Presidential Impeachment Its so nice when it only

Presidential Impeachment It’s so nice when it only happens twice….

What is impeachment? l l Formal charges against a civil officer of government for questionable or illegal conduct in office Impeachment is the filing of charges only, not the conviction Charges can only be filed by the House of Representatives Charges can only be filed in the United States for the following crimes: l l Treason Bribery High crimes and misdemeanors Requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate to convict

Who has been impeached? Andrew Johnson Democrat 1868 William J. Clinton Democrat 1998

Who has been convicted? nobody

Andrew Johnson l l Unpopular with Reconstruction Republicans and hard line Democrats Stuck with Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet members Impeached on the second attempt Charged with High Crimes and Misdemeanors l l Violation of the Tenure of Office Act Removing a government officer without the approval of the Senate (Edwin Stanton)

Trial Repeated requests by the President for more time to prepare were turned down l Argued that Stanton was not protected by the Tenure of Office Act l Votes cast revealed a 35 -19 vote to impeach, one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed l Johnson was acquitted l

Bill Clinton l l l Very popular with the American people and the establishment Democrats alike Charges filed after an independent investigation into questionable land dealings in Arkansas. Charges filed were all related to a sex scandal involving a White House intern: l l Perjury Obstruction of Justice Abuse of Power Mr. Clinton was charged with lying to the Grand Jury of the United States, and conspiring to impede the investigation into these charges

Kenneth Starr l l Originally appointed to examine failed land dealings, was also authorized by Attorney General Janet Reno to investigate other alleged abuses In a published report, Starr charged that Clinton was guilty of perjury for claiming that he had no involvement with the intern, and obstruction of justice for using the FBI and other agencies to cover up information

The Vote Needed 67 votes in the Senate to convict l Perjury: 45 to convict; 55 to acquit l Obstruction: 50 to convict; 50 to acquit l Clinton acquitted of all charges l Clinton found in Contempt of Court and fined for lying l Had his law license suspended and was disbarred at the federal level l

Ramifications l Definite impact on the next election l l l Clinton still had high marks for job approval Decreasing poll numbers in terms of character and morality Morality became a huge issue in the election of 2000. l l Americans tired of the scandals and media circus Most supporters of George Bush favored him because of his character Bush promised to restore “honor and dignity to the White House” Al Gore distanced himself from Clinton during the 2000 campaign, fearing that Clinton and the scandals would hurt his election chances.

Questions: l l What impact does the impeachment of a President have on the American people? Does the morality (within question) of a President have any bearing on his or her success on the job? Why or why not? How do you think the rest of the world viewed the United States during the Clinton Impeachment proceedings? Is it acceptable for impeachment proceedings to be partisan? Why or why not?