Clinton papers deny allegations

At the same time, Clinton's lawyers decided to forgo filing a motion seeking to dismiss the case at its very inception, although officials suggested they would make that motion after both sides had finished opening arguments.

As Clinton's attorneys filed formal papers with the Senate, key House lawmakers met privately to plan the formal presentation of their case beginning Thursday. "We will do a very good job and then when we reach the point of asking for witnesses, we think the senators will be in a more generous mood having heard our case," said Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill), point man in the impeachment effort.

The impeachment trial - the first of a president since Andrew Johnson in 1868 - will resume this week with senators having deferred a decision on whether to call witnesses despite the urging of House members and some conservatives that they give the go-ahead now.

White House spokesperson Joe Lockhart, asked whether the president will personally answer questions at his Senate trial, told reporters, "I have no reason to believe that he will testify."

The 13-page filing from Clinton's lawyers - a joint effort by six private attorneys and five members of the White House counsel's office - was submitted in a sealed envelope received by Senate Secretary Gary Sisco at 11:48 a.m. - 12 minutes before the deadline.

Inside was a two-pronged rebuttal to the charges.

First, that the allegations of perjury and obstruction of justice "do not constitute high crimes or misdemeanors," and thus are insufficient to warrant the "conviction and removal from office of a duly elected president."

Secondly, that Clinton is innocent of the charges lodged. Specifically, that the charges of perjurious and misleading statements to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's grand jury about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky are themselves false. In addition, Clinton denied committing perjury when he answered questions before the grand jury about earlier testimony in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit, in statements he permitted his attorney to make in the case, and in connection with questions he himself answered about alleged efforts to influence others' testimony in the case.

In response to the second article, which alleged obstruction of justice, Clinton denied that he encouraged Ms. Lewinsky to file a false affidavit in the Jones case, encouraged her to testify falsely if called to testify in the Jones case or sought to conceal evidence in the Jones case.

He also denied obstructing justice by trying to help Ms. Lewinsky obtain a job, by allowing his attorney to make allegedly false statements, by relating false statements to a potential witness, his secretary, Betty Currie, and by relaying false statements to his aides.

White House officials said it was likely that the president's lawyers, or a Senate Democratic ally, would make a motion to dismiss the charges after the opening presentations.

"We respect the prerogative of the Senate to set the rules, and we will wait until the time that they have designated to deal with any motions we might file," said spokesman Joe Lockhart.

Hyde and several other House trial managers met privately during the day to map their strategy.

In his comments, Hyde left little doubt of his lingering unhappiness over the trial ground rules established by the Senate last week. The effort to present the case "has been rendered difficult. At the same time, I am very satisfied we've been given adequate time," he told reporters.

He said he will make brief comments to the Senate on Thursday, to be followed by an opening argument by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), who will talk for an hour or less. Then, other House members will begin the detailed presentation.

As the president's lawyers made their case on paper yesterday, Vice President Al Gore predicted the Senate would not remove Clinton from office. "What the president did was wrong," Gore told The Associated Press in an interview. "He's acknowledged that, asked for forgiveness. But what he did falls far short" of misbehavior warranting removal from office.

Clinton's lawyers outlined numerous grounds for dismissing the case.

Rather than attempting to conceal his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky in his grand jury testimony, the president acknowledged having had "inappropriate intimate contact," the papers said.

In addition, the lawyers contended the first article of impeachment was flawed because it lumped multiple allegations of perjury together. Thus, 17 senators could believe Clinton guilty of one allegation, and a different 17 find him guilty of each of the others. The total would be enough to remove him from office, "even though he would have been acquitted if separate votes were taken on each" allegation, the papers said.

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