http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2001/2/11/92206
Sunday, Feb. 11, 2001; 10:22 a.m. EST
Specter: Clinton Could be Impeached Again for Pardongate Crimes
Senator Arlen Specter suggested Sunday morning that if Congress learns that
ex-President Clinton is guilty of criminal conduct in Pardongate, he could
be impeached all over again.
The leading Senate Judiciary Committee Republican said that if Clinton is
convicted in a Pardongate Senate trial, he could lose his presidential
pension, his Secret Service protection and even his presidential library
trust fund.
He also hinted that the House of Representatives would soon consider such a
move.
Specter offered his stunning comments about prospects for a second Clinton
impeachment on Fox News Sunday during an exhange with Tony Snow and Brit
Hume.
SNOW: Let's suppose there's a breach of trust. Let's suppose that people
find out that the Rich pardon was conducted under auspices they don't like.
What on earth can Congress do about it?
SPECTER: Well, in our investigation we found a very interesting point that I
hadn't known about in talking to the counsel that represented President Ford
in the pardon of President Nixon.
That is -- and this may surprise a lot of people, and I'm not suggesting
that it should be done -- but President Clinton technically could still be
impeached.
And you say, how could that happen? He's out of office. Because a president
may be impeached for the emoluments of office, such as the substantial sums
being spent on the (Clinton) library, such as the bodyguards, such as his
pension.
President Clinton avoided a conviction on impeachment last time around
because he had not lost the confidence of the American people and we didn't
want to shake up the government. But he's not in office anymore.
HUME: Are you planning to propose that he be impeached?
SPECTER: No, I'm not suggesting it, but, Brit, wait and see. Somebody in the
House of Representatives may do that tomorrow. That's their job to talk
about....
HUME: Do you have someone in mind or are you just speculating?
SPECTER: Well, no. I don't have anybody in mind. But I was surprised to find
that you could impeach a president after he was out of office. And some
people have suggested that you don't need a Constitutional amendment because
you could always impeach a president.
And when it's done in the last days a lot of responses were, well -- you
can't impeach the president, he's out of office. So that when counsel to
President Ford told me that impeachment is still possible, I don't think
that trial would take too long.
NewsMax.com Inside Cover Story.url
