The impeachment of President Bill Clinton by the House in December 1998 was based on a sexual relationship that he had had with Monica Lewinsky, a relationship he then went on to lie about by denying its existence. It’s no secret that Republicans despised Clinton, and his impeachment, based on a relationship that meant nothing to what was actually happening to America as a country, was a last ditch effort to bring down his presidency. Republicans will of course deny it. But their hatred for Bill Clinton has since extended further onto his wife, Secretary Hillary Clinton. You just have to look at last years presidential election and the hateful campaign against her to come to that conclusion. It’s not difficult to see.
But let’s be clear here, we are now 8 months into a Trump presidency that has continued to be rocked by scandal, predominantly the accusations of collusion with the Russian government. Just today, Donald Trump Jr. admitted that his meeting with Russians in the summer of 2016 was not about Russian adoptions as he previously stated, but about acquiring “dirt” on Hillary Clinton directly from the Russian government. This is the exact definition of collusion.
“Secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy, especially in order to cheat or deceive others.”
This brings me to my main point: what Trump is being accused of, what his campaign is being accused of, is far more serious than what Bill Clinton was impeached for by the House. Collusion with Russia, lying about it, and obstructing justice by firing the person who is leading the investigation against you, is far more serious than lying about a sexual relationship. What Trump is being accused of is dangerous and calls into question the legitimacy of his win in the election. If his campaign colluded with Russia to acquire information on Hillary Clinton that would damage her campaign, this is an extremely serious situation.
What makes it so much worse is that Trump has done everything in his power to try and bury the investigation against him, going as far as firing FBI Directer James Comes, the man originally leading the investigation. Trump of course denied that the investigation wasn’t the reason he was fired but new evidence in the form of a letter written by Trump and one his of advisers, a letter scrapped due to the White House feeling it would complicate matters, that throws doubt onto Trump’s claim of a witch hunt.
A witch hunt is ironic given the situation. If you want to see what a real witch hunt looks like you only need to look at the blatant efforts to derail Bill Clinton’s presidency in the 1990’s. Their hatred towards him and his family couldn’t have been anything other than a witch hunt, a witch hunt that continues to this day.
In conclusion, it is now up to the Republicans to grow spines and do what they should have done when Trump fired James Comey. Bill Clinton was impeached for less.
The Political Expat 