WASHINGTON -- Even as the House Judiciary Committee entered the closing phase Tuesday of its impeachment probe of President Clinton, new questions arose as to how that process would be carried out.
If the committee approves one or more articles of impeachment as expected, many details remain to be resolved.Some frequently asked questions:
Q: If the Judiciary Committee and the full House approve articles of impeachment, would the Senate automatically try the matter?
A: Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said Sunday the Senate would do so when members of the new Congress take their seats next month. Some scholars believe the House that convenes in January would have to approve new articles of impeachment for Senate consideration, but others say this year's impeachment proceedings could be continued in the new Congress.
Q: Who would be in charge of debate in the full House on articles of impeachment?
A: Outgoing Speaker Newt Gingrich remains the only person who can call the chamber back into session before members of the new Congress take their seats next month. Incoming Speaker Bob Livingston has said he wants the House role to be finished before he opens the next session of Congress but he is likely to help shape the debate if Gingrich calls the House back this year. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill., is seen as the leading candidate to preside over the House during the debate.
Q: When would articles of impeachment come to the House floor for a vote?
A: Democrats and Republicans alike want the House to vote on the issue next week, with some officials saying that Dec. 16 would be the earliest date for a vote.
Q: Most resolutions go through the Rules Committee. How will the impeachment resolution bill get to the House floor?
A: Republican and Democratic officials say preliminary plans call for any articles of impeachment approved by the Judiciary Committee to bypass the Rules Committee and come to the floor as a privileged resolution. Under House rules, such resolutions are debated for only one hour. The first order of business, with bipartisan support, would be a motion to expand the one-hour time limit.
Q: What happens then?
A: Once attention turns to the articles of impeachment, Democrats would be expected to propose sending them back to the Judiciary Committee with instructions to approve a censure resolution.
Senior Republicans already have warned that any censure resolution that fails to contemplate impeachment would be ruled out of order. Impeachment is the only presidential punishment provided for in the Constitution, these lawmakers say.
But if a censure resolution does mention a specific charge -- such as perjury -- and impeachment, then that resolution could become the focus of debate, according to some GOP aides.
Q: What do Democrats say about censure?
A: Democratic officials have not ruled out a perjury resolution as an endgame. However some aides say Democrats would first propose a censure resolution that strongly condemns Clinton's behavior but does not contemplate impeachment.
Q: How likely is it that the full House would approve impeachment articles against the president?
A: Officials of both parties say such a vote is too close to call.
Q: How would the Senate proceedings work?
A: Chief Justice William Rehnquist would preside over the trial in the Senate chamber. House members would serve as prosecutors, Clinton's lawyers would defend him and senators would be the jury.
Q: Is censure a possibility at that stage?
A: Lott, R-Miss., who served on the House Judiciary Committee during Watergate, said he would not rule out compromising with a censure at that point, but emphasized that it was too early to speculate.
Q: How many impeachment trials have occurred in the Senate?
A: Fourteen, beginning with Tennessee Sen. William Blount in 1797, and ending with the trial of U.S. District Judge Walter Nixon Jr. of Mississippi in 1988, according to the Congressional Research Service. The Senate acquitted President Andrew Johnson in 1868.