Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I understand that H.R. 99 has been received from the House, and I ask it be read for the first time.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask for a second reading, and I object to my own request.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a Senate concurrent resolution which is at the desk, and I ask that the resolution be read in its entirety.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to and that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I do want to notify Senators that we have been notified that Scott Bates' wife, Ricki, is undergoing orthopedic surgery. That, to our knowledge, has not been completed, but our prayers are with her. We wish her a speedy recovery.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment until 1 p.m. on Monday, February 8.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I will ask consent that the transcripts of the depositions be printed in the Record of today's date.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I believe that completes all the motions. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 6, and at 10 a.m. on Saturday, immediately following the prayer, the Senate will resume consideration of the articles of impeachment. I further ask consent that on Saturday there be 6 hours equally divided between the House managers and White House counsel for presentations. I further ask that following those presentations on Saturday, the Senate then adjourn until 1 p.m. on Monday, February 8. I finally ask consent that on Monday, immediately following the prayer, the Senate resume consideration of the articles of impeachment, and there then be 6 hours equally divided between the managers and White House counsel for final arguments.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I believe that it is in order for White House counsel to offer a motion at this point. If they wish to do so, then I believe they could, then we would vote on that motion.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I ask unanimous consent that we take a 15-minute recess. I think we can address that question during this recess.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I believe that was the last of the motions that had been offered. I am ready to go to the closing script unless there is some other motion pending or to be offered.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. LOTT. We had expected this would take a little bit longer. (Laughter.) Mr. Chief Justice, I believe it would be of interest to the Senators that we give just a brief explanation of the motions. I believe Senator Daschle may have an additional motion that he would like to offer. So that we can make sure he has had the time to prepare that, and how we would go into the voting procedure, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, then all time has been yielded back on both sides?

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, very briefly, I believe that Senator Daschle, or one of his Senators, will have a peremptory motion that they will offer, and it will be read by the clerk; then there will be a vote on that. And then there will be a vote on the 3 divisions that have been identified--the 3 votes on the one motion--and then I believe Senator Daschle will also have a motion that will go straight to debate and closing arguments and the vote on the articles of impeachment. Is that a correct recitation? I yield to Senator Daschle.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I believe that there is time remaining for arguments by the White House counsel, and then at their conclusion, by the House managers. After that, I will make an attempt to explain to the Senate exactly what is in the motions, because there seems to be some degree of question about that. Then we will be prepared to have a series of votes at that time. I still believe we should be able to start that around 4 o'clock. I yield the floor.

Mr. LOTT. We would vote on the first paragraph, the second paragraph, and then there would be a motion at that point by Senator Murray and a vote on that, and a vote then on the third division, and then a vote on the articles of impeachment itself. Vote on Division I

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I ask unanimous consent that those parts of the transcripts of the depositions admitted into evidence be printed in the Congressional Record of today's date. I further ask consent that the deposition transcripts of Monica Lewinsky, Vernon Jordan, and Sidney Blumenthal, and the videotapes thereof, be immediately released to the managers on the part of the House and the counsel to the President for the purpose of preparing their presentations, provided, however, that such copies shall remain at all times under the supervision of the Sergeant at Arms to ensure compliance with the confidentiality provisions of S. Res. 30.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, as best I can respond to that, I just say that hopefully both sides have had more than adequate time allocated on Saturday. One of the reasons we are doing it this way-- Saturday instead of tomorrow--is so both sides will have an opportunity to review everything and hopefully communicate with each other. We will do that Friday during the day so that an orderly presentation can be made by both sides on Saturday. I believe we are seeing a problem here where there may not be one. But if one develops certainly we would take it into consideration. Mr. Chief Justice, I renew my request.

Mr. LOTT. Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice. Order of Procedure

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, if I could take just a moment to outline how the proceedings will go this afternoon, I think that would answer any questions that Senators may have. We will, of course, continue with the consideration of articles of impeachment. I am not aware of any objections made during the depositions which require motions to resolve. Therefore, I believe the House managers are prepared to go forward with a motion that would have three parts. The first would allow for the introduction of the depositions into evidence. The second would call Monica Lewinsky as a witness. And the third part would allow for a presentation period by the parties for not to extend beyond 6 hours. This motion would be debated by the House managers and the White House counsel for not to exceed 2 hours. In addition, it is my understanding that Senator Daschle intends to offer a motion that would provide for going directly to the articles of impeachment for a vote.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Under the order just granted, the Senate will meet again as the Court of Impeachment on Saturday. On Saturday, the Senate will hear presentations from the House managers and the White House counsel for not to exceed 6 hours. After those presentations, the Senate will resume its business on Monday for 6 hours, beginning at 1 p.m.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chief Justice, I now ask the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order, and ask that all Senators remain at their desks until the Chief Justice departs the Chamber.