It feels like a fever dream now, doesn't it? The 1990s were a wild time for American politics, but nothing quite matches the sheer, chaotic energy of December 1998. If you’re trying to pin down exactly when Clinton was impeached, you’ve gotta look at a very specific Saturday: December 19, 1998.
That was the day the House of Representatives basically told the world that Bill Clinton’s private conduct had crossed a legal line. But honestly, most of us just remember the blue dress, the finger-wagging "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" speech, and the endless cable news cycles. There’s a lot more to the timeline than just that one Saturday in December, though.
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To really get why it happened, you have to look at the months of legal wrestling that led up to it. It wasn't just a sudden decision. It was a slow-motion train wreck that started with a real estate deal called Whitewater and ended in a Senate trial that gripped the entire world.
The Long Road to December 19, 1998
Most people think the impeachment was just about the affair with Monica Lewinsky. It wasn't. Not legally, anyway. It was actually about what Clinton said (and didn't say) under oath.
The trouble really started bubbling over in early 1998. On January 17, Clinton gave a deposition in a totally separate sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones. That’s where he first denied having "sexual relations" with Lewinsky.
Check out how fast things moved once the secret was out:
- January 21, 1998: News of the Lewinsky scandal breaks in the mainstream media.
- August 17, 1998: Clinton testifies before a grand jury. He admits to an "inappropriate relationship" but maintains he didn't technically lie in the Jones deposition.
- September 9, 1998: Ken Starr drops the "Starr Report" on Congress. It was graphic, detailed, and practically a bestseller overnight.
- October 8, 1998: The House officially votes to start an impeachment inquiry.
By the time we got to December, the political atmosphere was toxic. Newt Gingrich and the House Republicans were pushing hard, while the public—weirdly enough—mostly wanted the whole thing to just go away. Clinton's approval ratings actually went up during the scandal. People are complicated like that.
What the Charges Actually Said
When the House finally voted on when Clinton was impeached, they didn't just throw everything at the wall. They considered four articles of impeachment but only passed two.
- Article I: Perjury. The House accused Clinton of lying to the grand jury on August 17 about the nature of his relationship with Lewinsky. It passed 228 to 206.
- Article II: Obstruction of Justice. This one was about his alleged attempts to hide evidence and influence witnesses (like his secretary Betty Currie) to cover up the affair. It passed 221 to 212.
The other two charges? They fell flat. One was for perjury in the Paula Jones deposition, and the other was for "abuse of power." The House members basically decided those didn't meet the "high crimes and misdemeanors" bar.
The Senate Trial: January to February 1999
Impeachment by the House is just like being indicted. It doesn't mean you're kicked out of office. For that, you need a trial in the Senate.
That trial kicked off on January 7, 1999, with Chief Justice William Rehnquist presiding. It was a somber affair, very different from the shouting matches in the House. For five weeks, the Senate listened to arguments from House managers (including a young Lindsey Graham) and Clinton’s defense team.
On February 12, 1999, the Senate finally voted. They needed a two-thirds majority (67 votes) to convict and remove him. They didn't even get a simple majority on the perjury charge.
The final tally:
- Perjury: 45 Guilty, 55 Not Guilty.
- Obstruction: 50 Guilty, 50 Not Guilty.
Clinton stayed. He finished his term with some of the highest approval ratings in history. It’s a strange paradox of American history that the more he was investigated, the more the public seemed to rally around him, even if they didn't like what he'd done.
Why Does It Still Matter Today?
You might wonder why we’re still talking about when Clinton was impeached decades later. It’s because it set the template for every impeachment we’ve seen since. It turned the process into a political weapon as much as a legal one.
Before Clinton, impeachment was this "break glass in case of emergency" tool that had only been used once before (against Andrew Johnson). Since then, it’s become a much more common part of the political conversation.
We also learned a lot about the legal nuances of "perjury." Clinton’s defense—famously arguing about what the meaning of the word "is" is—became a masterclass in legal hair-splitting. It showed that in impeachment, the "truth" is often less important than how you frame it.
Actionable Steps for History Buffs
If you want to dive deeper into this era, don't just stick to the headlines. There are a few things you can do to get the full picture:
- Read the actual Articles of Impeachment. You can find them on the National Archives website. Seeing the dry, legal language helps you understand why the Senate struggled to convict.
- Watch the floor speeches. C-SPAN has archives of the 1998 House debates. It’s a trip to see how many of the people involved back then are still power players today.
- Check out the Starr Report—critically. It’s worth looking at not for the gossip, but to see how Ken Starr built his legal case for "obstruction."
The Clinton impeachment wasn't just a scandal; it was a constitutional stress test. Whether you think he was a victim of a "vast right-wing conspiracy" or a president who flouted the law, understanding the timeline is the only way to make sense of how it changed the presidency forever.