41st President: (1993-2000)
| Impeachment of:
41st President: (1993-2000) |
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-Most of us can all remember something about Clinton's Impeachment. In fact it was just the third time that a U.S. president in America's history was convicted for impeachment and it was the third time that the impeached president got away with any of his crimes. The whole ordeal about Clinton's impeachment lasted a long, long time and can be confusing to understand. Many of us probably remember the terms: Lewinsky and Jones. We can also get confused when we hear strange and unappropriate words fly by our ears while we listen to the news or the radio. In fact these misconceptions can tend to lead people away from the truth and into a world of mystical imagination. We tend to loose our balance and begin to create hog-wash that doesn't make sense, doesn't fit, and isn't true. It is a part of human nature that makes us want to forget the truth and understand the situation our own seperate way, the way that sounds the best to us. Indeed we can call it false and misleading, or just bad habit, and bad habits as we should know, are hard to remove. So to keep it simple, intact, and truthfull; only the facts will be revealed about Clinton's Impeachment.
Clinton's Impeachment (Just the Facts)
The Impeachment of President Clinton can be traced back to the time before he was anybody famous or anybody popular. The investigation all started from things that happened many years ago and have affected the Clinton's all their life. However they suffered the most from their mistakes during President Clinton's presidency or his time in office. The word plagued can be put into the terms of the way they suffered, being asked about accusations after accusations for wrongdoing. It seemed to trouble everyone in the administration, thr cabinet members, his wife, the democratic party and of course Clinton. The first of many pressuring accusations could have been due to some unexplained events that had occured in Arkansas, before Clinton was President
When the Republicans gained control of Congress in the election of 1994, they were able to control the investigations taken out by the Senate and the House of Representatives in the White House. Some of the investigations covered period of time back while Clinton was in Arkansas involving finacial transactions. Other ordeals revealed that the Democrats had raised money unlawfully, which included large sums given by foreign sources, this had something to do with the way Clinton had treated foreign policy decisions. These charges of wrong-doing resulted in the appointing of an unprecedented seven independent counsels; they were a bunch of non-government lawyers that were ordered to investigate several high government officals. They were also known as special prosecutors. These independent counsels would investigate the allegations involving the President and his party. It was concluded that five of the members of Clinton's cabinet and a White House aide, were subjects of independent counsel inquires. Only two of the seven investigations were closed by May 1998.
Getting back to the most pressuring accusation and investigation for the Clintons, was an Arkansas land deal that was undertaken before Clinton had become a govenor of Arkansas, in 1978. The direction of the questions asked by the investigators mostly led to Clinton's investment in the Whitewater Development Corporation, a development that sought to buy land in northern Arkansas for the construction of homes. The investigation had become more complicated when the investigators revealed that some of the partners Clinton used for the investment had bought the Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan Corporation. This corporation had gone bankrupt in 1989 and was bailed out by Resolution Trust Corporation, this was a federal agency. Investigators asked questions to answer whether the the money from the savings and loan corp. might have helped them with their land venture and whether Clinton used his influence as govenor to help the savings and loan corp.
Going back to 1994, Attorney General Janet Reno had appointed Robert Fiske, one of the independent counsels, to probe the Whitewater allegations. This also included the investigation of the firing some of the White House travel office staff, a collection of confidential FBI files in the White House, and the death of a White House counsel, Vincent Foster, in July of 1993. Under the control of Fiske, a federal grand jury indicted several Arkansas business people and politicans that had financial improperties in the 1980s that linked them to the bankrupt savings and loan association. Among the selected bunch were two of Clinon's business partners, James D. McDougal and Susan McDougal. In 1994, a three-judge panel removed prosecutor Fiske and appointed Kenneth G. Starr, a solicitor general under former President Bush. It was also concluded that the suspicians of Foster's murder to cover up possible misdeeds by the Clinton's was false and that he had committed suicide.
In 1998 the investigation concerning Whitewater was expanded by Starr to determine whether the president had an affair with White House intern, Monica Lewinsky, then had lied about it under oath. This is where most people lose track, so lets keep it simple and appropriate. Both Clinton and Lewinsky and denied an affair, which was proved otherwise when a former White House employee gave Starr the secret tapes that revealed their affair. Starr justified the investigation as a pattern of obstructing justice at the White House. He also revealed that Clinton had lied and suborned perjury and obstructed justice, by tring to get Lewinsky and others to lie about the affair in the Paula Jones's lawsuit. Clinton's lawyers tried to persuade them that the lawsuit should be delayed until Clinton was out of office. However, that was over-ruled 9-0 by the U.S. Supreme Court. On April 1, 1998, the U.S. District Court judge dismissed the lawsuit, stating "there are no genuine issues for the trial in this case." However Jones appealed.
Impeachment Time
"William Jefferson Clinton has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the Presidency, has betrayed his trust as President, and has acted in a manner subversive of the rule of law and justice, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States."
- From the articles of impeachment approved by the House Judiciary Commitee
Clinton's impeachment didn't occur too long ago. It was mostly broadcasted on Television. Basicly, Clinton was impeached on four different articles of impeachment . We should all know that he wasn't removed from office but, was tried by the Senate after the House of Representatives voted and approved the articles of Impeachment. Only two of the original four articles were passed on to the Senate for their vote. Clinton was found not guilty on either of the two articles. What were the original four articles of impeachment?
Article: I
Perjury
Clinton"provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony to the grand jury..."
Why:
Clinton had confessed to have had inappropriate contact with Lewinsky and he had denied it a couple of months before.
Article approved:
21 - 16
Article: II
Perjury
"...provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony in response to questions..."
Why:
Lacked to recall what had happened on the day that investigators want to know more about, technically didn't provide a reasonable answer. Same with Lewinsky.
Aritcle approved:
20 - 17
Article: III
Obstruction
"...prevented, obstructed and impeded the administration of justice."
Why:
Evidence points to an effort to get Lewinsky to stay silent in return for a job.
Article approved:
21 - 16
Article: IV
Abuse of Power
"...made perjurious, false and misleading sworn statements...[to] written requests..."
Why:
Clinton's response to the investigators 81 questions seemed to passify. Stayed contempt of Congress.
Article approved:
21 - 16