Good news just for you to contemplate as you drift off into dippy dream land my little dippy friend. Enjoy :-)
A.P. Tuesday, January 26, 1999; 7:10 p.m. EST Laurie Kellman
GOP Says They Can Extend Trial
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans said Tuesday they have staved off defections and will muster enough support to extend President
Clinton's impeachment trial with witnesses, setting up two votes that Democrats said could damage the bipartisan spirit of the proceedings.
A day of private meetings followed by the announcement that House managers had trimmed their witness list to three figures emboldened
Republicans who want to see the trial end with votes on the impeachment articles passed by the House.
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., for example, announced Tuesday he was switching from being undecided on witnesses to being ''inclined'' to vote for them.
''This trial is going the distance,'' declared Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, who with other conservatives such as Oklahoma Sens. James Inhofe and Don Nickles had been pushing for the trial to continue to its end.
The Senate will vote on two consecutive motions Wednesday afternoon. The first is on Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd's request to dismiss the
case; the second is on the request to summon the three witnesses sought by the House for depositions.
Votes pretty much along party lines are expected on both.
''You could end up in a far more partisan setting not only now but from here on out,'' said newly elected Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who took part in the House proceedings as a lame-duck member of the Judiciary Committee.
But a handful of centrists from each party continued to worry Republican and Democratic leaders as the votes loomed.
GOP officials said they expected few, if any, Republican senators would vote for the dismissal motion. They acknowledged the vote on calling witnesses was slightly more uncertain because of a handful of undecideds, such as Richard Shelby of Alabama and Olympia Snowe of Maine.
But Republicans said the chances of defections on the witness vote had substantially dropped after House managers announced they would
depose only Monica Lewinsky, Clinton friend Vernon Jordan and White House aide Sidney Blumenthal.
''I think there's been a change since they came in with three; before that, it was an iffy thing,'' said Sen. John Chafee, R-R.I.
Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota agreed. ''I think on the vote on dismissal and on the vote on witnesses, it sounds as if the
lines may be drawn,'' he said.
A few conservative Democrats also remained in the undecided column, such as freshman Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, according to
Democratic officials who asked not to be named.
Other tough decisions are over the horizon. Democrats oppose a plan being considered by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott that would allow
senators to vote that Clinton committed perjury and obstruction, but allow him to remain in office, said one official who asked not to be named.
Lott outlined the proposal to Republicans during their private meeting Tuesday. Supporters say it could offer political cover to GOP senators
who believe Clinton is guilty but that the offenses don't warrant his removal.
© Copyright 1999 The Associated Press |
