In this story:

• Sources: Clinton 'evasive' on video
• Censure 'not an option'
• White House staffers get chilly reception on Capitol Hill
• Gore stands with Clinton

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, September 16) -- The House Judiciary Committee is set to meet Thursday, with committee members poised to release President Bill Clinton's videotaped testimony in the Monica Lewinsky investigation.

Rep. Bob Barr

Meanwhile, a first House Democrat has signed on to a resolution calling on Congress to impeach Clinton. Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi has signed a resolution by Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) Taylor's office confirmed his signature, although Taylor was not available for comment.

Independent Counsel Ken Starr's report, a portion of which was made public last week, cited what the prosecutors said was evidence of impeachable offenses in 11 instances, including perjury and obstruction of justice. He also turned over to Congress the videotaped testimony and 2,600 pages of supporting documents.

The president has apologized for his relationship with Lewinsky, but has denied violating any law.

Sources: Clinton 'evasive' on video

The videotape shows an angry, defiant and evasive president struggling with questions about his extramarital affair, sources told CNN.

Democrats attacked the idea of releasing the four-hour tape, but Republicans pushed for its release, saying on Tuesday it was important that Americans judge for themselves whether Clinton lied before grand jurors.

The issue, which comes as lawmakers consider a possible impeachment inquiry, will be fought out Thursday during a closed-door meeting of the House Judiciary Committee. The session is set for 10 a.m. EDT, and the tape could be released soon afterward.

The official notice says the purpose of the meeting is "to consider the release of certain documents, records, and materials received by the Committee from the Independent Counsel on September 9, 1998 ..."

Committee spokesman Sam Stratman told CNN that any vote would be on a resolution to block the release of further documents or the videotape of the president's grand jury testimony. A vote last week gave the committee authority to release all materials by September 28. Thus, any new vote would be a vote to limit the release of either the documents or videotape or both.

Minority Democrats on the Judiciary Committee said showing the tape would be unfair to the president, who became the only witness videotaped when he insisted that his August 17 questioning take place in the White House.

Jurors at the federal courthouse watched a closed-circuit TV signal of the testimony, with extraordinary security measures in place to prevent electronic interceptions.

Lawyers familiar with Clinton's testimony said the videotape shows the president at times angry with sexually graphic questioning by Starr's aides -- at one time even accusing them of attempting to criminalize his private life.

A few times, Clinton appears caught off guard by a question and struggles to answer it, the lawyers said. And many times when pressed to give more details, Clinton keeps referring back to the narrowly legalistic statement his lawyers prepared to answer questions about the sexual nature of his relationship with Lewinsky.

White House officials worried the tape may undo the contrite image Clinton carefully built over the past two weeks with frequent public apologies about his "indefensible" and "wrong" relationship with the former White House intern.

And they also worried that the public release of the video would begin appearing in Republican political attacks ads and fund-raising appeals.

Censure 'not an option'

Rep. Tom DeLay

As the battle over the tape loomed, a House Republican leader sought to dash any hopes that Congress would vote to censure Clinton for his actions, a Democratic-proposed alternative that would fall far short of impeachment.

Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) said he would "fight in no uncertain terms the scheduling of any vote on censure."

House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) said censure was "not an option that holds a lot of attraction." He said he had talked with rank-and-file GOP House members about the issue. "We believe that committing perjury and obstruction of justice, these are feats of enormous consequence," Armey said.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said Clinton's actions "absolutely" called for some sort of punishment. "There's no question that Congress needs to be heard," Kerry, a former prosecutor, told reporters. "You can't just sort of pretend it didn't happen and walk away."

White House staffers get chilly reception on Capitol Hill

Hoping to prevent further erosion of Democratic support on Capitol Hill, White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and other Clinton staffers visited party leaders on Tuesday but got cool receptions.

At least two Democratic senators reportedly questioned whether it might not be better for the country if Clinton resigned -- although one later denied such a remark.

Sen. Joe Biden

"I did not say the president should resign. I did not say the country would be better off if he did resign. I do not think he will resign," Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware said in a statement late Tuesday.

Lawmakers told Bowles that the president's legalistic answers denying he lied to the grand jury were only making it harder for Democrats to defend him, sources said.

Gore stands with Clinton

Vice President Al Gore said, "I disagree," Wednesday, when reporters asked him about Democratic lawmakers who have said Clinton ought to resign.

The vice president ignored reporters' questions, though, about the expected release of the videotape of Clinton's grand jury testimony.

Gore went on to joke with the questioning press. "The president is going to have a press conference shortly and I'm sure that you will not miss the opportunity at this national security press conference with a leader of a foreign country to raise all these questions," Gore said.

The vice president appeared in the White House briefing room to announce the administration's new encryption policy.

CNN's John King and Ann Curley and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Wednesday, September 16, 1998

• Wallace remembered as man with 'courage to change'
• Lewinsky questions dominate Clinton-Havel news conference
• Transcript: U.S. President Bill Clinton, Czech President Vaclav Havel
• House Judiciary Committee considers releasing Clinton videotape
• Poll: Americans leaning toward censure of Clinton
• Jones case documents could be public in two weeks
• Mourners praise George Wallace at vigil

Election '98
• Election '98 in full swing after last big primary night
• Connecticut primary results
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• Massachusetts primary results
• Minnesota primary results
• New York primary results
• North Carolina House results
• Oklahoma runoff results
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• Washington primary results

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