Bill Clinton on Trump impeachment inquiry: ‘It should be looked into’

Updated Wed, Sep 25, 2019, 4:04 PM 2 min read

This post has been updated to reflect the proper title of “ Chief Justice of the United States.”

With the announcement of an impeachment inquiry in President Donald Trump, former U.S. President Bill Clinton — once a target himself — briefly commented on the issue on Wednesday.

Responding to a question from an NBC reporter about his thoughts on the impeachment discussion, the husband of 2016 Democratic Candidate (and former Secretary of State) Hillary Clinton replied: “It’s gonna be looked into, and it should be looked into.”

The 42nd president of the U.S., who was part of a panel on Colombia at the Bloomberg Global Economic Forum in New York City, found himself impeached by the House in 1998 and later acquitted by the Senate.

The former president’s comments come on the back of news on Tuesday, when Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House will launch a formal impeachment inquiry after news that Trump possibly pressuring Ukraine to investigate 2020 presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton speaks during the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York City, New York, U.S., September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton — Former U.S. President Bill Clinton speaks during the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York City, New York, U.S., September 25, 2019. (Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)

Thus far, no American president has ever been removed from office due to an impeachment and conviction.

A president becomes impeached if the House votes on one or more articles of impeachment and one of those articles receives a majority vote.

Then the Senate holds a trial overseen by the Chief Justice of the United States, with lawmakers from the House serving as prosecutors. The president has defense lawyers, and the Senate is the jury.

Only if two-thirds of the Senate find the impeached president guilty would he or she be removed from office. In that case, the vice president would assume the office as president.

—

Aarthi is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @aarthiswami.

Read more: