TRIAL IN THE SENATE: Daschle: Witnesses very likely in Clinton trial

Clinton's lawyers will begin to present their defense of the embattled president today. The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- The Senate's Democratic leader conceded yesterday that witnesses "may be inevitable" in President Clinton's impeachment trial but said that once live testimony starts the Senate could lose much of its control over the proceedings. A Republican victory on calling Monica Lewinsky and others could extend the trial indefinitely, said Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota. And he speculated that it also could lead to a Senate-floor spectacle of 100 senators watching her "point to where the president touched her." Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona dismissed the warning as "all-or-nothing" scare tactics -- "just not true." As Daschle commented, White House lawyers honed the defense presentation they will begin today. It will focus on conflicts in testimony -- a strategy that would be aimed at undercutting House charges of perjury and obstruction of justice but that also could open the way to Republican demands for witnesses to help resolve the disputes. The White House has been fighting that demand, but it now expects witnesses, officials said. White House Counsel Charles Ruff will spend several hours presenting opening defense arguments before the trial recesses for Clinton's State of the Union address in the House chamber where the president was impeached. The Clinton lawyers have expressed interest in some Democrats from the House Judiciary Committee becoming part of the defense team, according to officials familiar with the White House discussions. However, there was no indication the White House would adopt the proposal or that the House Democrats would agree to take part. Meanwhile, Senate Republican aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, said GOP leaders would prefer that senators adopt the demeanor of Supreme Court justices in the audience and not express themselves during the State of the Union address. The lead prosecutor, Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), has said he will not attend the speech but his absence won't be related to the trial. The lawmaker said he prefers to avoid the crowds and has missed the address in previous years. Daschle, in an interview with the Associated Press, acknowledged the Democrats apparently have lost their fight with majority Republicans to conclude the trial without live testimony from witnesses. But the potential results were still being hotly disputed. "Once we say we have to have witnesses, then it seems to me we've given up the ability to tell the House or White House how to present their case," Daschle said. White House spokesperson Joe Lockhart said anew that the Clinton side is ready to argue its case without witnesses even though live testimony might bring "exculpatory information" to the Senate. "I'll repeat again, the one thing that bringing witnesses into this case will definitely do is extend and delay this process," he said. Kyl, who said he believes other Senate Republicans would endorse his views, called Daschle's comments "totally inconsistent with the rules.? He appears to say it's all or nothing -- if witnesses are called, there's not much the Senate can do about controlling it. That's just not true." The Arizona Republican said the Senate could reject witnesses and added, "There clearly were discussions in our conference about ways salacious material could be handled. The Senate has the ability to set limitations on that." "I cannot believe the White House will engage in tactics that would deliberately and obviously delay the process," Kyl said. "I think it's more of a bluff and bluster."