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Impeached When Richard M. Nixon faced impeachment I thought I would never again have to experience the national trauma of a presidential impeachment. Obviously I was wrong. In view of the monumental impact the impeachment and trial of William Jefferson Clinton will have upon this country, both now and historically, I feel it would be an egregious error on my part to fail to address this critical issue. I have delayed commenting for a number of reasons, not the least of which was to establish in my own mind which points needed to be addressed and which would serve only as fodder. Having finally decided upon the relevant topics I will proceed with this editorial. None Of My BusinessOne of the most common responses from people is that any sexual relationship engaged in by President Clinton is exclusively his business. If William Jefferson Clinton wants to have sex with multiple partners that is his right and his business. I will grant that Mr. Clinton has the right to choose to engage in an adulterous sexual relationship. I will even grant that it is his exclusive business; that is until such sexual conduct is made public. At that point it becomes the business of the general populous. The sexual practices of my neighbor are none of my business until it is discovered, through whatever means, that she is engaging in prostitution out of her home. It then becomes very much my business and I have not only a right to look into the charge of prostitution, but a responsibility to do so, and to enlist the services of the local civil authorities. When William Jefferson Clinton's adulterous sexual behavior became public knowledge, whether through means fair or foul, that sexual misconduct became the business of the people of the United States. Let us put aside the erroneous notion that the sexual encounters between Mr. Clinton and Ms. Lewinsky are their exclusive domain. The entire world is now aware of our president's sexual exploits. Now we must openly and justly examine the facts and make a righteous decision based upon those facts and not upon some frivolous notion that the facts do not concern us. While I am not happy with the sexual exchanges between William Jefferson Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, these sexual exchanges are not the primary issue. The only issues being raised for impeachment are perjury and perjury's Siamese twin, obstruction of justice. Other Politicians Are Just As GuiltyNo argument. However, not all other politicians are the President of the United States. Furthermore, not all other politicians have been publicly exposed. The lack of exposed sin in others is no reason to excuse sin that has been exposed. We do not catch a murderer and excuse his murder because we know there are other murders at large who have not been found out. We must deal prudently and justly with the issues God sees fit to reveal to us. I want to quote a portion of a . WASHINGTON -- At 2 a.m. Saturday, his mind in turmoil, Bob Livingston arose from his bed and downed a glass of milk to settle himself down. Four hours later, on the day the House would impeach President Clinton and two days after acknowledging marital infidelities, the Louisiana Republican had come to a decision. "I knew what I had to do," said the man who would have been speaker of the House in the next Congress. In an interview late Saturday, Livingston said he realized he could not go to the House floor and call for Clinton's resignation -- or even cast a vote to impeach the President -- unless he, too, gave up the office he was on the verge of assuming. "I knew that I couldn't make the pitch the way I did -- or even vote the way I did -- without doing what I did," said Livingston, sitting with his wife, Bonnie, in their Northern Virginia home. "I thought it was his finest moment," added Bonnie Livingston. The couple, married for 33 years, seemed at ease as they spoke of the tension-filled weeks since Livingston announced, shortly after the Nov. 3 elections, that he would challenge Newt Gingrich of Georgia for the speakership. Earlier in the week, as Livingston realized that his "indiscretions," as he had put it, were about to be revealed, another event provided him a different perspective. Livingston indicated he has no intention of changing his mind, even though many House Republicans and even the President had urged him to reconsider. Livingston said he was gratified by the standing ovation he received from Democrats and Republicans alike after his announcement. He recalled with particular fondness that Reps. Jesse L. Jackson Jr., D-Ill., and Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., two members of the congressional black caucus, came to his office to see him afterward. Both men hugged Livingston. There is a lot of honor and courage to be seen in the actions of Mr. Livingston. When confronted with the fact that his secret sexual encounters were about to be made public, and knowing that he was going to be voting for the impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton, he stepped down as the new speaker of the House of Representatives in the 106th congress. Indeed, he intends to spend only another six months in congress before he resigns his post altogether. I believe we, as a people, have the right to expect our President to act with even greater integrity than a representative. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 16:7, "When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." Because of the honor he has shown, I am much more willing to forgive Robert Livingston than to forgive William Jefferson Clinton. Doing Harm To The Country And To The ConstitutionThe first paragraph of the reads: When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. In this declaration we find a direct appeal to the laws of God. Eleven years later, in 1787, the Constitution Of The United States was ratified on September 17. In the Preamble to the we find these words: We, the people of the Unites States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. The Declaration Of Independence having already established our right to assume a separate yet equal station among the Powers of the earth according to God's laws, the Constitution was adopted to form a "more perfect Union." That Union cannot possibly be thought to be independent of the laws of God, upon which this nation was founded. Black's Law Dictionary (3rd Edition) defines impeach in the following way: To accuse; to charge a liability upon; to sue. To proceed against a public officer for crime of misfeasance, before a proper court, by the presentation of a written accusation called "articles of impeachment." Concerning impeachment we read, "A criminal proceeding against a public officer, before a quasi political court, instituted