Democrats threaten to turn trial into party battle

As House GOP prosecutors questioned the third of three witnesses in the case, Democratic leader Tom Daschle said his party's rank-and-file lawmakers were solidly opposed to any live trial testimony on the Senate floor. He also raised objections to the immediate public release of Monica Lewinsky's videotaped deposition.

But what sparked the Democrats' sharpest criticism was a GOP proposal for a formal finding of wrongdoing, a measure that would require a simple majority for passage rather than the two-thirds needed for conviction on impeachment.

"If Republicans persist in demanding live witnesses and demanding more depositions, and demanding extra legal devices like findings of fact, the more it becomes a Republican trial," Daschle told reporters.

The White House also renewed its objections to the proposal, at the same time spokesperson Joe Lockhart pledged a restrained response if - as expected - Clinton is acquitted on the two articles of impeachment.

"I now declare in a post-impeachment era, this is a gloat-free zone," he said.

Republican senators met privately late in the day, pondering their next moves in the trial, which is scheduled to resume today.

John Czwartacki, a spokesperson for Sen. Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), told reporters he expected a vote at that time on a proposal to release the depositions of Lewinsky and two other witnesses, both the written transcripts and the videotapes. He suggested they could remain under seal for a limited period of time.

For their part, House prosecutors met to weigh the results of the three depositions. They said an attempt would be made to have witnesses testify in the Senate in person. But GOP aides conceded it would be difficult to secure enough votes to prevail on that issue, particularly with public opinion in favor of a swift end to the proceedings.

The Democratic maneuvering came as Sidney Blumenthal, a White House aide, was questioned in a heavily secured room in the upper reaches of the Capitol.

02-04-99