The Nation - News from Feb. 3, 1989

The Senate Rules Committee rebuffed federal Judge Alcee L. Hastings’ request that the full Senate conduct evidence hearings in his impeachment trial. Instead, the committee called for a panel of 12 lawmakers to conduct hearings that would be televised so senators could watch if they chose. “There will be no question about the fairness of it,” Rules Committee Chairman Wendell H. Ford (D-Ky.) said as his panel approved a plan under which six Republicans and six Democrats would be named to hear evidence. The House already approved a bill of impeachment alleging that the U.S. District Court judge conspired with a Washington attorney to obtain money from two convicted racketeers in exchange for a guarantee they would not serve time.