Editorial: Congress takes on solemn duty

Friday, Sept. 11, 1998 | 9:49 a.m.

HOUSE Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., is right: Next to declaring war, impeachment is Congress' most solemn responsibility.

Independent counsel Kenneth Starr sent a report to Congress on Wednesday which a spokesman said contains information of "substantial and credible evidence that may constitute grounds for impeachment of the president of the United States." Meanwhile, President Clinton's private attorney responded that Starr's account was one-sided and added that there "is no basis for impeachment."

Under the Constitution a president can be impeached for bribery, treason or "other high crimes and misdemeanors." Essentially the House is the prosecutor and must begin any impeachment proceeding. The Senate sits as the jury and decides whether a president is to be removed from office.

Historically impeachment is not a decision that Congress has taken lightly. The last time impeachment proceedings began were during the Watergate scandal. President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, however, before a vote was taken by the full House. Only one president has been impeached by the House -- Andrew Johnson in 1868. But the Senate eventually acquitted him by one vote.

For months the rhetoric from both sides of the Monica Lewinsky scandal has been heavy on partisanship and light on facts. But the time for partisanship and name-calling is over. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., has been meeting with Gephardt to come up with bipartisan rules to weigh any evidence against the president. On Thursday, Gingrich warned members of Congress against making personal attacks as it weighs the information of Starr's allegations. In addition, there's no need to rush to judgment. Calls for resignation or impeachment are ridiculous until the allegations and the president's defense are debated in public.

One of the pivotal players in this assessment will be Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., the highly respected chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Hyde is one of the most conservative members of Congress but in the past he has been praised almost universally as being fair-minded. It is anticipated that the Judiciary Committee will have to decide whether there is enough evidence -- gathered on its own and through the Starr report -- to consider impeachment hearings.

As Congress decides how to address this issue, it must give a fair hearing to all sides and act dispassionately, making a decision based on facts, not emotions. Doing anything less will meet with a harsh rebuke from the American people.