September 20, 1998

Clinton Can Avoid Jeopardy By Resignation And Pardon

Neither the White House nor Congress is in a mood for poetry these days, but the rest of us can ponder cogent lines written in 1805 by Sir Walter Scott:

I cannot tell how the truth may be;
I say the tale as ‘twas said to me.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive!

Truth -- in the case of President Clinton’s explanation of sexcapades in the Oval Office -- seems obvious to a huge majority of Americans. He lied about it, under oath, twice.

Assertions, as “legally accurate,” that he never had sex with “that woman” is an insult to everyone’s intelligence. No matter how thin you slice baloney, it’s still baloney.

Now Clinton is ensnared in his web’s death parlor. Having committed perjury, he is liable for a felony indictment instantly if he admits it. Yet, if he holds to legalisms, he certainly will be impeached.

The president and his supporters are trying mightily to build sentiment for “censure” -- naughty boy, don’t do that again. This is being hooted into the silly bin. It can’t be taken seriously because there is no constitutional basis for it.

The House Judiciary Committee has just two options -- dismiss all of the independent counsel’s charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and abuse of power; or hand up articles of impeachment to the full House.

The House has two options by simple majority vote -- reject the Judiciary Committee recommendation, or send a bill of particulars to the Senate for trial.

The Senate has two options by two-thirds majority vote -- find Clinton not guilty and leave him in the White House, or remove him from office. There is no provision in the process for punishment other than removal from office.

At each step of the process, the entity in charge can -- and probably will -- hold hearings to gauge existing charges or add new ones. In the meantime, Special Counsel Kenneth Starr is continuing to investigate possibly more serious charges. His grand jury is still hearing evidence about Whitewater, travelgate, filegate and various abuses of power.

White House lawyers insist the president’s perjuries are about sex and therefore not impeachable. One wonders how they passed their bar exams. Perjury is perjury is perjury. Nevertheless, it is useful to examine a New York Times op-ed piece recalling how Bill Clinton defined an impeachable offense in 1974. This was during the Nixon hearings, which a young lawyer named Hillary Rodham helped prosecute. Clinton was an associate professor at the Arkansas School of Law. Ironically, he expressed his views to John Whitehead, then a law student, now president of the Rutherford Institute and co-counsel in the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit.

“I think the definition should include any criminal acts plus a willful failure of the president to fulfill his duty to uphold and execute the laws of the United States,” declared Clinton. “Another would be willful, reckless behavior in office, just totally incompetent conduct of the office and the disregard of the necessities that the office demands.”

Congress might start with that.

Clinton avers that he will “never” resign. As a lawyer, he surely realizes he is in legal jeopardy as just another civilian. Experience undoubtedly persuades him that he has a better chance of surviving by shmoozing the Senate.

This is whistling past the graveyard. Two video tapes of him lying under oaths -- in living color and sound -- sets him up for removal from office regardless of what else surfaces.

The so-called right-wing conspiracy is said to be working for the president’s impeachment and disgrace. In contrast, the left-wing conspiracy mounts a full-court press for censure and “forgiveness.”

Just as censure is a thin reed, pleas for forgiveness are revisionist scripture. Only God can forgive sin if there is genuine repentance. Mortals can only pardon each other -- if so inclined. Clinton already has received his share of pardons, and then some.

The best option -- for moderates and Clinton -- is resignation, a la Richard Nixon.

Consider.

Under the Former President’s Act, Clinton upon resignation would receive a cushy government pension, Secret Service protection, and expenses for an office where he could write his memoirs. If he is forced from office by Senate conviction, he would leave with only a suitcase of clothes.

Clinton’s resignation also would spare Congress and the nation another gut-wrenching constitutional crisis. It certainly would avoid a Democratic Party disaster stemming from presidential defiance.

The specter of a Clinton criminal trial would be eliminated by a President Al Gore pardon -- just as Gerald Ford accommodated Nixon. Thereafter, Clinton’s rhetorical speaking skill ought to rehabilitate him without difficulty. Nixon escaped from his tangled web of deceit, albeit in diminished stature. So can Clinton -- and should.

By Lindsey Williams, columnist for Sun Coast Media Group newspapers