Hyde says Lewinsky, Jordan depositions strengthen House case

Managers to seek live testimony

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, February 2) -- Lead prosecutor Henry Hyde said Tuesday that two days of closed depositions have strengthened the case against President Clinton and have led House managers to push for live testimony in his impeachment trial.

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Reaction to Lewinsky deposition mixed
Jordan questioned on inconsistencies

Senators voiced mixed reactions Tuesday after seeing the videotaped deposition of Monica Lewinsky. However, the House managers' bid for live testimony did get a boost from key Senate Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah, who said Lewinsky would make an excellent witness on the floor of the Senate.

"It is our intention to request live witnesses," Hyde (R- Illinois) told reporters on Capitol Hill. "We think that's the highest and best evidence, and that will be our firm request."

Hyde said the testimony of Lewinsky and of Clinton confidant Vernon Jordan had "strengthened some points" of the prosecution case.


Rep. Henry Hyde

He made his comments shortly after Jordan, who helped Lewinsky search for a job outside Washington, testified for three hours behind closed doors.

Lewinsky, the 25-year-old former White House intern whose affair with Clinton is central to the perjury and obstruction of justice case brought against him by the House, was deposed on Monday.

Reaction to Lewinsky deposition mixed

After viewing the videotape, Hatch said Lewinsky came across as "young, vulnerable and credible."

"She would make an excellent live witness," he said. "There's no question about it. And I think the American people should be given that opportunity."

Some other Republicans were less enthusiastic.

"Based on what my staff told me, there is nothing new. If there in fact is nothing new, I would not expect her to be called," Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) told The Associated Press.

Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, a member of the Republican leadership, responded, "Probably not," when asked whether it would be useful to call Lewinsky for live testimony based on the videotape.

The third and final prosecution witness, White House aide Sidney Blumenthal, will be deposed Wednesday by Rep. James Rogan (R-California).


Monica Lewinsky goes from The Mayflower Hotel to her lawyers' office across the street

Asked if there had been a "bombshell" during the depositions so far, Hyde said, "What do you mean by a bombshell? ... We never felt that we needed any bombshells to have a compelling case.

"What we need is to validate the record that already exists under oath about obstruction and about perjury, and that is being accomplished," he said.

Clinton's trial resumes Thursday, and the Senate is expected to consider motions on whether to call live witnesses or admit the videotaped depositions.

Senators on both sides of the aisle hope to end the trial by the end of next week. They could vote at that time on whether to convict Clinton and remove him from office

Jordan questioned on inconsistencies

In Tuesday's deposition, Rep. Asa Hutchison (R-Arkansas) quizzed Jordan about inconsistencies between his earlier testimony and testimony from Lewinsky.

"The deposition was conducted with professionalism from all sides, and I am satisfied that we covered the areas that we needed to cover today," Hutchison said.

Sources say Jordan couldn't remember a December 31, 1997, breakfast meeting with Lewinsky at which, she testified, he suggested she destroy drafts of notes she planned to send the president.

Hutchison produced a restaurant receipt from that breakfast, the sources said, but Jordan emphatically stuck to his denial he ever advised Lewinsky to destroy anything.

Lewinsky has stuck by her testimony that Jordan told her to "go home and make sure they're not there." At the time, the notes were under subpoena.

The sources also say Jordan denied he was trying to buy Lewinsky's silence about her relationship with the president when he tried to find her a job in New York at Clinton's request. Jordan described his job hunting effort as "uncommon" but said he did it as a favor for his friend.

The deposition also was attended by Clinton attorneys Nicole Seligman, Cheryl Mills and David Kendall, the same group on hand for the Lewinsky deposition.

After Hutchison finished his questioning, sources tell CNN that Clinton's lawyers asked Jordan, "Do you have anything to add?" They said Jordan then told a Horatio Alger-style story of how he grew up in poverty, but was helped along the way, to explain why he now takes an interest in helping others.

Jordan's deposition began at 9:10 a.m. EST and ended around 2:30 p.m. An electrical power outage halted the proceeding for 20 minutes.

While Jordan was testifying in a super-secure room in the U.S. Capitol, senators were able to view the videotaped deposition Lewinsky gave Monday in four different secured locations elsewhere in the building.

Sources have said Lewinsky, who was questioned for four hours at a Washington hotel, broke no new ground in her testimony.

On Tuesday, Lewinsky walked across the street from her hotel to go over a transcript of her deposition with her attorneys. She hopes to leave Washington soon, sources said, but Jake Stein, one of her attorneys, said he believed it would take a vote of the Senate to excuse her as a witness.