Impeachment
It is the ultimate punishment for a
president: impeachment. But it is a long and
complicated route to removing a
political official from office and never in more
than 200 years of U.S.
history has it happened to a president for "treason,
bribery or other high
crimes and misdemeanors,'' as spelled out in the U.S.
Constitution as
reasons for impeachment. The Constitutional process Article II,
Section
4, of the U.S. Constitution specifies the procedures to be used to
remove the
president, vice president or other officials from office. The rarely
used
procedure is complex, reflecting 18th-century formalities. The process
opens
in various ways through the House. In one process, the House votes on
an
inquiry of impeachment which would direct the Judiciary Committee to
investigate
the charges against the president. If a member of Congress takes
the more
serious step of introducing a resolution of impeachment, all other
work must
stop until a decision is reached. Either the president is cleared
of the charges
through an investigation, or the committee votes to send
articles of impeachment
to the full House. If the House approves articles of
impeachment, a trial is
conducted in the Senate, presided over by the chief
justice of the Supreme
Court. At the conclusion, the Senate may vote to
simply remove the official from
office, or to remove him or her from office
and bar from holding any other
federal office. Removal requires a two-thirds
majority in the Senate. Could
Clinton be impeached? House Judiciary
Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, respected
by both parties as a thoughtful
lawmaker, said on CNN that impeachment could
follow if Clinton were found to
have urged a former White House intern to lie
under oath. "If he (independent
counsel Kenneth Starr) verifies the
authenticity of these charges,
impeachment might very well be an option,'' the
Illinois Republican said.
At the Capitol some of Clinton's staunchest Republican
critics showed deep
discomfort at the prospect of impeachment proceedings. Only
Rep. Bob
Barr, the Georgia Republican who has campaigned for Clinton's
impeachment for
months, called the allegations the "smoking gun'' and urged
the House to
start the process when it returns next week. But Clinton could face
up to 10
years under a federal statute for obstruction of justice and conspiracy
to
commit crimes for persuading Monica Lewinsky to lie under oath. Only
two
other presidents came close to impeachment: In 1868 President Andrew
Johnson was
saved by one vote in the Senate after the House approved articles
of impeachment
against him over a dispute on the post-Civil War
reconstruction of the South. In
1974 President Richard Nixon chose to
resign in disgrace rather than face
impeachment for his role in the cover-up
of the Watergate break-in. There is
substantial and credible information
supporting the following eleven possible
grounds for impeachment: 1.
President Clinton lied under oath in his civil case
when he denied a sexual
affair, a sexual relationship, or sexual relations with
Monica Lewinsky.
2. President Clinton lied under oath to the grand jury about
his sexual
relationship with Ms. Lewinsky. 3. In his civil deposition, to
support his
false statement about the sexual relationship, President Clinton
also lied
under oath about being alone with Ms. Lewinsky and about the many
gifts
exchanged between Ms. Lewinsky and him. 4. President Clinton lied under
oath
in his civil deposition about his discussions with Ms. Lewinsky
concerning
her involvement in the Jones case. 5. During the Jones case, the
President
obstructed justice and had an understanding with Ms. Lewinsky to
jointly conceal
the truth about their relationship by concealing gifts
subpoenaed by Ms. Jones's
attorneys. 6. During the Jones case, the President
obstructed justice and had an
understanding with Ms. Lewinsky to jointly
conceal the truth of their
relationship from the judicial process by a scheme
that included the following
means: (i) Both the President and Ms. Lewinsky
understood that they would lie
under oath in the Jones case about their
sexual relationship; (ii) the President
suggested to Ms. Lewinsky that she
prepare an affidavit that, for the
President's purposes, would
memorialize her testimony under oath and could be
used to prevent questioning
of both of them about their relationship; (iii) Ms.
Lewinsky signed and
filed the false affidavit; (iv) the President used Ms.
Lewinsky's false
affidavit at his deposition in an attempt to head off questions
about Ms.
Lewinsky; and (v) when that failed, the President lied under oath at
his
civil deposition about the relationship with Ms. Lewinsky. 7.
President
Clinton endeavored to obstruct justice by helping Ms. Lewinsky
obtain a job in
New York at a time when she would have been a witness
harmful to him were she to
tell the truth in the Jones case. 8. President
Clinton lied under oath in his
civil deposition about his discussions with
Vernon Jordan concerning Ms.
Lewinsky's involvement in the Jones case. 9.
The President improperly tampered
with a potential witness by attempting to
corruptly influence the testimony of
his personal secretary, Betty Currie, in
the days after his civil deposition.
10. President Clinton endeavored to
obstruct justice during the grand jury
investigation by refusing to testify
for seven months and lying to senior White
House aides with knowledge
that they would relay the President's false
statements to the grand jury --
and did thereby deceive, obstruct, and impede
the grand jury. 11. President
Clinton abused his constitutional authority by (i)
lying to the public and
the Congress in January 1998 about his relationship with
Ms. Lewinsky;
(ii) promising at that time to cooperate fully with the grand
jury
investigation; (iii) later refusing six invitations to testify
voluntarily to
the grand jury; (iv) invoking Executive Privilege; (v) lying
to the grand jury
in August 1998; and (vi) lying again to the public and
Congress on August 17,
1998 -- all as part of an effort to hinder,
impede, and deflect possible inquiry
by the Congress of the United States.
The first two possible grounds for
impeachment concern the President's lying
under oath about the nature of his
relationship with Ms. Lewinsky. The
details associated with those grounds are,
by their nature, explicit. The
President's testimony unfortunately has rendered
the details essential with
respect to those two grounds, as will be explained in
those grounds.