So I underestimated the intelligence of the American voter.
Real Historians and Constitutional authorities say Clinton must be impeached:
December 10, 1998
Don't Let the President
Lie With Impunity
The following statement was distributed to the House Judiciary
Committee yesterday. It has been signed by 96 scholars, lawyers and
former government officials. Their names appear below.
On October 28, 1998, six days before national elections to the U.S.
House of Representatives and Senate, readers of several major United
States newspapers were urged in a full page "open letter" from 400
historians to oppose "the dangerous new theory of impeachment" of
President Clinton and to "demand the restoration of normal operations of
our federal government." The historians were soon followed by 430 law
professors publishing a letter to the Speaker of the House concluding that
the President's offenses--even if proved--fall short of providing the
foundation for a bill of impeachment.
Few subjects are more important to the health of the American Republic
than that of impeachment. The historians and lawyers who presume to
inform the public that President Clinton in committing perjury and
obstruction of justice, among other malfeasances, has committed no
impeachable offense do a great disservice to the integrity of the
Constitution.
For that reason, we have joined together, as lawyers, law professors,
political scientists, and historians, most of whom have made careers
studying the Constitution and litigating its many provisions, to correct the
record. The anti-impeachment historians state that even continuing with an
impeachment inquiry "will leave the Presidency permanently disfigured and
diminished." To the contrary, dropping the impeachment inquiry would
permanently disfigure and diminish not only the Presidency but the American
system of government.
The President has violated and continues to
violate his oath of office that "I will faithfully
execute the Office of the President of the
United States, and will to the best of my ability,
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." That
Constitution places upon him the duty to "take Care that the Laws be
faithfully executed." This President has instead taken great pains and used
government resources, including White House personnel and the Secret
Service, to see that the laws are not faithfully executed. The President has
repeatedly and deliberately committed perjury, a felony, in both a civil case
and a grand jury proceeding. He has solemnly lied to the American people
and to the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives. Thus, he
has attempted to warp public opinion and to thwart the House of
Representatives in the performance of its constitutional duty.
These acts would be cause for sanctions if performed by any other official
or private citizen. They are far worse when committed by the President. If
the top sworn law enforcement official of the United States is permitted to
undermine the Constitution and the rule of law, who can feel a moral
obligation to testify truthfully? Who need hesitate to coach others to lie
under oath? Who need respect the ideal of the rule of law? Indeed, who
can any longer think of law as evenhanded and impartial rather than as the
shield of the politically powerful?
If a president can lie with impunity to the American people about his own
disgraceful behavior and his multiple perjuries, who can henceforward
expect any truth to issue from the Oval Office? If he can lie to Congress on
these same subjects, doing his best to deny a congressional inquiry into the
facts on which judgment must rest, who can remain confident that
constitutional processes will retain any integrity?
Alexander Hamilton, in words that bear repeating, said that impeachment is
the proper response when a public official's misconduct results in "injuries
done immediately to the society itself." As the Report of the Staff of the
Impeachment Inquiry with respect to President Richard Nixon put the
matter in 1974, "[W]here the issue is presidential compliance with the
constitutional requirements and limitations on the presidency, the crucial
factor is . . . the significance of its effect upon our constitutional system or
the functioning of our government." Impeachment "is to be predicated only
upon conduct seriously incompatible with either the constitutional form and
principles of our government or the proper performance of constitutional
duties of the presidential office." The standard is undeniable, and it fits this
President's multiple malfeasances and felonies precisely. A calculated
assault on the Constitution and the rule of law falls within the category of
"high crimes and misdemeanors" or nothing does.
The fundamental tenet by which a free society lives is the rule of law. When
the President defies the constitutional rules applicable to him, there must be
no escape by narrow sophistries and linguistic maneuvering. The framers
devised a mechanism for removing from office any person who violates both
his oath of office and his constitutional duties. That mechanism must be
respected and used if we are to remain a free and law-abiding nation. The
impeachment inquiry must not be defeated by partisan politics and public
opinion polls. The Constitution was made in order to remove some subjects
from decision by momentary popular sentiment. Impeachment is as much a
part of the Constitution as the First Amendment. In fulfilling their
constitutional duties, neither the courts nor Congress should be deflected by
public opinion polls. If we would not allow polls to silence unpopular
speech, neither must we allow polls to excuse and ratify impeachable
offenses. Should the House and the Senate shirk their responsibilities, they
will establish a precedent for lawless government. That would be both
unconscionable and dangerous.