by a written accusation called "articles of impeachment;" for example, a written accusation by the House of Representatives of the United States to the Senate of the United States against an officer." Impeachment, as provided for in our Constitution, cannot possibly do harm to the fabric of this great nation. In point of fact, the only thing that could possibly serve to harm this nation would be the failure to impeach a public official when there is evidence to indicate wrong doing. Impeachment is a national call for justice and the close scrutiny of facts that are germane in a given case. Let it be taken as a given that in any impeachment proceeding, no matter how damnable the alleged crime, there will always be those who are against any impeachment proceedings. Therein lies the genius of our founding fathers in providing for impeachment of public officials. Impeachment provides for the open discovery of facts so that justice, whether in the form of acquittal or conviction, may be administered. We should not be satisfied to sweep allegations of public malfeasance under the carpet. Rather, as "...one nation, under God," we should insist on the discovery and practice of the truth. Only then can we be assured of continued national strength and stability. The Truth, The Whole Truth, And Nothing But The TruthThat is what William Jefferson Clinton swore to do, but did not. But that is not entirely his fault. This country has legalized itself to the point where the whole truth is not desired, only the required truth (that truth needed to further one's own cause). Often when giving testimony in a court of law, a witness will be silenced by one of the attorneys. This is owing to the fact that the witness was about to give more information than the attorney was looking for. In other words, the witness is prevented from telling the "whole truth." Such was not the case, however, with William Jefferson Clinton. He voluntarily chose to withhold information and to give false testimony to a grand jury. But this was not the worst offense. It is my considered opinion that the worst lie told by our President was the one given over national television to the entire nation. It is unconscionable that a President of the United states of America would stand before the entire nation and out-and-out lie by declaring that he had not had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. How can this nation place its trust in such a man? The notion that it was acceptable for Mr. Clinton to lie to the nation because he was not under oath is ludicrous. The President of the United States owes his loyalty and his life to the people of this country. He has sworn an oath to defend the Constitution of this great nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Anything that tears at the moral fabric of this country must be considered an enemy, including, but not limited to, lying. Our National Shame -- The Greater WrongWilliam Jefferson Clinton is not as much at fault as is the nation he presides over. Of all the wrongs committed by William Jefferson Clinton, I see none so heinous as the wrong committed by an alarming number of American citizens. I am speaking of an overwhelming acceptance of our president's lies with regard to his sexual misconduct. It is a shameful testimony to this "...one nation, under God," that so many of its citizens are willing to accept as common practice the moral crimes committed by its leaders. Actually there are a number of abominations that many in this country find acceptable:
These are just a few of the atrocities that we, as a nation, have come to accept. Small wonder then that we should so readily accept the lies of our president. It is well past the time to answer the divine call to national repentance. We need to re-establish Jesus Christ as Lord of this great nation and return, as one nation, under God, to righteousness and holiness. Lowering The Impeachment StandardThe supposed fear is that by convicting William Jefferson Clinton of one or both of the articles of impeachment we will be lowering the standard for impeachment. I would like to draw your attention to the pertinent section of our Constitution that deals with this thought: Article II Section 4. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. Impeachment is not, as many are trying to assert, limited to Treason or Bribery, but is extended to include high Crimes and high Misdemeanors. Perjury, while not necessarily in the same category as Treason, is definitely a high Crime and a high Misdemeanor. Since perjury is not in the same class as Treason, we should disregard any such thoughts or notions and look at what is evident before us. Again, from Black's Law Dictionary (3rd Edition) we are given the definition of perjury: In criminal law. The willful assertion as to a matter of fact, opinion, belief, or knowledge, made by a witness in a judicial proceeding as part of his evidence, either upon oath or in any form allowed by law to be substituted for an oath, whether such evidence is given in open court, or in a affidavit, or otherwise, such assertion being material to the issue or point of inquiry and known to such witness to be false. Every person who, having taken an oath that he will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly before any competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any of the cases in which such an oath may by law be administered, wilfully, and contrary to such oath, states as truth any material matter which he knows to be false, is guilty of perjury. William Jefferson Clinton, like all other Presidents of the United States, took an oath of office. As long as he remains in office as President he is bound by that oath. When our President lied to the people of this country he did so under oath. He has no escape from the oath. There is no escape from the oath. William Jefferson Clinton lied under oath, and that oath was legally administered at the time he assumed the office of the President of the United States. Thus, any untruth told by Mr. Clinton during his term of office must be considered perjury. Now, having established perjury as an high Crime and high Misdemeanor, to state that convicting William Jefferson Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice and, thereby removing him from office, is tantamount to lowering the standard for impeachment is preposterous. The standard has already been established and has not been changed. Rather than lowering the standard for impeachment, the conviction and subsequent removal of William Jefferson Clinton as President of the United States would serve, instead, to raise the standard of conduct and performance of duty for all who hold public office in this great nation. That is our perspective, what is yours? |
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