WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, December 16) -- In light of the U.S. military strike against Iraq, House Republicans agreed Wednesday to a short delay in the debate and vote on whether to impeach President Bill Clinton, House Speaker-elect Bob Livingston said following a closed-door Republican caucus.

Rep. Bob Livingston

Livingston warned that House members should not leave Washington, but should remain available "to the call of the chair" to take up the issue of impeachment. The speaker-elect indicated the debate could be Friday or possibly Saturday, but said he does not anticipate taking up the issue Thursday.

The Louisiana Republican also chastised the White House for its lobbying effort to convince moderate Republicans to oppose impeachment.

"We have left the issue of impeachment to the consciences of the men and women in the Congress," Livingston said. "Unfortunately, that's not been the case with respect to the White House and the administration. They've weighed in, they've lobbied, but we've said it's a matter of conscience."

Livingston expressed strong support for the U.S. troops involved in the military action in the Middle East, and said the entire House would be asked Thursday to pass a resolution of support for the men and women serving in the Persian Gulf.

House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt echoed Livingston's concern for the troops. Following a Democratic caucus Wednesday the Missouri Democrat said, "We obviously should pass a resolution by saying that we stand behind the troops. I would hope that we do not take up impeachment until the hostilities have completely ended."

Republican Rep. Steve Chabot of Ohio said the impeachment matter will not be delayed "indefinitely."

"I anticipate we'll take it up over the weekend or early next week," said Chabot. But no firm date has yet been set.

Some lawmakers questioned the timing of the U.S. military action against Iraq.

House Majority Leader Dick Armey released a statement Wednesday evening saying that people's suspicions that the attack on Iraq was motivated by the president's desire to avoid or distract from the impeachment debate are "themselves a powerful argument for impeachment."

Livingston and Gephardt tentatively agreed earlier Wednesday to delay the House debate on impeachment, with sources at the House Republican caucus telling CNN the debate could begin either Saturday or Monday.

Livingston and Gephardt presented the plan to postpone the debate and vote at their respective caucuses Wednesday evening. Republican sources said Livingston met some resistance.

Supporting the speaker-elect was Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Illinois), who told reporters it would be inappropriate to lead a floor debate on impeachment at a time the president was directing a U.S. military operation.

Clinton ordered the attack on Iraq's in retaliation for its refusal to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors.

Meanwhile, the White House continued its last-ditch efforts to stem the momentum toward impeachment even as the pool of undecided House members who can save Clinton from such a vote dwindled by the hour.

Rep. Michael Forbes

Clinton was scheduled to have a face-to-face meeting Wednesday afternoon with Connecticut Republican Rep. Christopher Shays, who is still considering which way he will vote. Aides said the president would also meet with two New York Republicans, Rep. Amo Houghton, who has said he will vote against impeachment, and Rep. Michael Forbes, who has said he will vote for impeachment.

Even so, eight more Republicans announced their intention to vote for one or more articles of impeachment, including New Jersey Rep. Michael Pappas, who also called on Clinton to resign.

Among other Republicans announcing Wednesday that they would vote for impeachment were Reps. Brian Bilbray of California, Jim Leach of Iowa, Bill Redmond of New Mexico, John Porter of Illinois, Sherwood Boehlert of New York and Bob Ney and Deborah Pryce, both of Ohio.

"I will vote to impeach the president because he has shattered the trust of the American people," said Ney.

But a firm vote tally will be nearly impossible to predict with several members saying they will not make up their minds until after the debate or until they finish reviewing the final Judiciary Committee report released Tuesday night.

And Rep. Jay Dickey (R-Arkansas) predicted Wednesday that the outcome of the vote becomes more uncertain if it is postponed for a long time. "If we're putting this thing off for a long time, maybe we could have more dialogue," said Dickey, who has decided how he will vote but has not announced it.

Rep. Mark Foley (R-Florida) told a breakfast meeting Wednesday he "truly had not made a decision," though he is inclined to vote for the article of impeachment charging Clinton with lying before Independent Counsel Ken Starr's grand jury on August 17.

Another undecided Republican, Rep. Heather Wilson of New Mexico, said she remains undecided. Wilson does not believe censure is an option the House should consider.

Number of undecided members shrinks

Administration sources estimate for the president to avoid impeachment, they must convince another six to nine Republicans to vote no. Eleven Republicans -- many of them moderates the White House hoped to sway -- announced Tuesday they would vote for impeachment, with most of them citing Clinton's alleged perjury before a Washington grand jury as the accusation they found most troubling.

Five Republicans have announced they would vote against impeachment. Of those still believed to be undecided, the White House counts at least three as likely to vote against impeachment. That leaves Clinton struggling to find about eight more.

The House floor vote on the articles of impeachment, if it passes, would authorize only the second Senate trial of a president in U.S. history.

Meanwhile, the White House continues to press the issue of a compromise agreement. Vice President Al Gore is taking the lead in that.

"I believe on Capitol Hill there still time for Democrats and Republicans to come together and embrace a bipartisan compromise to seek a resolution that is both quick and fair, and try to turn away from the bitter partisanship that we have seen so far. That is what the American people want and that is what's in the best interest of our country," Gore said.

Shays holds town meeting

A key GOP swing vote, Shays held a town meeting in his home district of Norwalk, Connecticut, Tuesday night to gauge his constituents' views on impeachment before his meeting with Clinton at the White House Wednesday.

Shays said earlier he would vote against impeachment, but then began to waver.

The packed auditorium in Norwalk appeared almost evenly divided for and against impeachment, with Shays promising to listen to both sides before deciding his vote, which he has called a "conscience vote."

Shays may discuss a tough censure option with Clinton Wednesday. CNN has learned if Shays can round up eight to 10 undeclared Republicans, Democrats would join them in a bipartisan appeal to the president to accept a tough censure deal.

Judiciary Committee releases its report

The House Judiciary Committee released its final report Tuesday night, accusing Clinton of having "disgraced himself and the high office he holds" and calling for his removal.

"He has disgraced himself and the high office he holds. His high crimes and misdemeanors undermine our Constitution. They warrant his impeachment, his removal from office, and his disqualification from holding further office," the report reads.

The report outlines four articles of impeachment against Clinton, detailing the alleged perjuries both in his January deposition in the Paula Jones case and his grand jury testimony, the basis of the first two articles of impeachment.

The report, several hundred pages in length, does not add any new allegations but summarizes all of them in one presentation and includes several dissenting views from Democratic members of the committee.

"The fact that he provided to the grand jury a half-true, incomplete and misleading statement as a true and complete characterization of his relationship ... constitutes a premeditated effort to thwart the investigation and to justify criminal wrongdoing."

Discussion of the article on abuse of power centers on the president's responses to the 81 questions submitted to him by the committee last month.

In their minority submission, Democrats said they do not believe the charges, but even if true they do not "amount to the abuse of official power which is an historically rooted prerequisite for impeaching a president."

Wednesday, December 16, 1998

• Republicans skeptical of Iraq attack on eve of impeachment vote
• Clinton: Iraq has abused its final chance
• Transcript: President Clinton explains Iraq strike
• Impeachment debate delayed
• How to contact undecided House members
• Thousands say good-bye to Chiles
• Presiding Rep. LaHood mum on his vote
• Length of impeachment debate depends partly on Democrats
• U.S. Rep. Shays holds town meeting on impeachment

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