HAS PRESIDENT CLINTON COMMITTED A HIGH CRIME WARRANTING HIS REMOVAL FROM OFFICE?
A. To Decide Whether the President’s Actions are a High Crime, We Must Look at the Underlying Circumstances. The House Managers has left us with the impression that once we conclude that the President has committed either perjury or obstruction of justice, we have a Constitutional duty to vote to remove the President from office. They maintain that perjury and obstruction of justice must be considered high crimes per se because they carry the same penalties as bribery. I reject this premise. In fact, the severity of a bribery sentence is dependent on subject matter and the amount of the bribe. Similarly, a conclusion that the President committed obstruction of justice should not automatically warrant his removal. It is incumbent upon each of us to examine the underlying facts and circumstances to determine whether or not the President has committed a high crime. B. Background: How Did We Get Here Anyway? Now, having found that the President is guilty of obstructing justice in the Paula
