----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Date: Wed, 09 Dec 98 04:36:45 EST From: Spirit Of Truth Page <http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~jpa94001/> Subject: IS PRESIDENT CLINTON ABOUT TO ANNOUNCE HIS RESIGNATION? IS PRESIDENT CLINTON ABOUT TO ANNOUNCE HIS RESIGNATION? By J. Adams December 8th, 1998 The Spirit Of Truth Page http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~jpa94001/ Monday's White House Press Briefing was opened with the announcement that President Clinton would give his State of the Union Address on Jan 19, 1999 - unusually early. January 20th is a key date if the president chooses to resign on this date because, as of the 20th, Al Gore will be eligible to serve two full terms as President on top of serving out the final two years of Clinton's presidency. Therefore, if Clinton were to resign the day after his State of the Union address, Al will effectively be able to serve up to ten years as President. When Nixon resigned in 1974, he did so after the Judiciary Committee voted for articles of impeachment but before the House actually voted for impeachment. The reason he timed his announced resignation at this point is most likely because, according to the U.S. Constitution (Article II Section 2): "The President shall ... have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment." Thus, in order to preserve Vice President Ford's ability to pardon President Nixon's criminal offenses, Nixon had to announce his resignation *before* the House voted for his formal impeachment. And this, of course, is precisely what happened. Nixon resigned before the House voted for impeachment and later, since no formal impeachment occurred, Ford was able to pardon him. The odds are that Clinton wants to avoid criminal prosecution and going to jail for his felonies more so than he wants to cling to the Presidency and try and ride out impeachment proceedings. Even if Clinton succeeds in not being removed from office for his crimes, he can, after his term ends after the year 2000, be criminally prosecuted and incarcerated for his crimes. If the House votes for his impeachment, the next president, and there's no guarantee the next president will be a Democrat, can NOT pardon him since the Constitution forbids pardons in cases of impeachment. Hence, if it looks like the House is going to vote for impeachment, it behooves Clinton to announce his resignation in order to stave-off such a vote. In this way, Gore will still be able to pardon Clinton for his crimes since Clinton was not formally impeached by the House of Representatives. Although it is still an open question in Constitutional Law debate, the odds are that Clinton can not hold-off announcing his resignation until after the House votes if he wants to preserve a possible pardon by Gore. If it looks like the House is going to vote for impeachment, it appears that Clinton MUST announce his resignation beforehand in order to stop his formal impeachment from taking place. If Clinton is going to announce his resignation in order to stop the House of Representatives from voting for his formal impeachment, it would be most strategic to announce that his resignation will be effective January 20th, 1999. As noted above, this will allow Gore to serve out the last two years of Clinton's presidential term and still be able to serve two additional full terms, i.e., Gore will be able to be President for up to ten years. Thus, the reason that the White House has announced an early State of the Union address is because, contrary to his stated promises to never resign, Clinton is planning to announce his resignation - effective January 20th, 1999, the day after his final State of the Union address - sometime during the next couple of weeks in order to stave-off a vote for formal impeachment by the House. (And yes....this would mean Clinton has told yet another lie!) Further indicating that resignation may be on the mind of President Clinton, a leading Democratic Senator, Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, has reportedly agreed to receive Ross Perot's petitions calling on the President to resign "for the good of the country, for the sake of our children". According to Robert Hillman of the Dallas Morning News (12/8/98): "Petition signatures sought by Ross Perot to persuade President Clinton to resign will be sent to the Democratic Connecticut senator who was an early critic of the president's relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Russell Verney, chairman of the Perot-founded Reform Party who helped coordinate the petition drive, said Sen. Joseph Lieberman had promised to deliver the message to the White House. He (Lieberman) is the `one person in Washington who would be respected by the president when he delivers the message and has the courage to deliver a tough message to the president,' Verney said. `It's a message directly to the president: that for the good of the country, for the sake of our children, he should resign,' he said." Most likely in relation to this news, Ross Perot is scheduled to appear on CNN's Larry King Live program on Thursday night (9 PM EST) to make a "major announcement". The question is, why has Joseph Lieberman agreed to receive Perot's petitions and, more importantly, why does it appear that the White House is going to arrange the spectacle of Senator Lieberman delivering petitions to President Clinton calling for his resignation? The timing of Senator Lieberman's possible delivery of these petitions to the White House has an interesting historical parallel. As noted above, President Nixon resigned after articles were voted out in the Judiciary Committee but before the full House voted in 1974. Furthermore, prior to Nixon's resignation, Barry Goldwater, considered the concience of the Republican Party at the time, went to the White House and and effectively told Nixon it was "time to go", that the President lacked sufficient support to escape a vote for his impeachment. We are currently entering the same time period during impeachment proceedings with Clinton at which Barry Goldwater called on President Nixon to resign in 1974. Hence, it makes sense that Senator Lieberman is preparing to take on a role analogous to Barry Goldwater in the context of Nixon's impeachment proceedings and eventual resignation. Senator Lieberman, per arrangement with the White House, may be planning to receive Ross Perot's resignation petitions and deliver them to President Clinton in order to set the public stage for Clinton to announce his resignation in the face of an impeachment vote by the U.S. House of Representatives. In this way, Clinton can announce his resignation in a manner that makes it look like he's acting "for the good of the country, for the sake of our children" as Perot's petitions proclaim. Indeed, the White House may be pursuing a resignation strategy that will effectively martyr President Clinton in order to place Republicans in as negative a light as possible. President Clinton's current impeachment defense is highlighting how, if the House votes for impeachment, it will handicap the U.S. Presidency for months on end until the Senate votes on whether to remove Clinton. By resigning in the face of impeachment by the House, the White House can claim it is acting to defend the U.S. Presidency from a dangerous Republican assault and is doing what's in the best interest of the country. All in all, it appears that President Clinton and his legal and political advisors have concluded that announcing Clinton's resignation sometime during the next couple of weeks is the optimal strategy for the President, President-to-be Al Gore and the Democratic Party. By announcing his resignation, Clinton can block a vote for formal impeachment by the House and thereby preserve Al Gore's ability to pardon Clinton's criminal offenses. Furthermore, if Clinton's resignation is set to become effective January 20th, 1999, the day after what would be Clinton's final State of the Union address, Al Gore will be able to complete the final two years of Clinton's presidential term and still be eligible for two more full terms. Finally, by having Senator Lieberman deliver Ross Perot's petitions calling on President Clinton to resign "for the good of the country", the White House can maximize the image that Clinton is acting in the best interest of the nation in contrast to destructive Republican efforts.
