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 Clintons 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 e-mail 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 Clintons
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 Senates decision to
keep him in office

Discussion

And what is your opinion?