By: Mary Mostert, Analyst, Original Sources
Yesterday Senator Frank Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, introduced a bill that would require President Clinton to reimburse the taxpayers for the money spent - $4.4 million - for the Starr investigation of Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. While it was not mentioned, the precedence for such a "punishment" took place when the House of Representatives voted in January 1997 on a penalty of $300,000 for Newt Gingrich, to repay the cost of the Ethics Committee's investigation into his "To Renew America" college course.
While no violation of either Rules of the House of Representatives, or law, was found as a result of the investigation, Gingrich was "reprimanded" for failing to choose the right attorney to advise him on teaching the course. He failed to read a 90 page document prepared by his attorney which had errors in it. Although the Ethics Committee already had the correct information, because the new filing by his attorney got certain matters wrong, Newt Gingrich has since been accused of "lying to the Ethics Committee."
When the issue involved Newt Gingrich, a paperwork error by his attorney was considered to be such a serious matter that the penalty for Newt was $300,000 (to repay the Committee for its costs in studying the erroneous material) and an attempt to remove him from the Speaker's chair.
Trial balloons of the past couple of days about "censuring" the President, rather than impeaching him, while touting a poll which is being interpreted to mean the public is opposed to impeachment, fizzled out on Tuesday, as the Republican leadership shot holes in the balloons.
Representative Tom Delay said on the Floor of the House yesterday, "Censure establishes the rule of man at the expense of the rule of law. We must NEVER allow America to go down that road. It's the road to ruin. Anyone who doubts that the rule of man gives rise to chaos only needs to look at Russia. There's a country with no rule of law. And I pledge to you members, as Majority Whip in the House, to fight in no uncertain terms the scheduling of any vote on censure. And I will fight to ensure that censure never sees the light of day."
On top of that set-back for the White House, Senate Democrats in what was described as a "heated" closed door meeting urged the President to "Stop the lying!" Someone in the group commented, "But, if he stops the lying, he will go to jail!"
This is in response to his lawyer's continued absurd defense that the carefully described oral sex Clinton had with Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office, wasn't sex because he claims she "serviced" him - he didn't have sex with her!
Incredibly, yesterday also included Patty Ireland, of the National Organization of Women, on Talkback Live announcing her continued support of the Presidential Pervert because she "Likes his policies."
Sen. Joseph Biden, Democrat of Delaware, was reported to have told his fellow Democrats that they would all be better off if Clinton would resign. Biden later reneged on his statement. Clinton has no intention of resigning.
And, still, there are Clinton supporters who claim that since in their fuzzy view this is "only about sex" and surely NO ONE would blame a man for lying about sex, there should be no impeachment. Geraldo Rivera asked, "Why not say, in a press conference to the world, one that lasts 12 hours if necessary, 'The one thing I am not going to do is admit to the technical crime of perjury. Yes, I lied to the American people. Yes, I mislead you. But let me just put aside that one narrow, legal question, and tell you I am sorry. I did it.' -without confessing and giving Ken Starr, a man who loathes him, the opportunity of putting the president's head on the guillotine."
The problem with Rivera's plan, of course, it that it would be based on lies. The President's problems arise from swearing, under oath, that he was never alone with Monica Lewinsky and that, besides, he didn't have sex with her - she had sex with him. His lies effectively thwarted Paula Jones' sexual harassment case.
All the various suggestions, such as Rivera's suggestion of more lies don't deal with the issue of perjury, obstruction of justice, etc. A lie, according to my dictionary, is a "false statement known to be false by the person who makes it." Clinton knew his statements were false. He made those statements to avoid being accountable.
Perjury, on the other hand is defined as, "the act of swearing that something is true which one knows to be false." When Bill Clinton swore in his affidavit that he "didn't remember" ever being alone with Monica Lewinsky - obviously that was perjury. He well knew he had been alone with Monica Lewinsky - not once, but a number of times.
On the other hand, did Newt Gingrich know, when he signed without reading the 90 page document his lawyer had written, that the lawyer had made an error? No, he did not. Yet, he is paying almost one third of a million dollars to repay the Ethics Committee for the cost of the investigation that uncovered the lawyer's error. Newt Gingrich instantly told the Committee that the document was wrong, when asked and agreed to a penalty because he "should have read it before signing."
These same people who condemned Gingrich now want Bill Clinton to get by with no punishment for deliberately lying, not once but, according to the Starr report, a number of times:
III. There is substantial and credible information that President Clinton lied under oath during his civil deposition when he stated that he could not recall being alone with Monica Lewinsky and when he minimized the number of gifts they had exchanged.
A. There is substantial and credible information that President Clinton lied under oath when he testified that he could not specifically recall instances in which he was alone with Monica Lewinsky.
1. The President's Civil Deposition Testimony
2. Evidence That Contradicts the President's Testimony
br>3. The President's Grand Jury Testimony
br>4. Summary
br>B. There is substantial and credible information that the President lied under oath in his civil deposition about gifts he exchanged with Monica Lewinsky.
br>1. The President's Civil Deposition Testimony About His Gifts to Monica Lewinsky
br>2. Evidence that Contradicts the President's Civil Deposition Testimony
br>3. President's Civil Deposition Testimony About Gifts from Monica Lewinsky to the President
br>4. Evidence that Contradicts the President's Testimony
br>(i) Monica Lewinsky's Testimony
br>5. Grand Jury Testimony of the President and Ms. Currie
br>6. Summary
V. There is substantial and credible information that the President lied under oath during his civil deposition concerning conversations he had with Monica Lewinsky about her involvement in the Jones case. br>A. Conversations with Ms. Lewinsky Regarding the Possibility of Her Testifying in the Jones Case br>1. President Clinton's Testimony in His Deposition br>2. Evidence that Contradicts the President's Civil Deposition Testimony br>(i) Ms. Lewinsky's Testimony br>ii) The President's Grand Jury Testimony br>3. Summary br>B. There is substantial and credible information that President Clinton lied under oath in his civil deposition when he denied knowing that Ms. Lewinsky had received her subpoena at the time he had last talked to her. br>1. Evidence br>2. Summary
Rivera called Senator Murkowski's bill requiring Clinton to repay the American people for the cost of his stonewalling for seven months, and the refusal to settle for censure "not letting the president cop a plea."
Yet, to this day, Rivera and other CNN talking heads especially use the situation with Newt Gingrich and the paperwork as "proof" that "all politicians lie." While at the time the $300,000 penalty for Gingrich was hailed as "not enough" punishment for his crime, Rivera is now trying to broker a no-penalty solution to Clinton's bald-faced, self-serving lies.
That statement is the ultimate lie. All politicians don't lie. Especially, they don't lie repeatedly under oath to a Grand Jury. There are many honorable men and women in all our political parties who have not spent their entire public lives deceiving the people and taking credit for things they did not do. All politicians are not living totally self-centered, meaningless lives of sexual exploitation and thrill.
And, all voters are not stupid, contrary to what Bill Clinton and friends clearly believe. We know what sex is. Hair-splitting definitions about what is or isn't sex has merely convinced a growing number of Americans that, whatever our opinion of policy, any 50 year old man who would stand there and tell us that oral sex isn't sex is too stupid to occupy the White House.
A President who would use his high office to convince not only the people of America, but the people of the world, that America's people are so depraved that we all lie, we all participate in kinky sex with strangers and we all believe a leader who does those things is an accurate expression of the quality of the American character is surely committing a crime worthy of impeachment. Let's get on with it.
To comment: mmostert@originalsources.com