High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton

Overview

Ann Coulter's High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton is a polemical, highly partisan account arguing that President Bill Clinton's personal conduct and official behavior warranted impeachment and removal from office. Coulter presents the Clinton presidency as defined by a sustained pattern of deceit, sexual misconduct, and abuse of power that she contends rose to the level of constitutional offenses. The narrative combines legalistic assertions with partisan invective to make a moral and political case against Clinton.

Central Claims

Coulter asserts that Clinton's actions went beyond private failings and into criminal territory, particularly focusing on perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Monica Lewinsky affair and other controversies such as Whitewater. She frames these actions as violations of public trust that undermined the integrity of the presidency and the rule of law. The title invokes the constitutional standard of "high crimes and misdemeanors, " and Coulter argues that the cumulative weight of lies, witness tampering, and misuse of office satisfies that threshold.

Evidence and Legal Arguments

The book marshals a selection of public records, testimony, and media reports to build its legal argument, emphasizing sworn statements, grand jury testimony, and documented inconsistencies in Clinton's accounts. Coulter contends that perjury was not incidental but central to Clinton's efforts to evade accountability, and she reads the legal standards for impeachment broadly to encompass moral failings that affect the performance of presidential duties. The case is presented as both factual and normative: factual in listing alleged falsehoods and procedural missteps, normative in arguing that such conduct must be punished to preserve constitutional order.

Rhetorical Style and Strategy

Coulter's tone is combative, sarcastic, and unapologetically polemical. Humor and acerbic one-liners are used to ridicule Clinton and his defenders, while sharp attacks are leveled at the media, Democratic politicians, and perceived elitist institutions. The prose prioritizes rhetorical impact over dispassionate analysis, employing colorful metaphors and moralizing judgments to persuade readers already skeptical of Clinton. Legal points are often presented alongside moral and cultural critiques, linking personal immorality to broader concerns about leadership and national character.

Criticism and Reception

The book became a best-seller among conservative readers and contributed to the broader scaffolding of conservative outrage during the impeachment era. Mainstream reviewers and many legal scholars criticized the work for partisanship, selective use of evidence, and rhetorical hostility that sometimes overshadowed careful legal analysis. Critics argued that the book overstated its claims and relied on insinuation as much as documentation, while supporters praised its clarity of purpose and willingness to address issues they felt were minimized by other commentators.

Legacy and Significance

High Crimes and Misdemeanors functioned as both a political rallying cry and a cultural artifact of the Clinton impeachment moment. It helped crystallize conservative narratives about presidential accountability and media bias in the late 1990s, and it exemplified a rising style of combative political commentary that blurred legal argument with partisan activism. The book's influence was less in changing legal outcomes than in energizing a segment of the public and media ecosystem that viewed impeachment as not only legally justified but morally necessary.

Conclusion

Coulter delivers a forceful, unambiguous indictment of Bill Clinton that merges legal accusations with moral condemnation. Readers seeking a scholarly, detached legal treatise will find the approach confrontational and partisan, while those aligned with its premises will view it as a succinct articulation of the case for impeachment. The book's enduring significance lies in its role as a statement of conservative mobilization during a deeply polarized chapter of recent American political history.