Three Republicans desert the sinking impeachment ship

Three Republican senators declared Wednesday they would vote to acquit President Clinton on both articles of impeachment, the clearest sign yet that the vote to convict him would fall far short of the needed two-thirds majority and possibly even shy of 50 percent.

Sens. James Jeffords of Vermont, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and John Chafee of Rhode Island -- moderate lawmakers from the Northeast -- were the first Republicans to announce opposition to both articles, perjury and obstruction of justice in the Monica Lewinsky affair.

At the end of a second day of closed-door deliberations as the trial neared an end, a Democratic drive to censure Clinton sputtered under Republican opposition. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut said that if GOP leaders thwart efforts to force a censure vote, supporters might simply draft a declaration condemning the president's behavior and circulate it for senators to sign.

Jeffords said enough Republicans may vote against the articles of impeachment to keep the final roll calls on Thursday or Friday short of even 51 votes, although he subsequently softened his prediction. ``The pressure is coming on to get a majority,'' he said.

A spokesman for Majority Leader Trent Lott said there had been no attempt by the leadership to line up votes for conviction. Lott, R-Miss., issued a statement at mid-afternoon declaring that the evidence ``shows that the president has committed perjury and obstructed justice. The only question left is, will the Senate vote to find him guilty of committing these high crimes.''

Only a constitutional two-thirds -- 67 votes in the 100-member Senate -- could convict and oust Clinton, the second president in history to be put on trial.

Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., has disclosed that he will vote to convict Clinton for obstruction but to acquit for perjury.

As the Senate plodded through a second day of closed-door deliberations, Jeffords said Clinton ``gave misleading statements ... did obstruct justice, but his actions in this case do not reach the high standard of impeachment.''

A short while later, Specter said the charges ``have not been proved'' at the historic month-long trial now drawing to a close. He said he wished Clinton, who refused to be questioned in writing or in person, had submitted to a ``firm examination'' by lawyers in the case.

Chafee stepped to the microphones in late afternoon to say that when it came to obstruction of justice, ``circumstantial evidence in each of the cases is rebutted by direct evidence or by confusion.''

With solid support among the Senate's 45 Democrats, the president has long been out of danger of conviction. Failure to deliver a simple majority for either article in the Senate, controlled by 55 Republicans, would be a stinging repudiation of the case that the GOP House voted to take to trial and its 13 prosecutor-congressmen argued to the senators.

Gorton said Tuesday night he will vote for Clinton's conviction on the charge of obstruction of justice but not on perjury. ``I cannot will to my children and grandchildren the proposition that a president stands above the law and can systematically obstruct justice because both his polls and the Dow Jones index are high.''

With Clinton's acquittal assured, Democrats continued their campaign for a formal vote to censure the president after the trial. But Republican opposition seemed to be stiffening, and Specter said censure would violate the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers.

``There's been very little mention of censure'' in the closed-door deliberations, said Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn. ``To me, the push for censure is losing steam.''

Democratic leader Tom Daschle is hoping for at least a procedural vote before lawmakers adjourn for a week-long vacation, a roll call that would allow Democrats to go on record condemning the president's behavior while acquitting him at his trial.

With Chief Justice William Rehnquist presiding, the Senate spent a second day behind closed doors, senators taking turns delivering their final statements. By day's end, an estimated 55 senators had spoken, and prospects for a final vote on Thursday were dimming.

Inside the shuttered Senate chamber, Republicans and Democrats took turns laying out their reasoning on the case. ``I think people were reaching for history, given the occasion,'' said Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer.

Other senators said there was very little give and take, mostly individual senators speaking from a lectern in the well of the Senate. ``The drama is going to be whether obstruction gets 50 votes or not. It's going to be neck and neck,'' Schumer predicted.

A member of the GOP leaders, Sen. Connie Mack of Florida, said ``I wouldn't be surprised'' if other Republicans join the ranks of those voting for acquittal on both counts. He declined to speculate, but Maine's Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both of whom are among the more moderate Republicans, have yet to declare their intentions.

Chafee, Jeffords and Specter are among the most moderate Republicans in the Senate, and had long been viewed as possible votes for acquittal.

``The facts and circumstances of this case are low and tawdry, but these same circumstances do not, in my opinion, cause his offenses to rise to the level of impeachable acts,'' Jeffords said.

Specter said that under Scottish law, three verdicts are possible: guilty, not guilty or not proved. He opted for the third.

Specter was critical of the trial itself, saying only ``partial justice'' had been served since House prosecutors were hampered by the Senate's unwillingness to call witnesses.

In an interview with CNN, Jeffords said six to seven Republicans might well vote to acquit on both counts, and possibly as many as 12. He offered no elaboration. But a short while later, he told The Associated Press his earlier estimates may have been too high.

``It is diminishing,'' he said. ``The pressure is coming on to get a majority,'' he added, although he did not identify the source of the pressure.

Senators were well aware of the precedent-setting nature of the moment.

Jeffords said he was concerned that conviction of this president ``may establish a low threshold that would make every president subject to removal for the slightest indiscretion or that a vote to convict may imperil every president who faces a Congress controlled by an opposing party.''

Gorton said that by acquitting Clinton, ``the republic and its institutions will be weakened. One exception or excuse will lead to another, the right of the most powerful of our leaders to act outside the law -- or in violation of the law -- will be established.''