The Second American President Impeached: A Historical Overview

On this day in 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the United States House of Representatives. This marked a significant moment in American history, as only three U.S. presidents have been formally impeached by Congress—Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump. One of those presidents, Andrew Johnson, narrowly avoided being removed from office by just one vote in the Senate.

Former President Donald Trump is not the first president to face legal problems. Here is a short history of presidents who faced impeachment proceedings in the past. Andrew Johnson faced impeachment in 1868, largely due to his opposition to Reconstruction efforts after the Civil War. Bill Clinton's impeachment in 1998 arose from charges of perjury and obstruction of justice related to his affair with Monica Lewinsky. And Donald Trump faced impeachment twice during his presidency, first for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and then for incitement of insurrection following the Capitol riots in January 2021.

President Trump is only the third U.S. President to be impeached, and no President has ever been removed from office through the impeachment process. Despite being impeached twice, Trump completed his term in office before Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States.

Former President Donald Trump, the first president in US history to be impeached twice, faced his second impeachment trial starting in 2021. The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives narrowly voted to impeach Democratic President Joe Biden's top border official, sparking further division and controversy within the country.

There have been only four presidential impeachments in U.S. history. In the past year alone, Americans have witnessed half of them, highlighting the tumultuous political climate in recent times. The second president to be impeached was Bill Clinton, who faced charges of perjury and obstruction of justice during his second term in office.

Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton remain the only US presidents to have been impeached, with Donald Trump being the third to join their ranks. Each impeachment trial has had its own unique set of circumstances and repercussions, shaping the course of American politics for years to come.

Bill Clinton, an American politician from Arkansas, served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He took office at the end of the Cold War era and presided over a period of economic prosperity and relative peace, despite the impeachment proceedings that overshadowed his second term.