Senator Richard Shelby (Republican - Alabama)

Voting Record -- Impeachment Trial of William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton

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Allowed the House Managers to present their case.

Allowed House Managers to depose witnesses.

Allowed videotaping of witnesses.

Allowed the House Managers to present transcripts and video of witnesses.

Made trial a sham without any live testimony.

Allowed the House Managers to present closing arguments.

Allowed normal trial procedures in which closing arguments were not disclosed in advance.

Allowed Mr. Clinton to get away with perjury.

Voted to remove Mr. Clinton for obstruction of justice.

Statement Taken From U.S. Senate Web Site February 25, 1999

This section is taken verbatim from the official web site of Senator Shelby, except for editorial comments by Daniel Weyrich in square brackets of the form [DLW-- ] and minor touch-ups to the HTML.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 12, 1999
SENATE VOTES ON IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT *STATEMENT OF SENATOR RICHARD SHELBY*

On December 19th 1998, the House of Representatives impeached President William Jefferson Clinton. As is required by the Constitution, the United States Senate tried the President on the two Articles of Impeachment passed by the House. As a member of the Senate, I took an oath to do impartial justice and to be an objective trier of fact. I believe that I fulfilled this duty as I made my decision based on the facts presented on the trial record rather than upon a partisan basis or by drawing upon issues extraneous to the impeachment case.
Article I charged the President with perjury and Article II charged him with obstruction of justice. I believe that these are serious criminal offenses that threaten the rule of law. If proven, I feel that these crimes constitute appropriate grounds for removing a president from office.
Because these offenses are grounds for removal, and because they involve criminal charges, I believe that the Senate had to use the high standard of beyond a reasonable doubt in reviewing the evidence. Furthermore, I felt that the House Managers had the burden of proving all the elements of these charges.
After reviewing the evidence, I believe that the House Managers proved beyond a reasonable doubt that President Clinton obstructed justice. Therefore, I voted for his conviction and removal for the offenses charged in Article II. However, I do not believe that the House managers met the legal requirements of proving perjury beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, I voted against conviction and removal for the offenses charged in Article 1.

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Last updated: March 02, 1999; Version: 1.3