Attempt to di Is
House prosecutors still after Lewinsky, shorten list of other witnesses
«
The case cannot be made.
It is time to end it.”
Nicole Seligman
private attorney representing President Clinton
WASHINGTON (AP)-The Senate
closed its doors Monday to debate a
Democratic attempt to dismiss all
charges against President Clinton, and
to bring his impeachment trial to an end.
House prosecutors pressed their case for
testimony by Monica Lewinsky and a
shortened list of additional witnesses.
Senators deliberated into the night
in a rare secret session as the White
House, confident of Clinton’s ability to
win eventual acquittal, announced it
would ignore a written list of questions
submitted by Majority Leader Trent
Lott and other Republicans.
An attempt by two Democrats to
open the debate to the public was reject
ed, with 57 senators voting against it and
43 for it. A two-thirds majority was
needed to pass.
The senators began their closed
door debate after two final hours of
arguments by the White House and
House prosecutors on the question of
dismissal.
Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., the lead
prosecutor, told the Senate that dis
missal would mean that “charges of per
jury, obstruction of justice are summar
ily dismissed, disregarded, ignored,
brushed off, and these are charges that
send ordinary folk to jail every day of
the week and remove federal judges.”
There will be continuing contention
about Clinton’s case, he said, unless the
articles of impeachment themselves are
brought to a vote.
“The case cannot be made. It is time
to end it,” countered Nicole Seligman, a
private attorney who has long represent
ed Clinton and is part of his impeach
ment defense team.
No votes are expected before today
or possibly Wednesday, but after more
than two weeks, the first presidential
impeachment trial in 131 years was fast
approaching a pivotal moment
House Republicans are expected to
produce a formal proposal for witnesses
today, to be voted on after the attempt to
dismiss die charges.
A decision by the House prosecu
tors to winnow their witness list during
the day marked an attempt to hold the
support of wavering Republican sena
tors whose votes will be crucial when
the roll is called.
Lewinsky remains at the top of the
list, House officials said, and there is
continued interest in seeking testimony
from Betty Currie, the president’s secre
tary. Additional consideration is being
given to adding Clinton’s friend Vernon
Jordan to the list, or perhaps a White
House aide, either chief of staff John
Podesta or Sidney Bhimenthal.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers
were granted an hour apiece to argue the
motion to dismiss the charges.
But Lott, R-Miss., claimed enough
votes to squash the attempt, and no
Democrat disputed him.
U.S. misfire causes deaths of 11 Iraqi civilians
■ The jets fired in response
to threats by anti-aircraft and
warplanes, officials say.
BASRA, Iraq (AP) - U.S. missiles
slammed into residential neighbor
hoods in southern Iraq on Monday,
demolishing sturdy, stone-walled
homes as they killed at least 11 peo
ple, Iraqi officials said.
U.S. officials said its Air Force
and Navy jets fired at air defense sys
tems in response to threats by anti-air
craft artillery fire and by four Iraqi
warplanes flying south of the 33rd
parallel in violation of the no-flight
ban.
Pentagon officials said it was like
ly that U.S. jets targeting die Iraqi air
defense installations misfired and that
at least two missiles may have resulted
in civilian deaths in and around the
city of Basra. Navy Capt. Michael
Doubleday said U.S. officials were
still assessing the site damage.
The missiles hit five areas of
southern Iraq, including the working
class al-Jumhuriya neighborhood on
the outskirts of Basra, Iraqi officials
said. Several homes in that neighbor
hood were destroyed, and had their
roofs caved in. Broken dishes and
kitchen utensils were strewn among
the rubble. Civilians worked late into
the .night to clean the debris from the
morning strike.
Ahmed Ibrahim Hamash, the gov
ernor of Basra, said two aircraft Bred
Bve missiles that killed 11 people and
injured 59.
The missiles struck in the morn
ing, and Hamash said most of the
casualties were women, children or
the elderly because many men had
already left for work.
The missiles hit three civilian
areas in or near Basra, as well as a site
near the airport and another near the
Rumeilah oil fields.
Iraqi officials took reporters to the
al-Jumhouri hospital, one of the city’s
two main hospitals. Several injured
children and women woe at the hos
pital. Iraqi officials said they had been
wounded in the strikes.
Hamash said there were no mili
tary installations in the areas that were
hit.
“There is not even a police station
there, let alone a military installation,”
he said. “The United States claims to
be a humanitarian nation, but they are
enemies of that concept”
Lincoln Police Department up
for accreditation assessment
POLICE from page 1
cems about the department’s adher
ence to the national standards.
Citizens can call (402) 441-6359
between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. today to
voice concerns.
The goal of die on-site visit is to
make sure the department is follow
ing all the required directives.
When the Lincoln Police was
originally accredited in 1989, it was
the first and only agency in the state
to fneet the national standards.
