Published 13:21 IST, December 20th 2019
As Trump waits for trial, here's what happened when previous leaders faced impeachment?
Trump became only the third US President to be impeached by the House, but it has started a conversation about the previous leaders who faced a trial in Senate.
- World News
- 4 min read
Donald Trump became only the third United States President to be impeached by the House of Representatives on December 18, but it has started a conversation about the early leaders who faced an impeachment trial in the Senate. The Democrat-led House of Representatives voted 230 to 197 to impeach Trump of 'abuse of power' and 229 to 198 for the second charge of 'obstruction of Congress'. Andrew Johnson was also impeached in 1868 for breaching the tenure of office act, however, he was narrowly acquitted with just one vote. In 1974, Richard Nixon faced an impeachment inquiry, however, he quit the office before facing the trial in the Senate which acts as a high court in the proceedings. Bill Clinton was also impeached in 1998 but was acquitted similar to what is currently being expected by Trump's trial as the Senate has a Republican majority and even in Congress, he was impeached 'without one Republican vote'.
First impeachment in US
Trump has been impeached for pressuring Ukrainian government to start an investigation which can defeat his biggest obstacle to re-election in 2020, Joe Biden. But when it all started, Johnson was the first sitting President to face the impeachment proceedings because going 'against the law' he had fired two important government officials without first getting Senate's permission. Johnson fired Stanton on February 21, 1868, and three-day slater he was impeached by the Congress with a vote of 261-47. According to the House, Johnson had violated the law and disgraced the congress but finally, the Senate acquitted him with 35 guilty to 19 not guilty.
The twist in the impeachment hearings lies in the Senate's role because unlike the Congress, it only requires two-third votes to win a majority. Therefore, As Trump gets ready to face the trials next month, the White House has also said that it is 'confident' the Republican-led Senate will 'set things in order' and exonerate Trump. This can also be the reason, Trump is showcasing confidence and was seen dismissing the impeachment process calling it a 'sham' and 'presidential harassment'.
Nixon's resignation
It was nearly 100 years after the first impeachment proceedings ruled out, the US Government had to face the two-year crisis which led to the resignation of Nixon which also became first of its kind. On June 17, 1972, five men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee's headquarters at the Watergate hotel. Since the men were trying to bug the building., an official trial began on January 8, 1973. However, by the end of April, two senior officials resigned and the counsel was fired.
Where Nixon came into play was when he refused to hand over the taped phone calls which were supposedly connecting the former US President to the burglary and its cover-up and are popularly known as the 'Nixon-tapes'. Even after a subpoena by the Congress, Nixon cited his executive privilege for his refusal and in 1974, the House began official impeachment proceedings against him with a vote of 410-4 for obstructing justice, misuse of power, contempt of Congress. However, before the Congress could impeach him, Nixon resigns on August 8, 1974, and became the 'only' US President to have resigned from the office.
The latest impeachment of Bill Clinton which took place in 1998 led to an unsuccessful attempt to remove him from the office as the Senate had acquitted him. Clinton completed his tenure and refused to step down as the country leader. Clinton went on to win a 79-day war in Kosovo, normalized US trade relations with China and Vietnam and presided over a strong economy.
Updated 14:15 IST, December 20th 2019