There is no doubt that the felonies and malfeasances of which the President
stands accused, and which have in major part already been proved,
constitute impeachable offenses. It is essential that the impeachment inquiry
go forward and, if the record stands as it does now, that a bill of
impeachment be voted by the House of Representatives.
Signatures follow:
The Honorable Griffin B. Bell, Former Attorney General of the United
States
Professor Herman J. Belz, University of Maryland, History; specialist in
American Constitutional History
The Honorable William J. Bennett, former Secretary of Education; Author
The Honorable Robert H. Bork, former Solicitor General of the United
States and Circuit Court of Appeals Judge
Dr. John E. Murray, Jr., President, Duquesne University; former Dean,
University of Pittsburgh and Villanova Law Schools
Mark R. Levin, President, Landmark Legal Foundation; former senior
Justice Department official
Professor G. Robert Blakey, Notre Dame Law School
Professor Gary L. Gregg II, Intercollegiate Studies Institute; Author of "The
Presidential Republic: Executive Representation and Deliberative
Democracy"
Professor James W. Muller, University of Alaska, Anchorage, Political
Science; Editor of "The Revival of Constitutionalism"
The Honorable Edwin Meese, III, former Attorney General of the United
States
Professor Robert P. George, Princeton University, Department of Politics
Professor Jean Yarbrough, Bowdoin College, Department of Political
Science; Author of "American Virtues: Thomas Jefferson and the Character
of a Free People"
Professor Christopher Wolfe, Marquette University; Author of "The Rise of
Modern Judicial Review and How to Read the Constitution"
Nicholas P. Cafardi, Dean Duquesne University School of Law
Professor Steven G. Calabresi, Northwestern University School of Law,
George C. Dix Professor of Constitutional Law
Professor Walter F. Berns, Georgetown University, Professor Emeritus of
Government
Professor Stephan Thernstrom, Harvard University, Winthrop Professor of
History
Professor David N. Mayer, Capital University School of Law; Author of
"The Constitutional Thought of Thomas Jefferson"
Professor Thomas W. Merrill, Northwestern University School of Law,
John Paul Stevens Professor of Law
Professor Philip Henderson, Catholic University of America, Department of
Political Science; Author of "The Presidency Then and Now" and
"Managing the Presidency"
Professor Douglas W. Kmiec, Pepperdine University, Distinguished
Professor of Constitutional Law; former Assistant Attorney General of the
United States
Professor Harvey Mansfield, Harvard University, Department of
Government
Wm. Bradford Reynolds, former Assistant Attorney General of the United
States
Professor Garret Ward Sheldon, Clinch Valley College of the University of
Virginia, John Morton Beaty Professor of Political Science and Social
Sciences; Author of "The Political Philosophy of Thomas Jefferson"
Professor Thomas West, University of Dallas, Department of Political
Science; Author "Vindicating the Founders"
Professor James W. Ceaser, University of Virginia, Department of Political
Science; Author "Reconstructing America"
Professor Richard Morgan, Bowdoin College, Department of Political
Science; Author "The Law and Politics of Civil Rights and Liberties"
Professor Raymond Tatalovich, Loyola University, Chicago, Department of
Poltiical Science; Author "To Govern a Nation" and "The Modern
Presidency and Economic Policy"
Professor Barry Alan Shain, Colgate University, Department of Political
Science; Author "The Myth of American Individualism"
Professor Mark Rozell, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Political
Science; Author "Executive Privilege"
Professor Gary Lawson, Northwestern University School of Law
Professor James Lindgren, Northwestern University School of Law
Theodore B. Olson, former Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal
Counsel
Professor Thomas Pangle, University of Toronto, Department of Political
Science
Professor Robert L. Paquette, Hamilton College, Chairman, Department of
History
Professor Daniel Polsby, Northwestern University School of Law
Professor Stephen B. Presser, Northwestern University School of Law,
Raoul Berger Professor of Law
Professor Claes G. Rynb, Catholic University of America, Department of
Politics
Daniel E. Troy, former attorney advisor Office of Legal Counsel, Associate
Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
Professor Graham Walker, Catholic University of America, Department of
Politics
Professor Ken Grasso, Southwest Texas University, Department of Political
Science
Professor Harry N. Clor, Kenyon College, Department of Political Science
Professor Fred Baumann, Kenyon College, Department of Political Science
