Impeachment – Flashcards

Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice, on December 19, 1998.

He was subsequently acquitted of these charges by the Senate on February 12, 1999.

Four charges were considered by the full House of Representatives; two passed, making Clinton the second United States President to be impeached, and only the third for whom the House had considered such proceedings

The trial in the United States Senate began right after the seating of the 106th Congress, in which the Republicans began with 55 senators.

A two-thirds vote (67 senators) was required to remove Clinton from office.

Fifty senators voted to remove Clinton on the obstruction of justice charge and 45 voted to remove him on the perjury charge; no Democrat voted guilty on either charge.

On February 24, 1868, something extraordinary happened in the U.S. Congress. For the first time in history, the United States House of Representatives impeached a sitting president, Democrat Andrew Johnson.

When Congress reconvened, they overruled Stanton's suspension, and Grant resigned his position. The event heightened Grant's popularity and depressed Johnson's -- at least as far as Republicans were concerned. Ignoring Congress, Johnson formally dismissed Stanton on February 21, 1868. With the support of the Republicans, Stanton responded by locking himself in his office and refusing to leave.

Angered by Johnson's open defiance, the House of Representatives formally impeached him on February 24 by a vote of 126 to 47.

They charged him with violation of the Tenure of Office Act and bringing into "disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, and reproach the Congress of the United States." It was then up to the Senate to try Johnson.