Bert Dirschell
Centertown
Dear Editor:
Let's look back at the 1998/1999 impeachment of Bill Clinton.
Watch Clinton on camera at www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aGbdni7QNs
Read about infamous "blue dress" at www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/monica-lewinsky-dishes-details-on-infamous-dress
On Dec 19, 1998, four Articles of Impeachment were voted on by the full House.
Article I - The president provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony to the grand jury regarding the Paula Jones case and his relationship with Monica Lewinsky; passed 228-206. Five Democrats vote "Yea."
Article II - The president provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony in the Jones case in his answers to written questions and in his deposition; failed 229-205. Five Democrats voted "Yea." (In November, Clinton had paid Ms. Jones $850k to end her lawsuit.)
Article III - The president obstructed justice in an effort to delay, impede, cover up and conceal the existence of evidence related to the Jones case; passed 221-212. Five Democrats voted "Yea."
Article IV - The president misused and abused his office by making perjurious, false and misleading statements to Congress; failed 285-148. Only one Democrat voted "Yea."
House Articles of Impeachment I and III were sent to the Senate the same day as the House vote.
On Feb. 12, 1999, the Senate found Clinton not guilty of the charges of perjury in House Article I, by a "Yea"-"Nay" vote of 45-55. It also found him not guilty of the charges obstruction of justice in House Article III, by a "Yea"-"Nay" vote of 50-50. A guilty verdict would have required 67 "Yea" votes. No Democratic senator voted guilty on either article.
After being acquitted, Clinton was cited by Federal District Judge Susan Webber for civil contempt of court for his "willful failure" to obey her repeated orders to testify truthfully in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit. "Simply put, the president's deposition testimony regarding whether he had ever been alone with Ms. (Monica) Lewinsky was intentionally false, and his statements regarding whether he had ever engaged in sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky likewise were intentionally false ". Clinton cut a deal. He paid a $25,000 fine and gave up his Arkansas law license for five years, to avoid any further criminal charges for perjury or obstruction of justice.