115 PEOPLE DOING TIME FOR WHAT PRESIDENT DID
NewsMax
10/06/98 By RAY KERRISON
115 PEOPLE DOING TIME FOR
WHAT PRESIDENT DID
By RAY KERRISON
AS of today, 115 American men and
women are in jail - forever marked as
felons - for having committed perjury in
federal courts and before grand juries.
Should the president of the United States
be held to the same standard as all
American citizens or should he be placed
above the law?
That was the clear, simple thunderbolt
proposition Rep. Bill McCollum, the
Florida Republican, hurled yesterday in
the opening session of President
Clinton's impeachment procedure.
That the president has lied - repeatedly -
under oath is not in dispute, not even by
his defenders.
So McCollum posed this question: When
people believe the president of the
United States can lie, commit perjury and
get away with it, what are they going to
say the next time they go to court?
Today, in our federal system, there are
115 people serving time for perjury. If the
president committed crimes of perjury,
they alone would merit impeachment and
removal from office.
McCollum cited the cases of Judge
Walter Nixon Jr. and Judge Alcee
Hastings, both impeached by votes of
417-0 and 413-3 respectively by the
House of Representatives for committing
perjury. Both were stripped of office.
If it is proven that the president lied
under oath, it is enough to impeach and
enough for him to be thrown out of office,
McCollum said.
And if we do not do that, I submit we
would undermine our constitutional
system and destroy the foundation of our
judicial system.
That goes to the heart of the Clinton
crisis. The problem is not an extramarital
affair, as the Democrats attempt to
portray it.
Clinton lied and committed perjury, not to
cover such an affair, but to protect
himself in a sex-harassment suit.
David Schippers, the Republicans' chief
investigator, underscored the gravity of
the allegations against the president and
their import.
He said, The president enjoys a singular
and lofty position in our system of
government, which, in turn, involves
equally unique and onerous
responsibilities and affirmative
obligations that apply to no other citizen.
He's held to a higher standard than any
other American. He is the repository of a
special trust.
He may not with impunity mislead,
deceive or lie under oath in order to
prevail in a lawsuit or for personal gain.
That's virtually the whole case in one
paragraph. It is why Clinton, if he does
not resign, will almost certainly be
impeached.
Schippers warned, If lying under oath is
tolerated and when exposed, is not
visited with immediate and substantial
adverse consequences, the integrity of
this country's entire judicial process is
fatally compromised, and it will inevitably
collapse.
Bull's-eye.
There cannot be one law for the
president and another law for the 115
citizens now rotting in jail for perjury.
But that's the last thing Clinton's thin
clique of supporting Democrats want to
acknowledge. They resolutely refuse to
address the criminal allegations. Instead,
they are attempting to obfuscate, divert
and divide by insisting that the
prosecutor is the culprit, not the accused.
It's the oldest and hoariest dodge in the
court business. The murderer and the
rapist are innocent, only the dead and
the violated are guilty.
Less than 15 minutes into yesterday's
hearing, Rep John Conyers, the
Michigan Democrat and chief
congressional hit man for Clinton, threw
independent counsel Kenneth Starr in
the dock and put him on trial.
The tactics of the investigation into the
president have been an offense to this
great country, Conyers said.
Sure. The crime is not the problem. It's
the prosecutor.
There is a threat to society here, but it is
from the tactics from a win-at-all-costs
prosecutor, determined to sink a
president of the opposition party,
Conyers said.
Adultery, perjury, lying to the country,
obstructing justice apparently do not
offend Conyers' sensibilities.
Conyers had the gall to say the
Republicans were dragging the crisis out
past the November elections, ignoring
the indisputable proof that it was Clinton
himself who dragged it from January to
August through seven months of lying.
How do they get away with this stuff?
Barney Frank, the Massachusetts
Democrat, joined the Conyers' chorus.
Why not? Barney could hardly protest
Clinton's conduct when he himself was
hauled before his peers for shacking up
with a homosexual pimp for two years
and claiming he was unaware of his
friend's business. Bill and Barney, birds
of a feather.
Schippers read off the list of Clinton's
alleged abuses like a recital of a
15-count indictment. The evidence was
withering.
At the end, he addressed the judiciary
panel as a citizen, father and
grandfather. He paraphrased St. Thomas
More, The laws of this country are the
great barriers that protect citizens from
the wounds of evil and tyranny. If we
permit one of those laws to fall, who will
be able to stand?
Who, indeed.
209.67.114.212 |
