USA: AFTERMATH OF IMPEACHMENT скачать в хорошем качестве

USA: AFTERMATH OF IMPEACHMENT

(20 Dec 1998) English/Nat In the aftermath of President Bill Clinton's dramatic impeachment by the US House of Representatives, attention has turned to how the Senate will handle his trial. The President's legal team says it's preparing to mount a vigorous defence and is confident he'll be acquitted. While headlines across the country blared news of his historic impeachment, President Clinton and his daughter Chelsea attended Sunday morning church service. They looked relaxed and cheerful despite the drama of the previous day's events. Meanwhile politicians from all parties began setting the tone for the forthcoming Senate trial. It looks as if the upper house will steer clear of the bitter partisanship that characterised the impeachment process. SOUNDBITE: (English) "I think you will see a trial that will be conducted very fairly, very much in a bipartisan fashion, and, I would hope and expect, very quickly. I don't see it's to anybody's advantage to have a long trial, I don't see any reason whatsoever it would take several weeks, much less months. I am not going to twist anyone's arm to vote one way or another on conviction. The votes are guilty or not guilty." SUPER CAPTION: Senator Don Nickles, Republican The President's legal team made it clear they are ready to do what is necessary to win the case. SOUNDBITE: (English) "The reason this process is still going on is because of a party line vote by the majority party; the Republicans in the House sent it to the Senate and we're starting all over again. We're ready to go into the Senate, we're preparing for trial. We will mount a vigorous defence of the law and the facts and we are confident the President will be acquitted." SUPER CAPTION: Gregg Craig, President's Lawyer The trial is scheduled to begin in early January. Republicans will hold a 55-45 majority over the Democrats. But the law requires a two thirds Senate majority for a guilty verdict. One Democratic Senator even thinks the trail may not go ahead. SOUNDBITE: (English) "One thing that often happens before a trial begins is that the prosecutors and the counsel for the defence get together and talk to each other about whether it is possible to find an accommodation that would avoid a trial. As improbable as it might seem, it is still possible for that to happen between the managers of the House and counsel for the White House." SUPER CAPTION: Senator Joseph Lieberman, Democrat The latest opinion polls suggest Americans support the president's refusal to resign and by a margin of 2 to 1 do not want the Senate to remove him from office. But Republicans say the trial must go ahead. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Polls are polls. I guess we shouldn't necessarily ignore them, but we shouldn't give too much attention to them either. Right is right, wrong is wrong - you've got to do what's right here regardless of the polls. SUPER CAPTION: Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican In a poll taken hours after the impeachment vote, the President's job approval rating rose to 70 per cent. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...