September 9, 1998
Starr Sends Report to Congress
That Poses Impeachment Threat
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr Wednesday sent
Congress a report and supporting evidence of possible impeachable offenses
by President Clinton, posing the gravest threat to a president since
Watergate.
Earlier Wednesday, aides to senior members of the House called Mr. Starr's
office in an effort to preview the type of material that Congress would be
receiving on potentially impeachable offenses by Mr. Clinton, according to a
congressional source.
Mr. Starr's report contains details of his inquiry into President Clinton's
relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Speaker Newt Gingrich, Democratic leader Dick Gephardt and other top
lawmakers who ordered the telephone call would like to ensure that much of
the material is made public while grand jury testimony and other information
that could damage innocent individuals is kept under wraps.
Clinton Apologizes
The Starr report was sent in a fast-paced day in which Mr. Clinton made a
remarkable personal apology in the White House residence to a group of
leading House Democrats, and on which a senior Democrat compared Mr.
Clinton's handling of the current scandal to Richard Nixon's behavior during
Watergate a quarter-century ago.
"Many of the mistakes that President Nixon made are being made all over
again," said former Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd (D., W.Va.), in
a floor speech in which he added that lawmakers should be careful not to
rush to judgment.
Talking with reporters after the meeting, Mr. Gingrich said the report should
be made available to Americans as soon as possible. "The public has a right
to know," he said.
Mr. Gephardt also said Mr. Clinton should be permitted to fashion a formal
response to the report "before it is made public." Mr. Gingrich was
noncommittal, but didn't flatly reject the suggestion.
Mr. Clinton's attorney, David Kendall, was rebuffed by Mr. Starr earlier this
week when he asked for a chance to issue a rebuttal before Mr. Starr
submits his report to lawmakers.
"Next to declaring war, this may be the most important thing we do so we
have to do it right," Mr. Gephardt (D., Mo.), said in a joint news conference.
"We have to do it objectively, fairly and in a nonpartisan way. I think we
have a good start today."
Partisanship Denounced
Mr. Gingrich (R., Ga.), said, "It is a constitutional process that requires
judgment that is based in fact," not politics.
He bristled at suggestions that the report could affect fall elections, though
his party's leaders have predicted big gains because of the controversy. "We
should not move a day sooner because of the election, we should not move a
day later," he said.
"Any impeachment cannot succeed unless it is done in bipartisan or
nonpartisan way," said Rep. Henry Hyde (R., Ill.), chairman of the House
Judiciary Committee.
Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, ranking Democrat on the committee,
cautioned that impeachment proceedings are not a given. "We are not
planning for impeachment," he said.
House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas, one of Clinton's fiercest
critics, declared, "I will have an attitude that there will not be partisan tirades
.. on either side of the aisle."
Though the report needs to be made public, Mr. Gingrich said some
materials could be harmful to innocent people and should be reviewed by the
Judiciary Committee beforehand.
The meeting and news conference occurred shortly after an embattled Mr.
Clinton met with fellow Democrats at the White House to express deep
sorrow for causing pain in his family and throughout the country by his affair
with Ms. Lewinsky.
"He wants to carry on with the business of the country, but he clearly
understands, I think, the deep pain he has caused his family, his colleagues,
the people he works with, members of Congress and the country," said Rep.
David Bonior of Michigan, second-ranking Democrat in the House.
Mr. Bonior said there was no discussion of impeachment or resignation. "I
think the president will certainly be able to continue in office," he told
reporters after the 90-minute meeting in the White House residence.
In the Senate, Mr. Byrd, the chamber's foremost authority on the
Constitution, blistered Mr. Clinton's behavior as undermining the values
parents teach their children, but stopped short of calling for his punishment.
"It is my suggestion that everyone should exercise some self-restraint
against calling for impeachment or censure or for the president's
resignation," Mr. Byrd said. "Who knows? I may do that before it's all over.
But not now."
Emotional Meeting
Mr. Bonior said Mr. Clinton's meeting with Democrats was very emotional
and it was clear "that he felt the pain, and he felt it very strongly. .. What
we saw was a father, a husband, the leader of our country who was
contrite, who was very sorry for his actions."
Mr. Bonior said the handful of Democratic lawmakers present forgave Mr.
Clinton for his actions. He said he advised Mr. Clinton to make clear to the
American people his contrition and sorrow and "he needs to address it on a
continual basis. But he also needs to get to the issues he was elected to
address in this country."
"The American people do not want to see this president fail. They want to
see him succeed," Mr. Bonior declared. Mr. Bonior acknowledged that Mr.
Clinton's investigation could hurt Democrats in November's midterm
elections. "Obviously this behavior has not been helpful in terms of our
prospects in the fall."
In contrast to the House leaders' efforts at harmony, there was only
renewed bitterness Tuesday between Mr. Starr and Mr. Kendall.
Mr. Kendall had asked for an advance copy of the report so he could rebut
its findings, but Mr. Starr rejected the request. "You are mistaken in your
views as to .. your right to review a report before it is transmitted to
Congress," Mr. Starr wrote Mr. Kendall.
The prosecutor, responding to Mr. Kendall's letter asking for access to the
report a week early, wrote, "I suggest you address your concerns to the
House" after any report is delivered under seal there. |
