December 12, 1906: President Theodore Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the end of the Russo-Japanese War.
December 12, 1998: The House Judiciary Committee approved a fourth and final article of impeachment against President Clinton. The full House went on to impeach Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. But in a Senate trial, Mr. Clinton was acquitted and allowed to remain in office.
Clinton's impeachment and Senate trial was the culmination of a four-year investigation into Clinton and his wife Hillary's alleged involvement in several scandals in both Arkansas and the White House. Over the course of the investigation, the independent prosecutor assigned to the case, Kenneth Starr, was informed of an extramarital affair between Clinton and a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. Clinton denied the affair as part of another lawsuit (the Paula Jones case), but when questioned by Starr, Clinton tried to invoke executive privilege to avoid responding. An undeterred Starr then charged the president with obstruction of justice, which forced the president to testify before a grand jury in August 1998.
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In his grand jury testimony, the President admitted to an inappropriate relationship with Lewinsky and that he regretted misleading his wife and the American people when he denied the affair earlier. He insisted that his answers were "legally accurate" and "at no time" did he ask anyone to "lie, hide or destroy evidence or to take any unlawful action."
December 12, 2000: In a landmark Supreme Court decision, George W. Bush was declared the winner of the 2000 presidential election. Ending a five-week standoff, the Court's 5-4 ruling blocked further recounts in Florida, thus awarding the state's 25 electoral votes — and the presidency — to Bush. Controversial as 2000 was, it doesn't even crack the top three on WWR's list of the most controversial presidential elections! Ranking ahead of it: 1800, 1824 and 1876.
Quote of the Day
"This young century will be liberty's century." — George W. Bush
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