Law Librarian Blog

Today in Legal History: Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton, Dec. 19, 1998

Clinton was impeached on December 19, 1998, by the House of Representatives on grounds of perjury to a grand jury (by a 228-206 vote) and obstruction of justice (by a 221-212 vote). The Impeachment Trial in the Senate commenced on January 7, 1999. The Senate voted on the Articles of Impeachment on February 12, with a two-thirds majority, or 67 Senators, required to convict.

On Article I, that charged that the President "...willfully provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony to the grand jury" and made "...corrupt efforts to influence the testimony of witnesses and to impede the discovery of evidence" in the Paula Jones lawsuit, the President was found not guilty with 45 Senators voting for the President's removal from office and 55 against. Ten Republicans split with their colleagues to vote for acquittal; all 45 Democrats voted to acquit. On Article II, charging that the President "...has prevented, obstructed, and impeded the administration of justice"..., the vote was 50-50, with all Democrats and five Republicans voting to acquit.

Text and roll call votes for the four articles of impeachment approved by the House Judiciary Committee on December 11 and 12, 1998. (Washington Post)

Senate impeachment roll call and closed-door statements. (CNN)

Digital Archives

• Eagleton Institute of Politcs' Clinton Impeachment Digital Archive
• JURIST'S Guide to Impeachment Materials
• University of Michigan Library Documents Center Archive: Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton

See also Wikipedia's Impeachment of Bill Clinton. [JH]

Today in Legal History: Articles of Confederation

The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777. However, ratification of the Articles of Confederation by all thirteen states did not occur until March 1, 1781. The Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments. The need for a stronger Federal government soon became apparent and eventually led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The present United States Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation on March 4, 1789. Check out LC's Primary Documents in American History: Articles of Confederation web page for more. [JH]