House votes for impeachment inquiry

With several Democrats castigating President Clinton even while trying to protect him from impeachment, the House voted this afternoon to authorize open-ended hearings into the allegations against Clinton.

The final vote was 258-176, with 31 Democrats joining all 227 Republicans voting. Earlier, a Democratic alternative authorizing a more limited inquiry was rejected by a 236-198 vote.

Frequent flashes of anger and accusations of excess partisanship punctuated what began as a somber debate over whether to have an unrestricted inquiry on Clinton's impeachment or to limit its time and scope.

One Democrat, Rep. Corrine Brown of Florida, was gaveled down when she shouted the GOP measure was "a pre-Halloween witch hunt." Another, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, was applauded when she cited Speaker Gingrich for lying in his ethics case nearly two years ago-and urged the House to "reject the Republican double standard which exalts the speaker and moves to impeach the President."

Democrats lost several battles before the final vote on a resolution introduced by Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill., to "investigate fully and completely whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise its constitutional power and to impeach William Jefferson Clinton." They lost fights to lengthen the debate, to limit the hearings to Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky and to set a New Year's Day deadline.

Hyde implored his House colleagues to listen to their sense of duty when voting on the resolution, and said hearings are required to "vindicate the rule of law." Hyde pledged to try to wrap up his panel's work by the end of the year. Arguing against "artificial" limits on time and subject matter, Hyde noted Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr had written Wednesday to say he may send Hyde more referrals on other issues.

Limits proposed in the Democratic alternative were described by Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., as "a fair and balanced alternative" that would still provide "a full and complete review" of Starr's 18 boxes of evidence against Clinton. His plan also called for Hyde's panel to define impeachable offenses first.

The first of the speakers to chastise the president was Rep. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who is in a tight election battle against GOP Sen. Alfonse D'Amato. "The president deserves significant punishment, but there is no basis for impeachment of the president," he said.

Other Democratic supporters of Clinton who lambasted the president included Rep. Steven Rothman of New Jersey, who denounced Clinton's actions as "morally wrong" and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who called the president's behavior "reprehensible and outrageous."

Republicans were less heated: Several, including Rep. Bill McCollum of Florida, argued that felonies suggested by Starr-including perjury and obstruction of justice-were impeachable, but insisted they had not made up their minds.