WASHINGTON - The House Judiciary released the first draft of the following text today as a working model of the resolution to impeach William Jefferson Clinton for high crimes.
Impeachment Resolution
Resolved that William Jefferson Clinton,
President of the United States, is impeached
for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that
the following articles of impeachment be
exhibited to the United States Senate:
Articles of impeachment exhibited by the
House of Representatives of the United
States of America in the name of itself and of
the people of the United States of America,
against William Jefferson Clinton, President
of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment
against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.
ARTICLE I
In his conduct while President of the
United States, William Jefferson Clinton, in
violation of his constitutional oath faithfully
to execute the office of President of the
United States and, to the best of his ability,
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of
his constitutional duty to take care that the
laws be faithfully executed, has willfully
corrupted and manipulated the judicial process of the United States for his personal
gain and exoneration, impeding the administration of justice, in that:
On Aug. 17, 1998, William Jefferson Clinton swore to tell the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth before a Federal
grand jury of the United States. Contrary to
that oath, William Jefferson Clinton willfully provided perjurious, false and misleading
testimony to the grand jury concerning: (1)
the nature and details of his relationship
with a subordinate Government employee;
(2) prior perjurious, false and misleading
testimony he gave in a Federal civil rights
action brought against him; (3) prior false
and misleading statements he allowed his
attorney to make to a Federal judge in that
civil rights action; and (4) his corrupt efforts to influence the testimony of witnesses
and to impede the discovery of evidence in
that civil rights action.
In doing this, William Jefferson Clinton
has undermined the integrity of his office,
has brought disrepute on the Presidency,
has betrayed his trust as President, and has
acted in a manner subversive of the rule of
law and justice, to the manifest injury of the
people of the United States.
Wherefore, William Jefferson Clinton, by
such conduct, warrants impeachment and
trial and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor,
trust or profit under the United States.
ARTICLE II
In his conduct while President of the
United States, William Jefferson Clinton, in
violation of his constitutional oath faithfully
to execute the office of President of the
United States and, to the best of his ability,
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of
his constitutional duty to take care that the
laws be faithfully executed, has willfully
corrupted and manipulated the judicial process of the United States for his personal
gain and exoneration, impeding the administration of justice, in that:
(1) On Dec. 23, 1997, William Jefferson
Clinton, in sworn answers to written questions asked as part of a Federal civil rights
action brought against him, willfully provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony in response to questions deemed relevant by a Federal judge concerning conduct
and proposed conduct with subordinate employees.
(2) On Jan. 17, 1998, William Jefferson
Clinton swore under oath to tell the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth in
a deposition given as part of a Federal civil
rights action brought against him. Contrary
to that oath, William Jefferson Clinton willfully provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony in response to questions
deemed relevant by a Federal judge concerning the nature and details of his relationship with a subordinate government employee and his corrupt efforts to influence
the testimony of that employee.
In all of this, William Jefferson Clinton
has undermined the integrity of his office,
has brought disrepute on the Presidency,
has betrayed his trust as President, and has
acted in a manner subversive of the rule of
law and justice, to the manifest injury of the
people of the United States.
Wherefore, William Jefferson Clinton, by
such conduct, warrants impeachment and
trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of
honor, trust or profit under the United
States.
ARTICLE III
In his conduct while President of the
United States, William Jefferson Clinton, in
violation of his constitutional oath faithfully
to execute the office of President of the
United States and, to the best of his ability,
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of
his constitutional duty to take care that the
laws be faithfully executed, has prevented,
obstructed and impeded the administration
of justice, and has to that end engaged
personally and through his subordinates
and agents, in a course of conduct or scheme
designed to delay, impede, cover up and
conceal the existence of evidence and testimony related to a Federal civil rights action
brought against him in a duly instituted
judicial proceeding.
The means used to implement this course
of conduct or scheme included one or more
of the following acts:
(1) On or about Dec. 17, 1997, William
Jefferson Clinton corruptly encouraged a
witness in a Federal civil rights action
brought against him to execute a sworn
affidavit in that proceeding that he knew to
be perjurious, false and misleading.
(2) On or about Dec. 17, 1997, William
Jefferson Clinton corruptly encouraged a
witness in a Federal civil rights action
brought against him to give perjurious,
false and misleading testimony if and when
called to testify personally in that proceeding.
(3) On or about Dec. 28, 1997, William
Jefferson Clinton corruptly engaged in, encouraged or supported a scheme to conceal
evidence that had been subpoenaed in a
Federal civil rights action brought against
him.
