Correct me if I am wrong. Bill Clinton was not facing impeachment for having

[mfcorey1]

a consensual relationship with another adult. He faced impeachment for lying. I just had this argument with the opposition. Am I correct?

[democratisphere]

1. Depends on whether you want the truth or the redumbliCON alternative facts.

[tblue37]

2. Yes, for lying under oath. nt

[highmindedhavi]

3. You can't win either way

both were wrong, lying and cheating

[Tommy_Carcetti]

4. Technically, yes. It was for perjury and obstruction of justice.

However, we all know that the Republicans knew those were bogus charges which would never result in his removal and they just wanted to drag President Clinton's name through the mud for the association with his affair.

[klook]

13. And they prevented him from being able to argue cases before the SC. (nt)

[unblock]

5. one charge of perjury, one charge of obstruction of justice.

both related to the civil case jones v. clinton.

[Thomas Hurt]

6. Actual text of House Impeachment Bill here....

https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-resolution/611

[atreides1]

7. That's how I understood it!

Article I charged that Clinton lied to the grand jury concerning:

the nature and details of his relationship with Lewinsky
prior false statements he made in the Jones deposition
prior false statements he allowed his lawyer to make characterizing Lewinsky’s affidavit
his attempts to tamper with witnesses


Article III charged Clinton with attempting to obstruct justice in the Jones case by:

encouraging Lewinsky to file a false affidavit
encouraging Lewinsky to give false testimony if and when she was called to testify
concealing gifts he had given to Lewinsky that had been subpoenaed
attempting to secure a job for Lewinsky to influence her testimony
permitting his lawyer to make false statements characterizing Lewinsky’s affidavit
attempting to tamper with the possible testimony of his secretary Betty Curie
making false and misleading statements to potential grand jury witnesses

Nothing there about having consensual sex with another adult!

[mfcorey1]

9. Sounds like the kind of charges that can be levied against Drumpf without much effort.

[uponit7771]

14. +1

[Cartoonist]

11. Except

Having consensual sex is not a crime. All that testimony should never have taken place.

[gratuitous]

8. The House impeached Clinton on four courts

First, "willfully provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony to the grand jury."

Second, "willfully provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony as part of a Federal civil rights action brought against him."

Third, "prevented, obstructed, and impeded the administration of justice, and has to that end engaged personally, and through his subordinates and agents, in a course of conduct or scheme designed to delay, impede, cover up, and conceal the existence of evidence and testimony related to a Federal civil rights action brought against him in a duly instituted judicial proceeding."

Fourth, "refused and failed to respond to certain written requests for admission and willfully made perjurious, false, and misleading sworn statements in response to certain written requests for admission propounded to him as part of the impeachment inquiry authorized by the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States. States that William Jefferson Clinton, in refusing and failing to respond and in making perjurious, false and misleading statements, assumed to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the sole power of impeachment vested by the Constitution in the House of Representatives and exhibited contempt for the inquiry."

None of the articles received even a majority vote in the Senate. Articles II and III seem to be basically that Clinton mounted a defense in the Paula Jones lawsuit. Article I is really under the purview of the special counsel that convened the grand jury. And Article IV is vintage whine that Clinton didn't just lay down and die when the House impeachment managers came a-calling, but instead defended himself and the prerogatives of his office.

[LisaM]

10. Yes, and it was essentially entrapment.

The whole thing was just a petty waste of resources.

And yet, through it all, Bill Clinton had a successful presidency. I didn't agree with everything he did (most of the things I disagreed with were efforts he made to compromise with the other party), but my own circumstances improved dramatically while he was in office. They were stalled before that, and they're stalled now, but while he was in office, things got a lot better for me. I moved from being poor to being middle class, and that's a lot.

[shenmue]

12. Bullshit

Meanwhile, Gingrich was having a bunch of affairs and lying about them.

[marble falls]

15. You are correct.....

Impeachment of Bill Clinton
The impeachment process of Bill Clinton was initiated by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998, against Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice. These charges stemmed from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Clinton by Paula Jones.More at Wikipedia

[leftynyc]

16. The two charges he

was impeached for were perjury and obstruction of justice. Found not guilty on both.

[JDC]

17. Yes lying about his affair. Which Republicans told us is a horrible crime

Like the are now. Lying cannot be tolerated! Oh, wait..........