This paper will look into the impeachment of Bill Clinton. This move was instigated by the (HoR) House of Representatives because of two charges which were perjury and the hindrance of justice. These charges arose from his adulterous acts with Monica Lewinsky who was a former intern in the White House and several charges of sexual harassment. This move changed a lot on the issue of presidency. It went on to show that the presidency could be overturned. He was acquitted of the charges by the house of Senate on February 1999 (Washingtonpost.com: Clinton Accused, 1999). This paper will look into how the balance of power changed between the Congress and the Presidency.
Congressional process that affected the presidency
There were various processes in this issue that affected the presidency. For once, the congress tried to put a motion through which if found guilty of the charges leveled against him, the president would have been impeached and his powers taken from him. However, he was acquitted of the charges that were leveled against him like those of sexual harassment. He was charged with a crime and later acquitted. But by being the president, one has the power to control the Congress. This is through the voting power of the president’s party. By using this power, the president was able to be acquitted as his people voted not guilty in his case which turned tables to his favor. This was termed as the presidential impact and they had congressional control over many decisions.
This issue brought about a lot of hostility between the members of various parties especially the rivals who were the Democrats and the Republicans. When it came to voting, the Republicans who were voting for a guilty verdict were outnumbered by the Democrats who finally won with the not guilty vote. The relations between the Republicans and the Democrats were made worse when it came to deciding where one was to cast their vote. This brought political tension between these two factions and their supporters (Linder, 2005).
This process brought about the conflict between the presidency and the Congress in that there was bad blood between these two as one, the Congress, was acting in a way that jeopardized the presidency of the time. The presidency on the other hand went on to belittle the powers of the Congress by winning the vote that was cast against. However, this showed that the presidency and the congress could work hand in hand with one institution checking the other to ensure that one did not abuse its power.
There were various changes in political power in that the Democrats went on to show that they were mightier than the Republicans by winning the vote to cut short the impeachment of Bill Clinton. They showed America and their supporters that they had the power to keep the Presidency on their side no matter the cost. This was one of the major defeats of the Republicans in Congress.
The Presidency gained power over the Congress when they won the move to impeach this institution. The Presidency had been found guilty of various charges leveled against him but by the vote of his own people in the Congress, he was acquitted of all charges and the impeachment failed. Therefore, we can see that the presidency gained more power over the Congress and any sitting president who had a majority in the Congress would always triumph over it (Wehner, 2014).
In conclusion, we see that the congress put forth a motion to impeach the presidency due to various charges that were leveled against him. The Congress failed in this when the Democrats voted a not guilty verdict that went on to keep the president in power. There was a level of conflict that came in between Congress and the Presidency when the Congress tried to sabotage the presidency. From the above statements we see that the Presidency became more powerful than the Congress and there was a shift in political power that was evidenced.
References
Linder, D. (2005). The Impeachment Trial of President William Jefferson Clinton. Law2.umkc.edu. Retrieved 30 July 2016, from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/clinton/clintonhome.html
Washingtonpost.com: Clinton Accused. (1999). Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/clinton.htmWehner, P. (2014). Why Bill Clinton Was Impeached. WSJ. Retrieved 30 July 2016, from http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/05/09/why-bill-clinton-was-impeached/
