White House Won’t Delay State of Union Address

As the Senate returns to Washington to take up the impeachment of President Clinton, the White House signaled Monday that it will not delay this month’s State of the Union address, despite the specter of the president speaking to the nation from the same Capitol building where he will be on trial for his political life.

The shape and duration of the trial will not be known until today or Wednesday. But both the House prosecutors and White House lawyers were pressing forward with their cases, should the process start as early as Thursday.

The Senate leadership plans to meet today before Congress formally convenes Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), returning with the rest of Congress to the nation’s capital after the Christmas-New Year’s break, acknowledged that he must find some common ground among the other 99 senators for how to proceed on a presidential impeachment trial that will be only the second in the nation’s history.

“Well, I hope so. It’s part of my job as majority leader,” Lott said at the airport when asked whether he could strike an agreement between the Senate’s 55 Republicans and 45 Democrats. “It’s part of our duty, and we’ll be trying to get a consensus as best we can.”

Lawmakers are weighing a mix of scenarios for trying Clinton on two articles of impeachment--one for perjury, the other for obstruction of justice.

Senators Weighing Trial Options

The most controversial plan calls for an abbreviated trial in which senators would hear shortened cases from each side and then vote to see if two-thirds of them believe Clinton’s conduct in the Monica S. Lewinsky matter constituted a basis to remove him from office.

Other proposals include a full-scale trial in which the White House is given 30 days to respond before witnesses and evidence are brought onto the Senate floor in February.

And Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said Monday he has asked some senators to draft potential censure resolutions.

“There are a lot of different wordings,” he said. “There are a lot of different scenarios.”

At the White House, officials insisted that Clinton would not be distracted by the Senate trial, however it shapes up.

“The president is hard at work on putting together the State of the Union address,” spokesman Joe Lockhart said.

“We’re planning to give that on Jan. 19. I’m not aware of any discussions or requests from the [Senate] leadership to adjust the date.”

On Sunday, several senators suggested it would be smart for the president either to postpone his annual address to Congress or simply to send a written statement outlining his goals for the new year.

But the president has little reason to want to delay the speech as he seeks to present himself as adhering to a business-as-usual approach to his job, undeterred by the apparently unpopular political ruckus taking place around him.

And the White House found little benefit in trading in the live televised speech for a written document.

Clinton Prepares for State of Union Speech

“I think the State of the Union address is as much for the American public to hear and see and to understand as it is for the members of Congress,” Lockhart said.

While the president was said by aides to be continuing to prepare the speech, his lawyers reportedly were getting ready to present his defense as early as next week.

Clinton’s advisors continue to find themselves in a delicate position, unable to influence the course the Senate chooses, or even to quietly express a preference.

Thus, they find themselves waiting, for at least another day or two, to find out whether the senators will opt for a full trial or a short-cut that leads to censure.

Jim Kennedy, spokesman in the White House counsel’s office, said Clinton’s lawyers are continuing to work on his defense as the trial approaches.

“Conversations are taking place that are private, and we don’t get into the details,” he said. “But they are ongoing.”

He said much depends on what the Senate allows. “We’re still awaiting their decision, and our attorneys continue to do their own background work,” Kennedy said.

The 13 House prosecutors--Republicans known as “managers” led by Rep. Henry J. Hyde of Illinois--plan to meet Wednesday to hash out strategy.

“We have a job to do,” said a GOP aide. “We have to put a case on, but we don’t know what kind of a case yet. It depends on how much time we’re going to get. It isn’t clear whether we’ll have to make our case in a day or whether we will have more time than that.

“We’ve gotten no read, nothing directly from the Senate yet.”

Rep. J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), the next likely speaker of the House, said he hopes the managers are permitted to give a fair presentation.

“I would certainly like to see Henry Hyde be able to present the testimony and what he needs to do to put his case forward,” Hastert said. “However, the decision is with the Senate, and we’ll see how that works out.”

Republicans Outline Political Strategy

His comments came as House Republican leaders, anxious to show voters that they have more on their minds than just the impeachment issue, huddled privately to map out a GOP agenda for the 106th Congress, with a pledge to work with Democrats on key legislation.

At a news conference just before Monday’s closed-door session, Hastert listed Social Security, Medicare, education, tax cuts and higher defense spending as top GOP goals for the coming session.

Hastert also pledged to reach out to Democrats to give them a voice in any new legislation on these and other issues.

Senators, meanwhile, were continuing to discuss various ideas about the looming trial.

“As a precedent it has to be done right, or there’s going to be a long shadow,” warned Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) after a White House health care event.

“This speculation about the trial of the century--I think it’s the trial of all time. I don’t think there has ever been a trial in the history of Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence which is as important as this one.”

Like many other senators, Specter said no trial would be complete without witnesses.

But many senators are put off by the prospect of Lewinsky discussing on the Senate floor her sexual antics with the president.

Another proposal calls for short-circuiting the trial and for the Senate instead to censure Clinton.

“I think you’re seeing a significant group of senators of both political parties working now to find the common ground that the House was unable to locate last month,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said.

Use of Witnesses Remains an Issue

The abbreviated trial plan calls for the House managers and the White House to present their cases over two days. Senators would ask questions on a third day, followed by a final day in which the Senate would vote on whether the charges against Clinton--even if proved--meet the constitutional standard of high crimes and misdemeanors required for removal from office.

If two-thirds say no, a majority vote could adjourn the trial and start the censure process. If two-thirds say yes, a trial with witnesses and evidence would begin.

Daschle said the question about witnesses remains an open issue between him and Lott, who also has said he would favor not having live testimony.

Times staff writers Edwin Chen, Janet Hook and Art Pine contributed to this story.