senate reached a finding of fact after three yearss of considering. William Jefferson Clinton was acquitted on the two counts of bearing false witness before the expansive jury and obstructor of justness. The Republicans did ill in the test. They control the Senate by 10 seats and did non acquire a bulk on either charge. The first article of impeachment, bearing false witness, was a 50-50-split ballot. The obstructor of justness charge was 45 for strong belief and 55 against strong belief ( Houston Chronicle ) . Whether or non President Clinton acted in an immoral manner towards Monica Lewinsky is non every bit of import as the fact the he likely lied to the American people. Is he is genuinely guilty of the impeachment charges brought against him in the House of Representatives? Clinton did emerge from the test with a repute for stating prevarications and now his presidential term will stay tarnished until he leaves office. Unfortunately, Bill Clinton misused the trust of America as a whole. As Representative Henry Hyde asked, # 8220 ; If you can non believe the president, who can you believe? # 8221 ; ( Clinton Under Fire ) . For some ground, Clinton maintained a just blessing evaluation among the people of the state. His blessing during the test was mostly due to the fact that the economic system has remained better than it has been in old ages. So what are Americans believing about politicians? Let the president prevarication and allow Congress utilize one million millions of dollars on a pointless test? Although the test and other facets of Clinton # 8217 ; s private life are everyday, the fact that all three subdivisions of our federal authorities came together at one clip is. Gerson, Michael J. # 8220 ; End Games. # 8221 ; US News A ; World Report 21 December 1998: 20-29 Gergen, David. # 8220 ; It # 8217 ; s clip for a cease fire. # 8221 ; US News A ; World Report 4 January 1999: 16-29 Renstrom, Peter G. Constitutional Law and Young Adults. ABC-CLIO. Santa Barbara: 1996 # 8220 ; Impeachment Trial Ends. # 8221 ; Houston Chronicle. Online. Internet. 2 Feb. 1999. Available: www.chron.com. # 8220 ; The Impeachment Trial: Key Players. # 8221 ; Houston Chronicle. Online. Internet. 1 Jan. 1999. Available: www.chron.com. # 8220 ; Clinton Under Fire. # 8221 ; BBC News Online. Available: news.bbc.co.uk/ hi/english/events/clinton_under_fire/profiles/newsid_168000/ 168540.stm. # 8220 ; A Short History of Impeachment Before Clinton. # 8221 ; Available: infoplease.lycos.com/spot/impeach.html. Los Angeles Times: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/REPORTS/SCANDAL/ PATHWAY/tpointframe.htm. January 31, 1999.