John Conyers

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner), who replaces the departing Charles Schumer, and we are delighted to have him make his first presentation on the floor. (Mr. WEINER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Mel Watt).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Rothman).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute and 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), an outstanding member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 4\1/2\ minutes. Mr. Speaker, the record of the House on something as important as impeachment should be as clear and accurate as it can be, and after yesterday's considerable misstatements by Members of the majority, I rise to set the record straight. Mr. Speaker, they say these articles show high crimes. The record of historians who wrote the committee say they are low crimes and do not justify the drastic remedy of impeachment. As to Article I, impeachment is not justified. They say the President committed perjury in the grand jury, but the actual record is that he did not deny an inappropriate relationship with Miss Lewinsky during his grand jury appearance. They are complaining only because of a lack of specificity, if my colleagues can believe that, in the President's testimony about who touched who and where and when it happened. They claim that there is a clear and convincing evidence of grand jury perjury, but ignored is the panel of experienced prosecutors who testified that no reasonable prosecutor in the land would have brought a perjury case arising out of these facts. As to Article II, the impeachment is not justified. They say the President's testimony deprived the plaintiff, Paula Jones, of her day in court. Not so. The record shows that a Federal judge ruled three times that Monica Lewinsky's allegations were not relevant to the core issues of the Jones case and refused to permit the Jones lawyers to pursue the allegations. They say the President lied when testifying about his understanding of the definition of sexual relations. The record shows that three lawyers and a judge spent a half an hour debating the meaning of that contorted phrase, with the judge concluding, ``I am not sure Mr. Clinton understands all these definitions anyway.'' They say the President perjured himself when he testified to the truthfulness of the Lewinsky affidavit. The record shows that Ms. Lewinsky stated that her denial of sex was not untruthful because she defined sex as intercourse. As to the third article of impeachment, it is not justified either. They say the President obstructed justice by, one, asking Ms. Lewinsky to lie in the Jones case; two, engineering the return of gifts he had given her; three, trying to buy her silence with a job; and, four, directing Ms. Currie's testimony. The record is that Ms. Lewinsky stated over and over again that the President never asked her to lie. She said this in the grand jury and in her written statement. The record shows that Ms. Lewinsky and not the President or Ms. Currie initiated the return of the gifts. The record shows that the President gave her more gifts after she had been subpoenaed. The record is that the job search began months before Ms. Lewinsky showed up on the witness list in the Jones matter. The record shows that the President made no extraordinary effort to get her a job. The record shows that Ms. Currie was never a witness on any list. Ms. Currie testified no fewer than 9 times and stated repeatedly that she did not feel pressured by the President's remarks. Finally, to article 4, the President, they say, abused his power by failing to answer the 81 questions. But the record shows the President answered the 81 questions completely, but that the alleged abuse of power lies in the fact that the majority disagrees with the answers. The majority has simply tried to dress up its perjury allegations in the clothes of the Watergate's abuse of power language, and I know something about that, in an effort to make its case against the President seem more serious. They say the President has to be impeached to uphold the rule of law, but we say the President cannot be impeached without denigrating the rule of law and devaluating the standard of impeachable offenses. Mr. Speaker, during the course of our proceedings, President Clinton's attorneys rebutted each and every charge of impeachment leveled against him. If there is any doubt as to that the Members should review the following materials (which are hereby incorporated by reference): 1. Preliminary Memorandum of the President of the United States Concerning Referral of the Office of the Independent Counsel and Initial Response of the President of the United States to Referral of the Office of the Independent Counsel, Communication from the Committee on the Judiciary, 105th Congress, 2d Session, House Document 105-317 (57 printed pages). 2. Submission by Counsel for President Clinton to the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States House of Representatives, Impeachment Inquiry Pursuant to H. Res. 581, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, 105th Congress, 2d Session, Committee Print Serial No. 16 (404 printed pages). Memorandum Regarding Standards for Impeachment dated October 2, 1998, transmitted with cover letter addressed to Chairman Hyde and Rep. Conyers dated 10/2/98 signed by Charles F. C. Ruff, Counsel to the President, and David E. Kendall of Williams & Connolly (31 typed pages, published House Judiciary Democratic Web Page). 4. The testimony of the witnesses called by the White House including in particular the fourth panel called by the White House on December 9th dealing with prosecutorial standards (Thomas P. Sullivan, Richard Davis, Edward Dennis, Jr., and William F. Weld). (Printing forthcoming).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood). (Mr. UNDERWOOD asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, continuing the business under the incredible turn of events that has occurred, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jose Serrano). (Mr. SERRANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, would it be in order to have a call of the House at this point? I call for a quorum call.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow). (Ms. STABENOW asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, it is with profound sentiment that I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Chris Shays).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah). (Mr. FATTAH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui). (Mr. MATSUI asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson). (Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) a former member of his State's Supreme Court.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards).

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), the minority deputy whip.

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt), a member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. CONYERS

Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am opposed to the motion. I do not think there needs to be a lot of discussion about this. We choose not to be a part of the managers in the Senate, and I am going to vote against the motion. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.