Final answer:
President Bill Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice due to lying about an affair, but was acquitted by the Senate. The impeachment reflected constitutional checks and balances, emphasizing that no official is above the law. The partisan divide was clear, with Republicans supporting impeachment and Democrats opposing it.
Step-by-step explanation:
President Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998 when the House of Representatives charged him with perjury and obstruction of justice. This was primarily a result of his lying about an extramarital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The impeachment process was rooted in the idea that no government official, including the President, is above the law. The specifics of the charges related to Clinton's denial of the relationship under oath, which constituted perjury, and efforts to obstruct the investigation, which were categorized as obstruction of justice.
The debate over whether his actions justified impeachment was fiercely divided along partisan lines. House Republicans argued that Clinton's actions and his lying about the affair met the standard of "high crimes and misdemeanors" set out for impeachment. However, House Democrats felt that the matter was not severe enough to warrant impeachment and preferred censure. In his impeachment trial in the Senate, Clinton was acquitted as the chamber did not reach the necessary two-thirds majority for a conviction, with the perjury charge resulting in a 45-55 vote and the charge of obstruction of justice ending in a 50-50 tie.
The aftermath of the trial saw Clinton finish his term with high approval ratings despite the controversy, suggesting that public opinion might have been at odds with the Congressional vote.