Prosecution Plans to Call Witnesses in Impeachment Trial

By RICHARD A. SERRANO

Dec. 30, 1998 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

WASHINGTON —

House members who will prosecute President Clinton disclosed Tuesday that they expect to call a number of key witnesses and may unveil new evidence after the historic impeachment trial formally opens next week in the Senate.

If their plan is approved by the Senate, the House “managers” could turn the trial into a final showdown between Republican conservatives in Congress and the Clinton White House that would be as grandiose as it is focused on the constitutional process for removing a president from office.

The House managers, led by Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.), have made no firm decision on whether they will seek to call witnesses to testify about whether Clinton committed perjury or obstructed justice after his affair with former White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky.

But they are clearly leaning that way, as many of the 13 managers--all Republicans--said they would expect to see presidential friend Vernon E. Jordan Jr. and Betty Currie, Clinton’s personal secretary, as witnesses against the president.

Others suggested that the managers’ strategy also could include testimony from Lewinsky herself, as well as from her former friend, Linda Tripp.

“I think it’s important to have a trial, to call witnesses, to present our case. And we’ll be prepared to do that,” pledged Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.).

As one of those who at a minimum wants Jordan and Currie to take the witness stand in the Senate, Hutchinson added: “Our responsibility is to be prepared to move forward.”

The managers met behind closed doors for two hours Tuesday to discuss strategy and how to divide areas of responsibility for the upcoming trial. Hyde later left the Rayburn House Office Building without commenting on how he plans to proceed.

The Senate convenes Jan. 6, and House managers said that they expect to be called there Jan. 7 for the start of the trial.

At that time, William H. Rehnquist, who as chief justice of the Supreme Court is designated by the Constitution as the presiding officer, will swear in all 100 senators as jurors and the House managers as prosecutors, they said. Hyde then will make a statement and the two articles of impeachment against Clinton passed by the House on Dec. 19 will be read, they said.

The White House would then be given a certain amount of time--perhaps as long as 30 days--to respond formally to the charges. The House managers then would file a rebuttal.

During this period, the Senate will make final pretrial motions and other matters laying down the rules for the proceedings before opening statements, witness testimony or presentation of evidence begins.

However, because many Democrats and some Republicans in the Senate are hopeful that the trial will be cut short, a compromise calling for censure or some other punishment of the president could be reached during this phase.

At the White House, officials did not directly react to the news of how the House managers are shaping their case against Clinton.

Said Jim Kennedy, a spokesman in the White House counsel’s office: “We favor a bipartisan process that will bring closure fairly and expeditiously.”

The managers made it clear that they fully expect the trial to begin and acknowledged that their role in the historic sessions ultimately will be defined by the Senate.

They said that some House and Senate staff members have had informal discussions over precedents for an impeachment trial. But they said that they have yet to hear any firm guidelines from the Senate on how they should proceed.

The managers deflected suggestions by critics that they want to call witnesses and develop additional evidence--none of which was done during committee hearings--because they believe it will be harder to convince two-thirds of the Senate to remove Clinton from office than it was for a simple majority in the House to impeach him.

They also denied that they were trying to drum up public opposition to Clinton, especially since his favorable poll numbers have remained high since his impeachment.

Rep. Bill McCollum (R-Fla.), one of the driving forces behind impeachment during the committee hearings, said, “I would think that there would be a need” for the Senate to listen to witnesses and previously unreleased supportive evidence.

He said live testimony during the trial would be more appropriate than simply reading from grand jury transcripts.

“I think they would want to hear from some people live because, as opposed to the House, you do have the opportunity, and should have it, for cross-examination,” he said.

“This is the trial,” he added. “And therefore, it seems to me that at least some of these witnesses you would want to have live and you would want to have cross-examined because that all goes into credibility and so forth.”

To that end, he said, “I can’t help but believe there would be witnesses. Who they would be, I don’t know.”

McCollum emphasized that, even if the trial is cut short, the Senate as the jury owes it to itself to hear from witnesses and other evidence.

“I think it really needs to be presented, even if they were to decide to go for censure or something else,” he said. “You need a basis for ultimately deciding.”

The managers said that no witnesses have been subpoenaed or informally notified that their testimony will be desired. But they stressed that there would be only a handful of key witnesses and that they would not call independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr, who sent his referral to the House in September outlining the evidence against Clinton.

“Starr presented us with his referral and his job is now done,” said Rep. George W. Gekas (R-Pa.), another of the managers.

On the issue of witnesses, however, Gekas said they should be called “only if it’s absolutely necessary.” He did not elaborate.

Paul McNulty, a Republican counsel to the Judiciary Committee who is working closely with Hyde in researching the duties of managers in a Senate trial, cautioned that the Senate could vote to prohibit either side from calling witnesses.

He said the Senate also could decide to limit the evidence that is presented.

Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) told The Times on Monday that the trial likely will begin soon and that “we need to go forward and do our constitutional duty to hear the evidence.”

McNulty hinted that there may be some additional evidence from the Starr report and supplemental documents that have not been made public.

“The managers can still call evidence that is relevant to the case itself,” he said. “The managers could take steps to develop new evidence.”

He added: “We can’t rule out the theoretical possibility of evidence of any sort.”

Rep. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) stressed that even if witnesses such as Lewinsky and Tripp are called to testify about intimate sexual matters, such a spectacle does not necessarily have to be “demeaning.”

“We need to have a trial and a process that will honor the law, that will make sense after we’re long dead and gone,” he said.

“And that can be done. It can be done in a professional way without demeaning anybody.

“And I hope that’s what’s done and I’ve got every confidence in the Senate that they’re going to do it that way,” Graham said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The 13 Managers

The 13 Republican House Judiciary Committee members who were appointed to serve as managers in the Senate impeachment trial:

Henry J. Hyde, 74, Ill.

James Sensenbrenner, 55, Wis.

Bill McCollum, 54, Fla.

George W. Gekas, 68, Pa.

Charles Canady, 44, Fla.

Stephen E. Buyer, 40, Ind.