Clinton's crime, as you know very well, was lying under oath in two separate legal proceedings. He lied about his relationship with Lewinsky in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case, and he lied about it in the Ken Starr investigation. Further, he suborned perjury (obstruction of justice) by instructing Lewinsky to lie.
Lewinsky told Tripp that Clinton told her to lie, and Tripp got that on tape, and gave the tapes to the Independent Counsel, Ken Starr. That's the whistleblowing.
And, in fact, Tripp was fired, but eventually she was awarded $595,000 as damages for being fired. Being fired is classic, getting damages is nice, but I have no idea how common it is.
Clinton was impeached, the first elected president to be impeached (Andrew Johnson became president after Lincoln was assassinated because he was the Vice President). Clinton was convicted in the House of Representatives but acquitted in the Senate.
He then was disbarred by the state of Arkansas for five years for fraud and obstruction of justice, and surrendered his license to practice before the SCOTUS rather than be disbarred. He also paid damages to Paula Jones.
The rule of law applies to all, even Presidents. I would say, "especially Presidents."
Unfortunately, important men and women don't seem to understand the unwritten rules of Washington.
One of which is, "it's not the crime that will do you in, it's the cover-up."
Another of which is, "if you want a friend, get a dog." |
