January 11, 1999
Web posted at: 6:23 p.m. EST (2323 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, January 11) -- In a day of dueling, pre-trial legal memoranda, the White House and House prosecutors offered sharply contrasting views Monday of President Bill Clinton's actions in the Monica Lewinsky sex-and-perjury scandal.

Clinton's legal team rejected the perjury and obstruction of justice charges against the president in an answer to a Senate summons, saying they are not true and do not warrant his removal from office. But House prosecutors said the evidence against Clinton "when viewed as a unified whole, overwhelmingly supports both charges" against the president.

The White House skipped a chance -- at least for now -- to file a motion seeking to dismiss the case. Opening arguments in Clinton's impeachment trial begin Thursday.

Clinton's team broke no new legal ground in its 13-page filing, restating its argument that Clinton's conduct in the Lewinsky affair does not merit his conviction by the Senate.

Clinton's lawyers contended the House of Representatives' articles of impeachment "do not rise to the level of 'high crimes and misdemeanors' as contemplated by the Founding Fathers, and they do not satisfy the rigorous constitutional standards applied throughout our Nation's history." Because of that, the articles of impeachment should be dismissed, the Clinton defense team said.

"The president denies each and every material allegation of the two articles of impeachment," Clinton's filing said. The document vigorously denies that any of the president's grand jury testimony was perjurious, or that the president participated in any obstruction of justice.

Clinton's filing also argues that both articles of impeachment are unconstitutionally vague. On the perjury count, the White House argues, "Without a definite and specific identification of false statements, a trial becomes a moving target for the accused ... Article I sweeps broadly and fails to provide the required definite and specific identification. Were it an indictment, it would be dismissed. As an article of impeachment, it is constitutionally defective and should be dismissed."

The White House defense on the obstruction of justice allegation cited the sworn testimony of Lewinsky, who is quoted as saying her discussions with the president about concealing their relationship were before she became a witness in the Paula Jones case.

The presidential legal team's filing also claimed it was unconstititional for the House to have combined several allegations into the two articles of impeachment.

Clinton's impeachment trial -- the first of a president in 131 years -- gets under way in earnest Thursday when the Senate will hear opening arguments from the House lawmakers who are serving as prosecutors of the case against Clinton.

After that, Clinton's lawyers will outline why they believe Clinton should not be convicted.

Hyde: 'A strange process'

Meanwhile, the chief House prosecutor said Monday his team was busy preparing its presentation and expressed optimism they will do an effective job making the case against the president. Late in the day, the House team filed its trial memo, outling the case against Clinton.

"We're meeting with each other, trying to coordinate the managers, we have several as you know, and each has an assigned task, and we're busily preparing our remarks and trying to time them and make sure they are coherent and comprehensive," said Rep. Henry Hyde as he entered the Capitol. "So, just the usual preparation for a trial."

Hyde, who will open the House presentation, said the House prosecutors will adapt to whatever ground rules the Senate gives them.

Asked if he was satisfied with Senate procedures for the trial, Hyde said, "This is not the time to get angry at the Senate. At the same time, this is a strange process, one that we're not familiar with. In terms of making a case, the question of the production of witnesses, it has been rendered difficult."

Hyde said he was satisfied they will have enough time and flexibility to make their case. "And then when we reach the point of asking for witnesses, we think the senators will be in a more generous mood having heard our case ..." Hyde said.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wisconsin), said he will follow Hyde with an opening statement that "will be action-packed" and take less than an hour. Other of the House prosecutors will speak to the Senate on legal issues and the evidence.

Both the White House and the House prosecutors had until 5 p.m. ET Monday to submit pre-trial motions. The White House submitted none, but it was not immediately known whether the House team submitted any. The House team did offer the trial memorandum.

In the trial memo, the House team said the evidence in the record "when viewed as a unified whole, overwhelmingly supports both charges" -- perjury and obstruction of justice.

The House team asserted that in his grand jury testimony, Clinton falsely claimed that his actions with Lewinsky did not fall within the definition of "sexual relations" that was given at his deposition.

"The President and Ms. Lewinsky concocted a cover story to conceal their relationship, and the President suggested that she employ that story if subpoenaed in the Jones case," the House team's trial memo also says.

The White House decided to wait until after the opening presentations to ask that the case against the president be dismissed.

Two administration sources familiar with the White House legal strategy told CNN the president's legal team decided against filing any motions, in the words of one, "out of respect for the process ... We're not going to try to short-circuit the way the Senate has designed this process."

White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said the White House respects "the prerogative of the Senate to set the rules, and we will wait until the time that they have designated to deal with any motions we might file."

Each side has 24 hours for their opening arguments, though both sides have said they may not take the full amount of time given them.

Only after both sides have made opening statements and senators have had an opportunity to submit written questions to Chief Justice William Rehnquist will the Senate move on to the issues of whether to dismiss the charges or go forward, allowing witnesses to be called.

Hyde and the House prosecutors have said they want to call a list of witnesses that include Lewinsky as well as the Clinton's personal secretary, Betty Currie, and his close friend, Vernon Jordan.

The White House opposes calling witnesses and has offered to "stipulate" to the record presented to the House by Independent Counsel Ken Starr.

Senators offered differing opinions on what effect calling witnesses would have.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) reflected Democratic comments when he said, "If you like the government shutdown, then you'll like this impeachment trial, because it will go on for a long time."

But Sen. Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico) said, "I'm convinced this case is not going to be a long case even if there are witnesses, if you're talking about months ... even with witnesses, this case can be over in early February."

Clinton has admitted an intimate relationship with Lewinsky, a former White House intern, but denied he committed perjury or obstruction of justice trying to hide their affair.

Democrats are pushing for a short trial and censure, saying Clinton's conduct, while reprehensible, does not rise to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor. In contrast, many Republicans want to hear from witnesses during the Senate trial and say Clinton's conduct made a mockery of the rule of law.

Last week, the Senate agreed on a road map for proceeding, but its much-touted bipartisan compromise merely put off a decision on the key point of disagreement: whether to call witnesses.

Monday January 11, 1999

• White House, prosecutors offer dueling pre-trial memos
• Two Democratic senators push to open closed-door impeachment proceedings
• Document: Clinton answers Senate summons
• Document: Trial memorandum submitted by the House managers
• Clinton plans to give State of the Union speech as scheduled
• White House looking at surplus to build retirement savings accounts
• Poll: Strong majority do not want Clinton removed from office
• A descendant's view of impeachment history
• RNC member asks party to cut ties to gambling industry
• Judge to investigate Babbitt
• Old political foes feud in South Dakota
• Monica Monica mulls House run
• IRS opens web site for problems
• Reno becomes second longest-serving attorney general
• Supreme Court allows anti-abortion posters
• Justices OK New York crackdown on strip shops
• Administration readies open-spaces preservation plan
• High court to review law limiting benefits to new residents

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