13.6: Bill Clinton: Farewell Address (2001)

While Bill Clinton was campaigning for president, questions emerged over the Clintons’ investment in the Whitewater Development Corporation in Arkansas. This plagued the Clinton administration for the srst two years in office, and in 1994 the Justice Department opened an investigation with a special counsel to investigate the issue. The investigation found no proof of criminal activity by the Clintons. The special counsel did, however, uncover evidence that Clinton engaged in an extramarital aoair with a young intern. In 1998 the special counsel released its report listing several possible grounds for impeachment. The Judiciary Committee for the House of Representatives focused on two charges, lying under oath and attempting to obstruct justice, and the Republican-controlled House impeached Clinton. Impeachment means to formally charge with a high crime or misdemeanor. The Senate conducted the president’s impeachment trial, and in early 1999 it found him not guilty on both charges. He thus remained in office.