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History of Impeachment

By Daisy Polowetzky '23

If you flip through mainstream news channels or scroll past online articles, you are sure to hear or see one word in particular: impeachment. With former president Donald Trump’s impeachment trial concluded, it is important that we reflect on the history of impeachment to understand why it is an integral part of our democracy.


Andrew Johnson: 17th President of the United States


After the events of the Civil War, it was up to President Andrew Johnson to restore a racially divided country. However, Johnson’s decision to veto legislation protecting the rights of freed enslaved people led to his impeachment on February 24th, 1868. After his senate trial, Johnson was acquitted of all charges because a sufficient minority believed in preserving the president’s office.


Bill Clinton: 42nd President of the United States

President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on October 8, 1998 for “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Clinton’s charges came after his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinski, which he immediately denied. Kennth Starr, who led the impeachment investigation, believed that Clinton obstructed justice by trying to--and coercing others to--hide his affair. In the end, on February 12, 1999, Clinton was acquitted of all charges.


Donald Trump: 45th President of the United States


On December 18th, 2019, President Donald Trump was impeached for the first time for abuse of power and obstruction of justice. Prior to the 2020 presidential election, Trump threatened to withhold important military aid to Ukraine if the government did not investigate Joe Biden. Trump’s push on Ukraine to investigate the current president was influenced by Biden’s son, Hunter, and his time working in the country. In 2014, according to PolitiFact, Hunter Biden became a director of a Ukrainian natural gas company called Burisma. This was obviously seen as a conflict of interest considering Joe Biden was vice president and the Obama administration was actively trying to fight corruption in Ukraine. It was later confirmed by Biden staff that he was not influenced by his son’s position in Ukraine. Even after the senate reviewed Trump’s private calls with Ukraine, brought to light by whistleblower Alexander Vindman, the senate voted to acquit Trump on February 5th, 2020.


Trump’s second impeachment came after the January 6th attack on the Capital by his own supporters and white supremacists. Members of Congress and the Senate believe the “rally” was an incitement of insurrection by the president. Following the insurrection--which left four people dead, members of Congress terrified, and the majority of the country fearful--Trump’s public Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter were disabled because the platforms could be used as tools to incite future violence and spread false information.

On February 13th, Trump was acquitted by the senate in a vote of 57-43. Only seven republicans voted to impeach. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi plans to conduct an independent investigation into the events of 1/6, similar to the 9/11 investigation.




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