Trial will continue -- with witnesses

DEWAR

WASHINGTON -- A sharply divided Senate refused to throw out the case against President Clinton on Wednesday and agreed to take testimony from Monica S. Lewinsky and two other witnesses, but the twin, nearly party-line votes foreshadowed eventual acquittal in the impeachment trial.

With identical 56 to 44 votes, the Senate defeated a Democratic motion to dismiss the case and then approved prosecution subpoenas for Lewinsky, presidential confidant Vernon E. Jordan Jr. and White House aide Sidney Blumenthal. Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., was the only lawmaker to cross party lines, joining Republicans to keep the trial going with depositions. While a short-term victory for Republicans who reassured edgy members of their majority and overcame Democratic attempts to short- circuit the proceedings, the votes could prove to be the decisive moment saving Clinton's presidency, barring a blockbuster development no one predicts. Although conviction by the constitutionally required two-thirds vote always appeared unlikely, Wednesday's roll call put 44 senators on record for the first time opposing removal, or 10 more than Clinton needs to remain in office. "Today's events make clear that the votes are not there to convict and remove the president from office," said White House special counsel Gregory B. Craig. "Any proceedings from this day forward only serve to delay the final resolution of this matter and run counter to the best interest of the Congress, the presidency and the American people." Senate Democrats echoed the refrain. "The president will not be removed from office," said Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle, D-S.D. "For the good of the country, and in keeping with the Constitution, it is now time to end this trial. It is time to move on." Even some Republicans who agreed to let the process play itself out shared the assessment of how it will conclude. "You've seen the end of the movie," said Sen. Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala., unless the depositions produce "something drastic that we don't foresee." The still-elusive trick for both sides was figuring out how to get to that ending while possibly fashioning an alternative way to hold Clinton accountable for his actions. Daschle and Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., conferred throughout the day in an effort to keep the floor votes from fracturing the bipartisanship that had characterized the trial until now and to forge a new consensus on how to proceed from here. The two exchanged proposals for wrapping up the trial before a Senate recess scheduled to start Feb. 12. If they can reach a tentative agreement by this morning, each will present the procedural plan to his respective caucus before the Senate reconvenes to vote at noon Topeka time. For the House Republican prosecutors, or "managers," the message from Wednesday's votes was decidedly mixed. In effect, the Senate has now told them they can have the chance to make their case through the witness depositions they have demanded, but that in all likelihood it won't matter. Some of the managers chose to interpret the floor action as a vote of confidence in their case, given the strong majority they received, and welcomed the opportunity to interview witnesses despite strenuous White House objections. "It shows the strength of the managers' case," said Rep. Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., though he acknowledged that "at this time there's not the two-thirds vote necessary." The lead manager, Rep. Henry J. Hyde, R-Ill., however, was more bitter, offering a scathing review of the Senate Republicans who pressured him into paring back his witness list to just three. Asked before the vote about the senators' search for an exit strategy, Hyde said, "I'm glad those people weren't at Valley Forge or the Alamo." In approving witnesses Wednesday, the Senate authorized only closed-door depositions. Under trial rules, it would require a separate vote after those interviews to bring witnesses to the floor. By videotaping them as appears likely, some senators hope to avoid the need for live testimony because attorneys could then show video excerpts on the floor. Under rules still being worked out, the depositions could be completed by Monday. As proposed by Lott, each would last no more than six hours, with the time for questioning split evenly between the managers and White House attorneys. Two senators, one from each party, would sit in on each as mediators. Lewinsky, the 25-year-old former White House intern whose affair with the president started the scandal, left Washington on Tuesday after being forced to return to town by court order to meet with three of the House managers. While unhappy about being forced to testify in the trial of the man she once professed deep love for, Lewinsky doesn't plan to fight it. "We will accept a subpoena and comply," said spokeswoman Judy Smith. Jordan, 63, a powerful Washington lawyer and longtime Clinton friend, was out of town Wednesday but contrary to some reports not out of the country, according to his attorney, William G. Hundley. "When we get a subpoena, we'll be there," Hundley said. But managers, he added, shouldn't anticipate hearing anything beyond what Jordan told independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr's grand jury in five appearances last year. "There won't be anything new, any surprises, in my opinion," Hundley said. "He'll stick to his grand jury testimony under oath. I can't think of any questions Starr's people didn't ask." Blumenthal, 50, a former journalist who now works at the White House as a communications strategist, has declined to comment.

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