This week, the US House of Representatives will almost certainly vote to impeach the president. Almost 21 years ago to the day, the House voted to impeach then-President Bill Clinton. The News & Observer has a good article that compares the two cases. 

Back in the mid-1990s,  Republicans initiated an investigation into to the president over land deals in Arkansas. By the time it was finished four years later, it had veered into the sex life of Bill Clinton and uncovered sexual relations between the president and an intern. Clinton got caught lying about the affair and the House voted to impeach him. The original investigation turned up nothing about illegal land transactions.

Republicans assured us that impeachment was about protecting the honor of the presidency and holding Clinton responsible for his actions. Still, the impeachment was for behavior related to an affair between two consenting adults. It fell short of the standard of abuse of power set forth in the Federalist Papers which defines it as “corrupt use of the office for personal gain or some other improper purpose.” Clinton didn’t gain anything from lying.

Some of the same Republicans who assured us that lying about an affair damaged the presidency and the country are now defending a president who admits pressuring a foreign government to interfere in our elections. They’ve overlooked Trump’s lying about his affair and subsequent pay-off of a porn star. They’re fine with him using the office of the presidency to promote his businesses. And they are going to defend him for the “corrupt use of the office for personal gain or some other improper purpose.”

Donald Trump asked the president of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s son in an attempt to help his re-election campaign. This is the same president who denies that the Russians interfered in our elections in 2010 despite overwhelming evidence. Republicans rushing to his defense and, in the case of Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham, rigging his acquittal in the Senate have lost all sense of duty and loyalty to the constitution. Instead, they’ve proven loyal to their party and the man they are supposed to keep in check. 

The impeachment cases against Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are not similar. Clinton was impeached for lying about personal behavior. As one Congresswoman said, “Any husband could lie under oath about an affair. It doesn’t take presidential powers to do that.” To withhold foreign aid in exchange for investigating a political opponent is something only a president could do. Maybe Republican believe that it’s okay because they’ve justified rigging elections in so many other ways.