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28 senators who were in Congress for Clinton's impeachment, and how they voted then
28 senators who were in Congress for Clinton's impeachment, and how they voted then
James Pasley,James PasleyJan 23, 2020, 01:31 IST
David Hume Kennerly / GettyRepublican Sen. Mitch McConnell talks to reporters in the hallways of the US Capitol Building during the Senate Impeachment Trial of Bill Clinton on Jan. 9, 1999.
A little more than 20 years separates the impeachment trials of former President Bill Clinton and President Donald Trump.
Twenty-eight current senators will have had a say in the outcomes of both.
Last time, most voted along party lines. The notable outlier was Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who voted to acquit Clinton, and will be voting again on whether Trump should be convicted.
Very few will be able to say they voted in the impeachment of two presidents.
Of the senators who will decide whether to convict President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial, 28 were also in Congress when former President Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998.
Clinton was acquitted. Congress voted largely on party lines, except for two Republicans - Sen. Susan Collins, who voted "not guilty" for both impeachment articles, and Sen. Richard Shelby, who voted "guilty" on one and "not guilty" on the other. The partisan divide looks likely to be the same this time.
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Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was in the House at the time, even served as an impeachment manager prosecuting Clinton.
These are the 28 senators who were in Congress during Clinton's impeachment, and what they did then.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins was a senator. She voted "not guilty" for both impeachment articles. She didn't think what he'd done amounted to high crimes and misdemeanors. During Clinton's trial she also called for more evidence and witnesses to ensure the trial was fair.
Republican Sen. Michael Crapo was a member of the House at the beginning of the Clinton's impeachment. He voted to impeach Clinton and then became a senator before the trial. He voted "guilty" for both impeachment articles.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham was in the House, and served as an impeachment manager prosecuting the president. Graham voted to impeach Clinton, and urged Democrats to resist prematurely making up their minds. "People have made up their mind in a political fashion that will hurt this country long term," he said.
Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein was a senator. She voted "not guilty" for both impeachment articles. She also made it clear she didn't condone his behavior. "I do not defend it. And I do not accept it. The conduct at the heart of the charges is deplorable," she said. After he was acquitted she pushed to censure Clinton, but the Senate didn't back it.
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, now the Senate majority leader, was a senator. He voted "guilty" for both impeachment articles. He said the White House had tried to orchestrate a smear campaign against Republicans, and he asked the Senate floor, "Will we pursue the search for truth or will we dodge, weave and evade the truth?"
Democrat Sen. Bernie Sanders was a member of the House. He voted against impeaching Clinton. He also said the proceedings were a waste of resources, and a distraction from the challenges America should have been dealing with.
Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer was a senator. He voted "not guilty" to both impeachment articles. He wrote a letter to Clinton before he was acquitted, saying he was "shaken" that Clinton might be removed because of the whims of a political group who hated him and wanted to "exploit the institutions of freedom."
Republican Sen. Richard Burr was a member of the House. He voted to impeach Clinton and made it clear where he thought power should be. "The United States is a nation of laws, not men," he said. "And I do not believe we can ignore the facts or disregard the constitution so that the president can be placed above the law."
Democrat Sen. Benjamin Cardin was a member the House. He voted against impeaching Clinton, but also clarified his vote wasn't because he was "rallying around the president." He told reporters one portion of Democrats were "outraged" by the impeachment, while the other half were "somewhat in bewilderment" that it was classed an impeachable offense.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, now the Senate president pro tempore, was a senator then, too. He voted "guilty" for both impeachment articles. He said the "true tragedy" was the loss of the president's moral authority. "He undermined himself when he wagged his finger and lied to the nation on national TV," he said.
Republican Sen. James Inhofe was also a senator then. He voted "guilty" on both impeachment articles. He said not having all of the witnesses in Clinton's impeachment would be "shirking our constitutional duty." He said he didn't think calling witnesses in Trump's trial was necessary.
Democrat Sen. Patrick Leahy was a senator. He voted "not guilty" for both impeachment articles. Despite the vote, he didn't hold back when Clinton called him up before the impeachment. To his wife's horror, he said he told Clinton, "You're a fool! You're a damn, damn, damn fool!"
Democrat Sen. Ed Markey was a member of the House. He voted against impeaching Clinton. Like Feinstein, he also urged Clinton be censured. During proceedings, he said, "GOP used to stand for Grand Old Party. Now it just stands for Get Our President."
Democrat Sen. Robert Menendez was a member of the House. He voted against impeaching Clinton. He asked Republicans where their sense of fairness was, and added, "Monica Lewinsky is not Watergate. Let he who has no sin in this chamber cast the first stone."
Republican Sen. Jerry Moran was in the House. He voted to impeach Clinton. He said he chose to be "on the side that says no person is above the law; that this is a nation of laws, not men; that telling the truth matters; and that we should expect our public officials to conduct themselves in compliance with the highest ethical standards."
Democrat Sen. Patty Murray was a senator. She voted "not guilty" for both impeachment articles. She then set out how angry and dismayed she was with Clinton. "I trusted him. I thought I knew him. I refused to believe he would demean the presidency in the way that he has. His behavior was appalling and has hurt us all," she said in a statement.
Republican Sen. Rob Portman was a member of the House. He voted to impeach Clinton. He said he was "particularly troubled" by Clinton's lying under oath, and he called on him to resign.
Democrat Sen. Jack Reed was a senator. He voted "not guilty" for both impeachment articles. He was also against allowing new witnesses into Clinton's trial, saying that it would lead to lawyers taking over, and cause the trial to take on a "life of its own."
Republican Sen. Pat Roberts was a senator. He voted "guilty" for both impeachment articles. "I believe an open-minded individual applying Kansas common sense would reach the conclusion that I reached," he said.
Republican Sen. John Thune was a member of the House. He voted to impeach Clinton. "Either he has a reckless contempt for the truth, or he can't discern the truth from lies," he said. "In either case, that's a miserable commentary on the elected leader of the free world."
Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden was a senator. He voted "not guilty" for both impeachment articles. In his statement he called for the end of "toxic partisanship."
Republican Sen. Richard Shelby was a senator. He had switched to the Republican Party in 1994. He voted "guilty" for the obstruction of justice article, and "not guilty" for the perjury article.
