WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, December 7) -- The White House, in a shift of tactics, pledged to mount a "legal and factual defense" to persuade members of the House not to impeach President Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair. The presentation by the president's lawyers begins Tuesday.

But the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said he is looking for "witnesses on the facts" and complained that neither the White House nor committee Democrats have offered one so far.

Specifically, Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois complained Monday that the witness list submitted by the White House for its 30-hour impeachment defense on Tuesday and Wednesday consists primarily of professors and legal scholars.

"Now we have heard from academia ... we're going to have more of the seminar tomorrow," Hyde said, standing in front of a stack of empty boxes that once held Independent Counsel Ken Starr's report and supporting evidence. "But I will listen most intently to see if anybody, anybody, repudiates, rejects, rebuts the facts that have been contained and will soon again be housed in these boxes."

The White House argues it doesn't need to spend time rebutting evidence from witnesses never called before the committee. "I think one of the things that you have to recognize is that the committee didn't call anyone, so there's no one necessarily to rebut," White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart told reporters Monday.

But Hyde took issue with that claim: "I have been somewhat upset by the, I think, thoughtless criticism that we have not called any witnesses. We view the referral from Judge Starr and all of this mountain of material, under oath ... Now it would seem to me the void is the failure of the Democrats to call a single solitary witness to repudiate, to gainsay, to reject, to disprove any of the facts that have been educed so far."

The White House said Monday the president's lawyers will instead focus on the "facts of the case" and offer evidence that would help clear Clinton of the allegations against him.

"We will discuss what our view of both the facts and the law are, at great length," Lockhart said. "We have the report from the independent counsel, and we will address the allegations that are raised in that report. When you look at the referral, even without testing ... there was a good bit of information that either contradicted or was exculpatory. And that we will discuss."

The strategy marks a shift in tactics by the White House. Until now, the president's defense has centered on what the White House views as flaws in Starr's investigation.

Is censure still an option?

Hyde said Monday that although he could not rule out a committee vote on censuring Clinton, he opposes the idea of a lesser punishment and his committee has already begun preliminary work drawing up articles of impeachment.

"I'm opposed to censure," Hyde said. "Whether or not one will be permitted, it's under discussion. It isn't ruled out, but it's not a dead-bang certainty either."

But some Democrat on the Judiciary Committee doubt that Hyde is serious about a possible censure vote.

"They are already working on the articles of impeachment. They know where they are going. No, they are not going to allow any censure motion," Rep. Maxine Waters of California said. "They do not care ... what evidence is presented by the White House or anybody else."

When asked what articles of impeachment are being drawn up, Hyde answered: "The generic issues of perjury, obstruction and abuse of power -- those are the generic issues."

Joe Lockhart

Clinton's team plans four panels of witnesses

The White House legal team named Monday 14 witnesses that it will call in four panels.

The first Clinton defense panel scheduled to testify Tuesday morning will deal with "Historical Precedents and Constitutional Standards." The panel includes former U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, Yale Law professor Bruce Ackerman, Princeton history professor Sean Wilentz and Harvard professor Samuel Beer.

A second panel scheduled for Tuesday afternoon will deal with the issue of "Abuse of Power." The panel includes three people who sat on the House Judiciary Committee when it debated the impeachment of President Richard Nixon in 1974. The White House hopes to use former Reps. Elizabeth Holtzman of New York, Rev. Robert Drinan of Massachusetts and Wayne Owens of Utah to make the case that whatever the president has done in the Lewinsky affair, it does not rise to the level of impeachment.

"How to Evaluate the Evidence" is the title of the third panel, scheduled for 6 p.m. ET Tuesday. On that panel are James Hamilton, former assistant chief counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee, and Richard Ben-Veniste, former assistant special prosecutor and chief of the Watergate Task Force.

On Wednesday, a fourth panel is scheduled to address "Prosecutorial Standards for Obstruction of Justice and Perjury." Witnesses on that panel are Thomas Sullivan, former U.S. attorney for the northern district of Illinois; Richard Davis, former task force leader for the Watergate Special Prosecution Force from 1973-75; Edward Dennis, Jr., former acting U.S. deputy attorney general; William Taylor, III, former chairman of the criminal justice section of the American Bar Association; and Ronald Noble, former undersecretary of the Treasury.

