Impeachable Offenses

"Impeachment: A Handbook," by Charles L. Black, Jr. Yale University Press. 80 pages. $6.95.Suppose the president, desirous of having four wives, moves to Saudi Arabia and proposes to run his administration from afar, by telephone. It is not a crime, exactly, but it would certainly be an impeachable offense. Suppose, on the other hand, a president transports a woman across a state line for immoral purposes or conceals a young aide's possession of marijuana. These are indeed crimes, but hardly worthy of impeachment.

Oliver North is not an American heroWhy is Oliver North looked upon as a hero? He admits to deceiving the American people and lying to their elected representatives. He admits to giving missiles and weapons to Iran which, at the time, held innocent Americans hostage and was an avowed enemy of the "Great Satan," the U.S. He further acknowledges subverting U.S. policy in Latin America.These acts are contrary to the will of the American people and the policy of the elected government. North has never been elected, by anyone, to any leadership position.

IN 1868, President Andrew Johnson was impeached in one of the most outrageous legislative acts in history. Johnson was a grossly unpopular president: a Southern politician who succeeded an assassinated president after the Civil War. Johnson protected his native South from harsh retribution by the so-called Radical Republicans and was widely reviled by the public as pro-Southern. Radical Republicans called for his removal and used his unpopularity to distract the House from its constitutional obligations.

WASHINGTON -- Never was the question of whose ox is being gored more pertinent than in the decision of Democrats to summarily shoot down a Republican bid in the House Judiciary Committee to have a congressional inquiry into the so-called Travelgate affair -- the suspension of seven employees in the White House travel office under unusual and suspicious circumstances.The same is likely to be the fate of Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole's request to Attorney General Janet Reno to appoint a special counsel to look into the matter.

WASHINGTON -- Congressional conservatives -- angered by suggestions that President Clinton could escape his troubles with a censure -- dug in their heels yesterday and demanded that the impeachment process move forward.Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma, the Senate's second-ranking Republican, said conservatives had approached him to express their chagrin that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch had suggested that Congress consider a punishment short of impeachment. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott had made similar overtures over the weekend.

WASHINGTON -- Seizing a political opening after Monday's broadcast of President Clinton's grand jury testimony, White House aides and lawyers launched another round of attacks on Kenneth W. Starr yesterday, calling his report to Congress a "grievous wrong to the president."With new polls showing that Clinton's videotaped testimony in the Monica Lewinsky investigation might actually have improved his job approval rating, the president's lawyers sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee accusing the independent counsel of presenting a "significantly distorted" account of Lewinsky's testimony in his initial report to Congress.

WASHINGTON -- In an unusual move, Ralph G. Neas, a Democrat seeking to represent Montgomery County in Congress, is running ads that criticize the Republican incumbent, Rep. Constance A. Morella, for her vote in favor of an impeachment inquiry.Most Democrats are skittish about addressing the allegations against President Clinton, which stem from his efforts to conceal his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Yet Neas has paid about $15,000 to run more than 100 commercials over the next week on a Washington radio station.

WASHINGTON -- With Republicans of all political stripes voicing their opposition to impeachment, House Judiciary Committee Republicans may be increasingly isolated as they continue their uphill fight to remove President Clinton from office.Impeachment hearings are only a week away, but cracks in the Republican ranks are beginning to show. GOP Sen. Arlen Specter, a prominent voice on judicial matters, called yesterday on the House to drop its impeachment probe, saying it could prove "devastating to the country."

REGARDLESS of how President Clinton's impeachment trial turns out, U.S. House Republicans have risked their national reputation with their campaign to unseat a popular president for deeds the public doesn't think of as impeachable offenses.If Mr. Clinton's popularity remains high, the GOP will pay -- for voters will have their revenge.That's why Maryland Republicans must set out to carve an independent identity. This is particularly important because, with the exception of the two Ellen Sauerbrey gubernatorial campaigns, the Maryland GOP has not paid enough attention to policy matters.

WASHINGTON -- Few points of difference between the two sides in the Senate impeachment trial of President Clinton are as potentially decisive as their divergent views about the lawsuit that started the scandal: the Paula Corbin Jones sexual misconduct case. The president's defense team began outlining its view yesterday. Lyle Denniston of The Sun's national staff examines the differences.Jones' lawsuit was dismissed in April by a judge, and her appeal ended Dec. 2 after the suit had been settled out of court.