Professor Edward J. Erler, California State, San Bernadino, Department of
Political Science
Professor Robert Anthony, George Mason University School of Law
Professor Marshall J. Breger, Catholic University of America School of
Law
Professor Roger Cramton, Cornell University School of Law
Professor Michael E. DeBow, Samford University, Cumberland School of
Law
Professor Patrick J. Kelley, Southern Illinois School of Law
Professor Maurice Holland, University of Oregon School of Law
Professor Michael Paulsen, University of Minnesota School of Law
Professor William B. Stoebuck, University of Washington School of Law
Professor Lynn Wardle, Brigham Young University School of Law
Professor Adam Pritchard, University of Michigan School of Law
Professor Michael Krauss, George Mason University School of Law
Professor Kevin Clermont, Cornell University School of Law
Professor James Henderson, Cornell University School of Law
Professor Faust Rossi, Cornell University School of Law
Professor Julie Ann Ponzi, Azusa Pacific University, Department of Political
Science
Professor Joseph Bessette Claremont McKenna College, Clarement
Graduate School, Department of Political Science
Professor H. Lee Cheek, Jr., Brewton-Parker College, Department of
Political Science
Professor Larry Toll, Brewton-Parker College, Department of History
Professor Mackburn Thomas Owens, United States Naval War College,
Department of Political Science
Professor Robert Jeffrey, Dalton State College, Department of Philosophy
and Political Science
Professor Stephen McKenna, Catholic University of America, Department
of Communications
Professor Michael Federici, Mercyhurst College, Department of Political
Science
Professor Robert Kraynak, Colgate University, Department of Political
Science
Professor Stephen B. Hollingshead, Candor Marketing; former professor of
Philosophy, Marquette University
Professor Ronald J. Pestritto, Saint Vincent College, Department of
Political Science, Adjunct Fellow at the John M. Ashbrook Center; Author
"Founding the Criminal Law"
Professor Jeffrey J. Poelvoorde, Converse College, Department of Political
Science
Professor Ryan J. Barilleaux, Miami University (Ohio), Department of
Political Science
Professor Daniel N. Robinson, Georgetown University, Department of
Psychology; Author "Psychology & Law"
Professor Gary Dean Best, University of Hawaii, Hilo, Department of
History
Professor J. D. Crouch II, Southwest Missouri State University,
Department of Defense and Strategic Studies
Professor James Stoner, Louisiana State University, Department of Political
Science; Author "Common Law and Liberal Theory"
Professor Marshall L. DeRosa, Florida Atlantic University, Department of
Political Science
Professor Mickey G. Craig, Hillsdale College, Department of Political
Science
Professor Ralph Rossum,. Claremont McKenna College, Department of
Political Science; co-author of American Constitutional Law, 2 volumes
Professor Richard Ferrier, Thomas Aquinas College, Department of
Philosophy
Professor Stanley Brubaker, Colgate University, Department of Political
Science
Professor Tom Lindsay, University of Northern Iowa, Department of
Political Science
Professor Wesley G. Phelan, Eureka College, Department of Political
Science
Professor Burt Folson, Mackinac Center, Department of History; Author 4
books on United States History
ProfessorDaniel Driesback, American University School of Law, Rhodes
Scholar, J.D. and Ph.D.
Professor Ellis Sandoz, Louisiana State University, Department of Political
Science; Author "A Government of Laws"
Professor Jeffrey Polet, Malone College, Department of Political Science;
Constitutional Author
Professor Mark Hall, East Central University, Department of Political
Science; Author "The Political and Legal Philosophy of James Wilson"
Professor Don Racheter, Central College of Iowa, Department of Political
Science, Director of Pre-Law program
Professor Alberto R. Coll, United States Naval College, Department of
Strategy and Policy; former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense; Author
"The Wisdom of Statecraft"
Professor Thomas C. Reeves, University of Wisconsin-Parkside,
Department of History; presidential biographer (Kennedy, Arthur)
Professor Larry Peterman, University of California-Davis, Department of
Political Science
Professor Richard G. Wilkins, Brigham Young University School of Law
Charles J. Cooper, Cooper, Carvin & Rosenthal; former Assistant Attorney
General, Office of Legal Counsel
Daniel Oliver, Washington Attorney; former Chairman of Federal Trade
Commission
Michael A. Carvin, Washington attorney, former Assistant Attorney
General, Office of Legal Counsel
C. Boyden Gray, former Counsel to President Bush
interactive.wsj.com
Northwestern Law is especially prominent on the esteemed list. |