The letter also stated that the final presentation on Clinton's behalf will be made at 1 p.m. ET Wednesday by White House Counsel Charles Ruff. Previously, Clinton's private attorney David Kendall has taken the lead in the president's defense. Special Counsel to the President Gregory Craig will open the hearing Tuesday and "describe -- briefly and generally -- the president's legal and factual defense."

Some Republicans search for way to avoid impeachment

Away from Capitol Hill, several Republicans and Democrats outside of Congress are involved in private efforts to avoid what one called "the abyss" of impeachment, sources told CNN.

The sources say Republican party elders are advising their non-congressional Democratic counterparts that Clinton should make a nationally televised address to "go above the heads of Congress" in one more show of contrition.

"The president has to do something to demonstrate remorse," said one Republican. "How about a TV speech? Whatever is done to pull the president out of this ... will have to come from the White House, not Congress."

"It will have to be bold and creative," said another Republican.

Democrats are being told by Republicans to carry a message back to the White House "not to twist arms."

As for lawyerly concerns that too specific a statement by the president might mean legal problems after he leaves office, one source dismissed that saying, "It's always better to have a problem tomorrow than today."

GOP critic says Clinton should disprove allegations himself

While the president's team prepares its defense, Republican committee member Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia said Monday Clinton can only avoid impeachment charges being voted out of the Judiciary Committee if he brings in witnesses or testifies himself "that the allegations contained in Starr's report simply lack merit."

Rep. Bob Barr

But Barr, one of Clinton's harshest critics, added, "I don't see how he can do that because he has not denied the allegations so far."

Barr also said he has made his decision about impeachment.

"I would not say that my mind is open," Barr said. "I believe the president has ... committed perjury, has committed obstruction of justice, and I think this matter ought to go to the Senate for trial."

According to Barr, "What the president really needs is to, if he wants to help himself, is to bring witnesses in that disprove the allegations or come in himself and disprove them."

Barr said it is too late for the president to attempt to show he is sorry for his actions and said many members of the Judiciary Committee were upset by Clinton's answers to 81 questions posed to him about the allegations.

"I think we are really beyond that," Barr said. "Many members were upset by his evasive and crafty answers to the 81 questions. If he had just come out and answered them 'yes' or 'no,' even those that simply relate to the constitutional duty of the president to uphold the law, that he would have helped himself. I think things have moved well beyond that now. He is facing an imminent vote for impeachment, only the second president in history to be facing that. I think they are desperate right now."

Barr said the vote on impeachment charges will likely be along party lines as it comes out of the committee, but he expects that to change on the House floor.

"It will probably will be a party-line vote coming out of committee, but on the floor I think there will be some Democrats that will vote for impeachment and a few Republicans who may vote against it, although that is very difficult to tell at this point," Barr said.

Senators consider procedures to try the president

On Sunday, senators on both sides of the aisle said the time has come for the Senate to consider what procedures it will use to try Clinton if the full House of Representatives approves articles of impeachment.

Sen. Orrin Hatch

"Two or three weeks ago, there was a real question whether the House would actually impeach the president," said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on CNN's "Late Edition." "But in the intervening last couple of weeks, I think things have turned against the president and I think ... that it's a 50-50 chance the House will impeach."

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut) also acknowledged the impeachment process has gained steam and the president may be in trouble, particularly regarding allegations that he committed perjury.

"There's no question ... that we are in a position today that we didn't think ... we'd be in two or three weeks ago, where it appears that at least one of these articles of impeachment may have a chance of being adopted by the full House," Lieberman said, also on "Late Edition." "That puts the Senate on notice."

Monday, December 7, 1998

• White House pledges a factual defense of Clinton
• Transcript: Reps. Hyde, Bono news conference
• Reno says no to Clinton 'issue ad' probe
• Poll: Public strongly opposed to impeaching Clinton
• Funeral Tuesday for Al Gore's father
• White House decked out for holidays
• Tripp will testify about FBI files
• President portrayed as busy with the people's business
• Americans can pick design for new dollar coin
• GOP moderates gaining influence in Congress
• Could campaign buttons become a thing of the past?
• Clinton proposes crackdown on Medicare abuses
• Minorities are divided on privatizing Social Security

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