(4) Beginning on or about Dec. 7, 1997, and
continuing through and including Jan. 14,
1998, William Jefferson Clinton intensified
and succeeded in an effort to secure job
assistance to a witness in a Federal civil
rights action brought against him in order to
corruptly prevent the truthful testimony of
that witness in that proceeding at a time
when the truthful testimony of that witness
would have been harmful to him.
(5) On Jan. 17, 1998, at his deposition in a
Federal civil rights action brought against
him, William Jefferson Clinton corruptly
allowed his attorney to make false and
misleading statements to a Federal judge
characterizing an affidavit, in order to prevent questioning deemed relevant by the
judge. Such false and misleading statements were subsequently acknowledged by
his attorney in a communication to that
judge.
(6) On or about Jan. 18 and Jan. 20-21,
1998, William Jefferson Clinton related a
false and misleading account of events relevant to a Federal civil rights action brought
against him to a potential witness in that
proceeding, in order to corruptly influence
the testimony of that witness.
(7) On or about Jan. 21, 23 and 26, 1998,
William Jefferson Clinton made false and
misleading statements to potential witnesses in a Federal grand jury proceeding in
order to corruptly influence the testimony of
those witnesses. The false and misleading
statements made by William Jefferson Clinton were repeated by the witnesses to the
grand jury, causing the grand jury to receive false and misleading information.
In all of this, William Jefferson Clinton
has undermined the integrity of his office,
has brought disrepute on the Presidency,
has betrayed his trust as President, and has
acted in a manner subversive of the rule of
law and justice, to the manifest injury of the
people of the United States.
Wherefore, William Jefferson Clinton, by
such conduct, warrants impeachment and
trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of
honor, trust or profit under the United
States.
ARTICLE IV
Using the powers and influence of the
office of President of the United States,
William Jefferson Clinton, in violation of his
constitutional oath faithfully to execute the
office of President of the United States and,
to the best of his ability, preserve, protect
and defend the Constitution of the United
States, and in disregard of his constitutional
duty to take care that the laws be faithfully
executed, has repeatedly engaged in conduct that resulted in misuse and abuse of his
high office, impaired the due and proper
administration of justice and the conduct of
lawful inquiries, and contravened the laws
governing the integrity of the judicial and
legislative branches and the truth-seeking
purpose of coordinate investigative proceedings.
This misuse and abuse of office has included one or more of the following:
(1) As President, using the attributes of
office, William Jefferson Clinton willfully
made false and misleading public statements for the purpose of deceiving the people of the United States in order to continue
concealing his misconduct and to escape
accountability for such misconduct.
(2) As President, using the attributes of
office, William Jefferson Clinton willfully
made false and misleading statements to
members of his Cabinet, and White House
aides, so that these Federal employees
would repeat such false and misleading
statements publicly, thereby utilizing public
resources for the purpose of deceiving the
people of the United States, in order to
continue concealing his misconduct and to
escape accountability for such misconduct.
The false and misleading statements made
by William Jefferson Clinton to members of
his Cabinet and White House aides were
repeated by those members and aides, causing the people of the United States to receive
false and misleading information from high
Government officials.
(3) As President, using the office of White
House counsel, William Jefferson Clinton
frivolously and corruptly asserted executive privilege, which is intended to protect
from disclosure communications regarding
the constitutional functions of the executive,
and which may be exercised only by the
President, with respect to communications
other than those regarding the constitutional functions of the executive, for the purpose
of delaying and obstructing a Federal criminal investigation and the proceedings of a
Federal grand jury.
(4) As President, William Jefferson Clinton refused and failed to respond to certain
written requests for admission and willfully
made perjurious, false and misleading
sworn statements in response to certain
written requests for admission propounded
to him as part of the impeachment inquiry
authorized by the House of Representatives
of the Congress of the United States. William Jefferson Clinton, in refusing and failing to respond and in making perjurious,
false and misleading statements, assumed
to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the sole power of
impeachment vested by the Constitution in
the House of Representatives and exhibited
contempt for the inquiry.
In all of this, William Jefferson Clinton
has undermined the integrity of his office,
has brought disrepute on the Presidency,
has betrayed his trust as President, and has
acted in a manner subversive of the rule of
law and justice, to the manifest injury of the
people of the United States.
Wherefore, William Jefferson Clinton, by
such conduct, warrants impeachment and
trial and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor,
trust or profit under the United States.
