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Proposed GOP Impeachment Resolution
The Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee have proposed the following language for a House resolution authorizing the Committee to begin an impeachment inquiry against President Clinton.
Democrats are fighting for a more limited inquiry. They also will likely win one concession: subpoena power for Rep. John Conyers, D-MI, the ranking minority member on the committee.
October 1, 1998
Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary, acting as a whole
or by any subcommittee thereof appointed by the chairman for the
purposes hereof and in accordance with the rules of the committee,
is authorized and directed to investigate fully and completely
whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives
to exercise its constitutional power to impeach William Jefferson
Clinton, president of the United States of America. The committee
shall report to the House of Representatives such resolutions,
articles of impeachment or other recommendations as it deems
proper.
Section 2. (a) For the purpose of making such investigation, the
committee is authorized to require:
(1) by subpoena or otherwise
(A) the attendance and testimony of any person (including at a
taking of a deposition by counsel for the committee); and
(B) the production of such things; and
(2) by interrogatory, the furnishing of such information;
as it deems necessary to such investigation.
Section 2. (b) Such authority of the committee may be exercised:
(1) by the chairman and the ranking minority member acting
jointly, or, if either declines to act, by the other acting alone,
except that in the event either so declines, either shall have the
right to refer to the committee for decision the question whether
such authority shall be so exercised and the committee shall be
convened promptly to render that decision; or
(2) by the committee acting as a whole or by subcommittee.
Subpoenas and interrogatories so authorized may be issued over
the signature of the chairman, or ranking minority member, or any
member designated by either of them, and may be served by any
person designated by the chairman, or ranking minority member, or
any member designated by either of them. The chairman, or ranking
minority member, or any member designated by either of them (or,
with respect to any deposition, answer to interrogatory, or
affidavit, any person authorized by law to administer oaths) may
administer oaths to any witness. For the purposes of this section,
``things" includes, without limitation, books, records,
correspondence, logs, journals, memorandums, papers, documents,
writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, reproductions,
recordings, tapes, transcripts, printouts, data compilations from
which information can be obtained (translated if necessary, through
detection devices into reasonably usable form), tangible objects,
and other things of any kind.
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