WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate acquitted President Clinton on two articles of impeachment Friday, rejecting a Republican-led drive to force him from office on charges stemming from his affair with Monica S. Lewinsky.
The votes, which ended a long year dominated by scandal, fell far short of the two-thirds majority needed to oust Clinton--only the second U.S. president to be impeached--and failed to win a simple majority.
The five-week Senate trial, marked by much of the same political divisiveness that has fueled the case from the start, culminated with the defeat of a perjury charge, 55 to 45, while the vote on an obstruction of justice count ended in a 50-50 tie.
All 45 Democratic senators supported acquittal. They were joined by 10 Republicans on the perjury charge and five on the obstruction count.
The doors to the ornate Senate chamber--closed since Tuesday afternoon as senators conducted private deliberations--opened about 9 a.m. PST for votes on the two articles. Called in alphabetical order, the lawmakers rose, one by one, at their burnished mahogany desks, pronouncing their votes in solemn tones. Some shouted, others could hardly be heard.
The roll calls completed, Clinton's political career had survived its sternest test. But the cost to his place in history--as well as to the nation's political process--cannot yet be calculated.
Two hours after the trial concluded, the president--his eyes tired, his voice somber--delivered a brief statement from a lectern set up in the White House Rose Garden. He began by offering an apology--as he first did last August--for the national trauma sparked by his extramarital relationship with the former White House intern.
"I want to say again to the American people how profoundly sorry I am for what I said and did to trigger these events and the great burden they have imposed on the Congress and on the American people," he said.
Republicans had been concerned that Clinton would claim some form of vindication. Instead, he expressed gratitude "for the support and the prayers I have received from millions of Americans over this past year."
He added: "This can be and this must be a time of reconciliation and renewal for America."
Clinton paused to answer one question before heading back into the Oval Office. Asked if he could forgive those who had sought to remove him, he said: "I believe any person who asks for forgiveness has to be prepared to give it."
