(16 Jan 1999) English/Nat
On Friday, the challenge was made to the United States Senate to call Monica Lewinsky and others to testify in the impeachment case of William Jefferson Clinton.
The White House charged back that the reason Republicans want to call witnesses is because there is no impeachment case against the President.
The President himself seems confident that he will not be impeached - giving a speech late on Friday night looking forward to the next two years of his presidency.
The question of possible witnesses loomed over the second day of arguments in the Senate chamber as the House Republicans made Clinton's credibility a key issue.
But much of the day's thunder was stolen late in the afternoon when Senator Tom Harkin from Iowa rose to object to House prosecutor Bob Barr from Georgia.
The reason for the objection stems from the continued use of the word "juror" and what the US Constitution calls "triers."
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"We urge you, the distinguished jurors in this case, not to be fooled. Use....."
SUPER CAPTION: Rep. Bob Barr, Republican - Georgia
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Mister Chief Justice, I object to the use and continued use of the word juror when referring to the senate sitting as triers in a trial on the impeachment of the President of the United States"
SUPER CAPTION: Voice of Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat - Iowa
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The chair is of the view that the senator from Iowa's objection is well taken - that the senate is not simply a jury; it is a court in this case and therefore Counsel should refrain from referring to senators as jurors."
SUPER CAPTION: William Rehnquist, Chief Justice-US Supreme Court
Some Senators, who had been sitting silently for hours seemed startled by the objection, and several reached for their legal pads to take notes.
It was the first ruling to be made by the Chief Justice.
Outside the chamber, Senator Harkin made it clear that the Senators must also concern themselves with the mood of the country in whether the articles mean they should vote to remove the president.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The framers of the constitution, when they put the trial of impeachments in the senate, meant for us to take into account the public. For example, it was Mason who said that impeachment should only be used for a crime that was 'a dagger in the heart of the republic' and so are charged with not just the facts in law but also what is in the public good."
SUPER CAPTION: Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat - Iowa
Across the hall, House prosecutor Bill McCollum from Florida, continued to hammer away at the issue of whether the Senate should call witnesses.
McCollum continued to argue that the issue is not sex but perjury and it is necessary to compare witnesses testimony to determine if the president had lied to the Ken Starr grand jury.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Well, I think that if the senate decides - and I think they should decide - to call Monica Lewinsky and Betty Currie and Vernon Jordan and some of the others, then I think the President should be called as a witness to it. Not, I do not think in isolation because I do not think he should be called down here to give a speech."
SUPER CAPTION: Rep. Bill McCollum, Republican - Florida
The effort by House prosecutors to call witnesses was quickly countered by White House counsel.
Gregory Craig fired back at the Republicans questioning whether they had a case.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
SUPER CAPTION: Gregory Craig, White House Counsel
Some at the White House called the Republican efforts to call witnesses an obsession.
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