i don't understand! bill clinton was impeached ! and yet he was still acting president!!!WHY?????
2007-12-04 06:00:01 · 8 answers · asked by pernce55 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Government
The majority of Senators did not feel that getting a bj was a sufficient crime to remove a president from office, and they voted against conviction. Clinton served his full term.
2007-12-04 06:06:11 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Being impeached does not mean you are removed from office. It is only the first step in the process of removing a president (as laid out in the constitution).
A good analogy would be that being impeached is like being being charged with a crime. You are innocent until proven guilty but must go for a trial. If convicted, you face a punishment. If convicted on the impeachment charge, you are removed from office.
In Clinton's case, the vote was in essence "not guilty" by the Senate after he was brought up for impeachment.
2007-12-04 06:02:07 · answer #2 · answered by HokiePaul 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Not enough votes to OUST him completely:
"On February 12, 1999, the Senate concluded a 21-day trial with the vote on both counts falling short of the Constitutional requirement of a two-thirds majority to convict and remove an office holder. The final vote was generally along party lines, with no Democrats voting guilty, although for both charges some Republicans voted not guilty. On the perjury charge 55 senators voted to acquit, including 10 Republicans, and 45 voted to convict; on the obstruction charge the Senate voted 50-50.[119] Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson, being the only two American presidents to be impeached, both served the remainder of their terms."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton#Impeachment_and_trial_in_the_Senate
2007-12-04 06:05:05 · answer #3 · answered by Yahzmin ♥♥ 4ever 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Being impeached is like a grand jury bringing an indictment. After the impeachment (or indictment) there has to be a trial.
The Senate failed to convict, so Clinton survived the effort to throw him out of office.
2007-12-04 06:04:43 · answer #4 · answered by scottclear 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He never was impeached, there was a committee investigation to see if there was enough evidence to impeach him.
No evidence was found, not for wrongdoing but as an impeachable offence. The rules for impeachment are very strict and found in a body of law called constitutional law.
Constitutional law is based on "high crimes and misdemeanors" clause in the constitution. Misdemeanors does not mean the same as we would think as a misdemeanor, say throwing a rock through a school window.
Under constitutional law misdemeanor means abuse of power for personal or political gain.
2007-12-04 06:09:23 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
you need to understand what impeached means. It means that congress voted to start proceedings to remove him from his office. Those proceedings voted not to remove him from office. The constitution allows him to continue to be president even after an impeachment vote was taken.
He was impeached because he lied to a grand jury.
2007-12-04 06:08:08 · answer #6 · answered by thunder2sys 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There are 2 steps...impeachment and conviction. He was not convicted, therefore, he was not removed from office.
2007-12-04 06:04:16 · answer #7 · answered by WT 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Being impeached isn't the same thing as being removed from office. He resigned before the Senate could hold a trial to convict him.
2007-12-04 06:02:24 · answer #8 · answered by killr.kasey 3 · 0⤊ 7⤋