A Letter from one of the Senators:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the impeachment of President
Clinton. I appreciate hearing from you on this important matter.
As you know, on December 19, 1998, the House of Representatives passed
a resolution (H.Res. 611) impeaching President Clinton for high crimes
and misdemeanors. The House passed two of four proposed articles of
impeachment. The first article states that President Clinton has
provided perjurious testimony to a Federal grand jury, while the
second charges that President Clinton obstructed justice in attempting
to conceal the existence of evidence and testimony related to a
Federal civil rights action brought against him. With the passage of
the impeachment resolution by the House, the matter has been referred
to the Senate for a trial which began on January 7, 1999.
As you may know, I and the 99 other Senators will sit as jurors in the
impeachment trial of the President. A two-thirds majority will be
required to convict the President and remove him from office. It is my
sincere hope and prayer that the Senate will proceed with this matter
objectively, expeditiously, and with a bipartisan spirit, ever mindful
of the awesome responsibility entrusted to us by the Constitution. As
a juror, I assure you that I will remain objective and open to all of
the evidence presented during the trial and will arrive at my final
decision in fair and deliberative manner. However, as a juror, I do
not believe it would be appropriate for me to offer any specific
comments on the matter until the process has concluded. Indeed, my
first action in the trial was to swear an oath that I will render
"impartial justice" in this case.
It is my hope that the matter will be resolved as expeditiously as
possible to allow the members of Congress to move on with the
nation's business. As we begin the 106th session of Congress, we need
to be addressing the pressing challenges before us, including the
global economic crisis, the threat of terrorism around the world,
crime control at home, and the preservation of Social Security and
Medicare, among many other vital issues.
Again, thank you for giving me the benefit of your views.
Sincerely, |
