Nadine, the Independent Prosecutor, and former Judge, Starr, appointed by the Attorney General, Janet Reno, a member of Clinton's cabinet, gathered evidence, with Reno's approval, with the assistance of a grand jury under the oversight of Judge Norma Johnson Holloway, a senior and well-respected member of the D.C. Judiciary. If it matters, and I don't think it does, Judge Holloway is black, and a Democrat.
The evidence was presented to the House Judiciary Committee, according to procedures prescribed by the Independent Counsel law, which was drafted and adopted when the Congress was majority Democrat.
Pursuant to our Constitution, the House impeaches, that is, determines whether there is sufficient evidence to refer to the Senate for a trial. The function of the House is similar to the function of a grand jury, which indicts and refers criminal charges for prosecution in court. The accused is not given information of pending proceedings before grand juries but is given information after indictment, prior to trial. Grand juries serve, in part, an information gathering function, and their proceedings are kept secret so as not to tip off the bad guys, as well as not to tarnish the reputation of people they decide not to indict.
Of course, once the accused is indicted, he must be given a copy of the indictment. The thousands of pages of material collected by the Office of Independent Counsel is stored in the Rayburn building, and the members of the house (but not their staff) and the house counsel, as well as Clinton's counsel, have full access to them.
I disagree with your assessment of the evidence, but I understand that reasonable people may differ on our conclusions in this instance. |
