Should Congress define impeachable crimes before a formal inquiry?
By Gregory Craig Very few questions remain about President Clinton’s inappropriate relationship with a young intern in the White House. The President himself has acknowledged the relationship, apologized for it and asked for forgiveness — from his wife and family, from his colleagues in the cabinet and from the American people. But one important question remains: whether the President’s efforts to conceal that relationship is conduct that rises to the level of an impeachable offense under the Constitution. With few exceptions, historians and constitutional scholars agree that the answer is “No.” On Sept. 9, Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr delivered a massive 450-page document to the House of Representatives urging the House to impeach President Clinton. That document — biased, unfair and unbalanced — prompted the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee to argue that, before going forward with an impeachment investigation, the committee first should address the issue of standard
