President Bill Clinton is sworn in for his taped grand jury testimony
on Aug. 17, 1998, at the White House.
After nearly 14 hours of debate, the House of Representatives approves two
articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, charging him with
lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice. Clinton, the
second president in American history to be impeached, vowed to finish his
term.
On February 12, the Senate voted on whether to remove Clinton from office
and the president was acquitted on both articles of impeachment. The
prosecution needed a two-thirds majority to convict but failed to achieve
even a bare majority. Rejecting the first charge of perjury, 45 Democrats
and 10 Republicans voted “not guilty,” and on the charge of obstruction
of justice the Senate was split 50-50. After the trial concluded, President
Clinton said he was “profoundly sorry” for the burden his behavior
imposed on Congress and the American people.
