Lordy lordy, I still hear some ignorant Americans and others talk about the “failed attempt to impeach” Bill Clinton. In fact Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998, but not because he lied to “the american people” about his sex life. It was because he and conspirators lied to a court holding a sexual harassment trial against him.
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No doubt this is digging up the past too much, but despite the accusations, Clinton was never found guilty of anything in the Paula Jones case. The argument supporting impeachment was that he lied to Kenneth Starr’s grand jury investigation about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Starr was, of course, investigating the Whitewater scandal; ironically, nobody, including Starr, has ever shown that either Clinton did anything illegal in connection to Whitewater (they lost money on the deal anyhow), although of course some of their close friends were sent to jail over it.
Certainly the argument supporting impeachment was that Clinton committed perjury and obstruction of justice in a court of law. But it also true that the lies and obstruction were about his sex life, not about sexual harrasment, or any actual crime.
Ian Lance Taylor (Email) (URL) - 2005-12-29 00:08
> But it also true that the lies and obstruction were about his sex life, not about sexual harassment, or any actual crime.
For what it’s worth, while the sexual harassment lawsuit was indeed civil and not criminal, the very first sentence of the “grounds to impeach” section of the Starr report relates to his lies etc. during that lawsuit. Only then does he mention Clinton’s lies to Starr’s grand jury.
Plus, the act of perjury was itself criminal, and so was its subsequent coverup.
Frank - 2005-12-29 00:26