Us president convicted of charges brought by impeachment?

Answer 1

Currently, there have only been two US Presidents ever impeached, but never convicted: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.

Andrew Johnson, successor to Abraham Lincoln after his assassination, was the 17th President of the United States, and only Independent president (his political party has been disputed). Frequently rated as one of the worst presidents of all time, Johnson handled Reconstruction disastrously. Much to the dismay of the Union, many Confederate leaders were pardoned by Johnson, when Johnson had publicly stated that "traitors must be punished and impoverished ... their social power must be destroyed" mere months before ascending to presidency. In addition, under Johnson's presidency, Black Codes were implemented, and the Freedman's Bureau, which aided Civil War refugees, was vetoed. Johnson, with the help of the Democratic party, was able to block against Republican bills, inciting the wrath of the North. This was his downfall. In the 1866 election, Republicans took control of Congress, with the Democrats still unable to vote (as many had been with the Confederacy).

On February 24, 1868, the House of Representatives formally impeached President Andrew Johnson for violation of the Office Tenure Act. Johnson was acquitted by a mere 1 vote.

The failure to convict Andrew Johnson has been attributed to the low number of impeachments by a number of historians. The next, and last impeachment occurred 131 years later, with the impeachment of Bill Clinton, under the charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, and malfeasance in office brought about by the scandal with White House intern Monika Lewinsky. A good portion of the actual trial revolved around the Lewinsky scandal and Clinton's meaning of the word "is" (taken from Hegel's Philosophy of Right). President Clinton was acquitted for the charges of perjury and obstruction of justice charge, with the charge for malfeasance in office dropped.