Stanford scholar Jack Rakove reflects on the start of the unprecedented impeachment trial of a former president. The impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s was a pivotal moment in modern U.S. politics that continues to have reverberations to this day. After nearly 14 hours of debate, the House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, marking only the second time in U.S. history that a sitting president had faced such charges.
The Senate Republican leader proposed impeachment trial rules that push the 1999 precedent toward President Trump's preferences, setting the stage for a divisive and highly partisan trial. On Wednesday, the Senate ended President Donald Trump's impeachment trial with a result that was momentous, if not surprising: with their vote, the Senate acquitted the president of the charges brought against him, much like the outcome of Bill Clinton's trial.
Season 3 of American Crime Story is taking on the Bill Clinton impeachment trial — but what is the true story of the infamous political scandal that rocked the nation? History was made before the impeachment trial of President Trump even began. It's the first time that three of the seven house managers were involved in all three impeachment trials in U.S. history, including the trial of President Bill Clinton.