Impeachment

HARTFORD, Conn. - State House Speaker Moira K. Lyons said last night that House Democrats have decided either to create an investigative committee or to begin impeachment proceedings against Gov. John G. Rowland. House Democrats who met in a closed-door caucus for about seven hours were leaning toward beginning the impeachment process against Rowland, a Republican, Lyons said. Lyons, of Stamford, said caucus members concluded that there was only one other option: forming an investigative committee with subpoena power.

MOSCOW - Lithuanian President Rolandas Paksas was removed from office yesterday for his support of a businessman with alleged links to Russian organized crime, leaving the Baltic republic in political upheaval on the eve of its entry into the European Union. In a close vote, members of parliament approved the impeachment of the 47-year-old former stunt pilot, who acknowledged "mistakes," but insisted he was a corruption-fighter and victim of "a system that ... is more powerful than you can imagine."

WASHINGTON -- When Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist closed his red notebook for the last time Friday, proclaiming, "Our work as a court of impeachment is now done," he committed to history the judgment of whether the Constitution's meaning had undergone any change in the process. Sun staff writer Lyle Denniston explores some of the constitutional questions raised by the nation's second presidential impeachment and trial.Is it clear now how serious presidential conduct must be in order to justify conviction and removal from office?

SEOUL, South Korea - They were stunned, disappointed and embarrassed by the impeachment of President Roh Moo Hyun, but at least there was no street violence. That was seen as some good news for South Koreans in the wake of one the ugliest episodes in the 10 years of full democracy here. The risk of violence had to be considered real because of the long tradition of angry demonstrations in South Korea. About 10,000 Roh supporters marched peacefully, however, near the National Assembly on Friday night.

HARTFORD, Conn. - The House committee investigating whether to recommend the impeachment of Gov. John G. Rowland of Connecticut began taking testimony in public hearings yesterday, the first such proceeding involving a current U.S. governor in 16 years. The image that emerged of Rowland, a third-term Republican who was once a star of his party, was of a financially strapped politician who made ends meet, in part, through the help of gifts from people who conducted business with the state.

MEMBERS of the House of Representatives are asked to impeach the president, seeking his removal and disqualification from office, for actions never impeachable in the past.The alleged crime is scandalous behavior that previous presidents have committed and evasion of a legal witch hunt to which none of them was subjected.This serious business cannot be sloughed off as merely an act of disapproval, in the faith that the Senate will not convict. The only aims of impeachment are removal and disqualification from office.

It will go down as one of the most bizarre chapters in U.S. political history: Two politicians fight for survival as lawyers parse the Constitution in search of a winning argument while the media report - then correct - the details and the public waits out the whole mess. No, it's not George W. Bush vs. Al Gore. It's Newt Gingrich vs. Bill Clinton, in the 1998 battle over presidential impeachment and for the hearts and minds of the American people. While the Bush and Gore camps continue their Battle of Palm Beach, an audience at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis will return to the impeachment saga as Chevy Chase film director Michael Pack shows and talks about his documentary on the former U.S. House speaker, "The Fall of Newt Gingrich."

WASHINGTON -- The House Judiciary Committee demanded yesterday that Attorney General Janet Reno release two memos that purportedly implicate President Clinton in illegal campaign fund raising, setting up a constitutional showdown just days before the committee is scheduled to vote on articles of impeachment.Reno has already made it clear she will not release the memos, although in July she showed members of Congress edited versions of them. And Clinton has shown no willingness to push her."

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Constance A. Morella's autumn of indecision ended late last night as the moderate Montgomery County Republican declared she would vote against impeaching a popular Democratic president whose policies she has often supported."

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton's impeachment trial is the 14th Senate trial in history, but only the second of a president. Like the others, his will help shape the outcome of future trials. Lyle Denniston of The Sun's national staff explores the constitutional arguments by House prosecutors laying out the precedents they want established.What does it mean to "set precedents" on impeachment?The Constitution says little on impeachment, and there have been few impeachment cases in U.S. history.