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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Les H who wrote (24627)	12/27/1998 12:03:00 PM
From: greenspirit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 67261

27 December 1998 Censure plan to stop pension By David Wastell in Washington PRESIDENT Clinton could be forced to give up his £120,000 a year pension when he departs from the White House, under a tough censure plan that would leave him in debt for years. The penalty, which would deprive him of millions of dollars over his lifetime, has become a favoured option among Republicans for punishing the President for his misdemeanours in the Monica Lewinsky affair. At the same time, it seems that Hillary Clinton was even more furious with the President than previously suspected. Matt Drudge, the Internet gossip writer who broke the first news of the Monica Lewinsky affair, said that she "snapped" and struck him during a White House fight on the day he was impeached. It was the First Lady who helped rally Democrats to her husband last weekend, walking with him arm in arm as he became only the second US President to be impeached. But Mr Drudge repeated claims - which he said were due to be published in the National Enquirer, a supermarket tabloid - that Mrs Clinton "lost it" and hit the President so hard that he had to be rescued by his Secret Service bodyguards. He was forced to wear make-up to conceal the bruising, according to the report. The plan to strike at the President's pension comes as Republican senators face up to the likelihood that the two-thirds majority needed to convict him of perjury and obstruction of justice, and then evict him from office, is unlikely to be achieved. As President, Mr Clinton earns an annual salary of $200,000 (£120,000). Although he could expect to earn many times that on the lecture circuit, the loss of his pension - also $200,000 a year for life from the end of his term - would be a serious blow. The Clintons do not own a house and the President's continued need to defend himself in the courts has left him with outstanding legal fees estimated at more than $7 million (£4.2 million). He has also agreed to pay $850,000 (£510,000) to Paula Jones over her claims that he sexually harassed her. Mr Clinton's supporters plan to test the water almost immediately the Senate resumes business in 10 days by calling a vote on whether to dismiss the trial. Although they expect this to fail, they believe that they will attract 35 or more votes - an indication that there would not be enough support in the 100-member chamber to convict. Some Republicans believe that the trial could last no longer than an hour, if all the components of a censure deal have been worked out in advance. But the tough terms being discussed behind the scenes may deter the President from agreeing to a deal. As well as admitting to lying under oath - which he has consistently denied and which could open him up to prosecution after he leaves office - Mr Clinton could be denied federal funds to set up a presidential library or banned from holding public office again. One senior Republican linked to the House Judiciary Committee said: "Is Clinton really willing to admit to lying under oath? He has shown no signs of even grasping that this is what he did, so far, quite apart from admitting it. And is he really ready to give up his pension or money for a presidential library? It is hard to see him doing so." Senate officials are spending much of the Christmas and New Year break at their desks, laying the groundwork for a possible trial. Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, who will be responsible for making the case against Mr Clinton, are preparing the outline for a streamlined trial with a minimum number of witnesses - probably Monica Lewinsky, Vernon Jordan, who attempted to find Miss Lewinsky a new job, Betty Currie, the President's Oval Office secretary, and one or two others. Al Gore, the Vice President and Mr Clinton's staunchest defender, will pledge in a television interview to be broadcast today that the White House will not pressurise senators to support censure. Even so, Mr Gore has been taking an increasingly active role behind the scenes. He orchestrated the article last week in the New York Times from the former presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter supporting censure.