It must have taken a good deal of self-control on the part of the President, in possession of all these facts, to keep them quietly to himself for more than a month from the time of Judge Black's retirement from his case, while his enemies were pointing the finger of a supposed triumphant scorn at him as being unworthy to have so honest a man as Judge Black among his counsel, and then to allow them to be given out only under provocation from the managers of the impeachment, taunting him with his treatment of Judge Black, and with Judge Black's withdrawal from his case.
But to return to the President's answer to the charges against him. Disregarding again legal verbiage and order, the President answered
The contents of the
President's answer.
After the filing of this answer, the counsel of the President asked the Court of Impeachment for thirty days' time after the replication of the House of Representatives to this answer should be filed for the preparation of the President's case. But the managers on the part of the House again very ungenerously opposed giving them any time at all for this purpose. The debate over this point lasted until after the replication of the House was filed on the following day, that is on the 24th of March. The Court of Impeachment then decided to give them until March 30th, and ordered the trial to proceed on that day.
The replication filed by the House of Representatives, on the 26th, was
The replication of
the House to the
President's answer.