Today, the Lincoln Police and the
State Patrol are the only accredited
agencies in the state.
Casady said it is difficult for
smaller agencies to become accredit
ed because of the cost required.
Accreditation for a mid-size
department costs more than $ 18,000,
and requires many work hours to
install the guidelines and policies.
“A lot of agencies are not willing
to devote the time and effort to the
process,” Casady said.
But police departments see sev
eral benefits from accreditation.
Insurance companies give
accredited agencies a break on their
liability insurance because the stan
dards reduce some risk factors.
“Accreditation reduces the risk of
lawsuits,” Casady said. “And injuries
to citizens and officers are less like
ly”
Clarification__
Because of an editing error, a paragraph was unclear in Monday’s story about
Wahoo Sen. Curt Bromm’s Highway Safety Initiative. The initiative would require
that a person caught driving on a suspended license after a conviction for motor
vehicle homicide would be charged with a felony instead of a misdemeanor.
i-—-1
m • ^!or: Questions? Comments?
AsJS^IISSl; MM.
Associate News Editor: Bryce Glenn o_m.il /tnfflTni »/4..
Assignment Editor: Lindsay Young Of e-mail dn@.unl.edu.
Opinion Editor: Cliff Hicks
Sports Editor: Sam McKewon General Manager: Dan Shattil
A&E Editor: Bret Publications Board Jessica Hofmann,
Copy Desk Chief: Tasha Kelter Chairwoman: (402)466-8404
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ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT1999
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
1
■ Columbia
Earthquake kills 87,
injures nearly 850 -
BOGOTA (AP) - An earth
quake struck western Colombia on
Monday, killing at least 87 people
and injuring nearly 850 as it top
pled buildings across the country’s
coffee-growing heartland, police
and radio reported.
The early-aftemoon quake had
a preliminary magnitude of 6,
according to the U.S. Geological
Survey in Golden, Colo.
Its epicenter was located in
western Valle del Cauca, 140 miles
west of the capital, Bogota.
if
i
■Washington
Supreme Court bans
statistical census sampling
The Associated Press - The
Supreme Court ruled Monday that
the 2000 Census cannot use statis
tical sampling to enhance its accu
racy, a decision making it more
likely millions of people will be
left out.
The 5-4 ruling requires the tra
ditional nose count to determine
how many members of Congress
each state should have.
The nation’s highest court
ruled that a 1976 federal census
law “directly prohibits the use of
sampling in the determination of
population for the purposes of
apportionment.”
Bill stiffens punishments for stores
ALCOHOL from page 1
rect that is to take away something very
valuable to the teens, riie said.
‘To a teen-ager, a driver’s license is
everything,” she said. “It’s a piece of
freedom. A driver’s license is a privi
lege, not a right”
Under the bill, minors who drink
alcohol and get caught would face a
mandatory fine of $250 and an auto
matic six-month driver’s license suspen
sion on the first offense. The punish
ment for second offense would be $500
and a one-year license suspension.
Third offense would bring a $750 fine
and two-year license suspension, unless
the minor turned 21 before die suspen
sion expired.
If a minor was given probation for
MIP, he or she would get an automatic
90-day license suspension on first
offense and a six-month license suspen
sion on second offense.
Thirty-three states have some sort
of law suspending the driver’s licenses
of minors who are caught with alcohol.
Columbus Sen. Jennie Robak said
although underage drinking is a prob
lem, she worried about minors who
attended parties unaware that alcohol
U * •• '*> .r.i ••••■* ' • • • •
was there. Those minors could lose their
licenses for t$ing in the wrong place at
the wrong time, she said
But high school students testifying
at the healing said their peers knew
when alcohol would be a£a party. '
“I have never been to a party where
alcohol is there because I deliberately
avoid that,” said April Otterberg, a
senior at Northwest High School in
Omaha
Schellpeper said the bill would
cause students to change their behavior.
“This is going to force kids to pick
their friends better,” he said
Many liquor retailers supported the
notion of license suspension for minors,
but objected to giving die liquor com
mission more discretion.
The bill would let the Liquor
Control Commission elect not to let
establishments that sell to minors “buy
out” of a liquor violation suspension on
a second offense.
Currently, liquor license holders can
pay $50 a day for as long as the suspen
sion would have lasted for a first
offense, and $100 a day for a second
offense, in lieu of a license suspen
sion. Schellpeper said the measure
would be used on 15 percent of liquor
license holders, restricted to those who
flagrantly violate the law and sell to
minors.
Carey Potter, executive director of
the Nebraska Retail Federation, said
although she was in favor of penalties
for minors, toe ones for liquor establish
ments seemed too stringent.
But Elm Creek Sen. Ed Schrock
questioned that reasoning, which was
offered by several other retail groups.
He said retailers seemed to be say
ing, “It’s all right to penalize toe kids,
but don’t penalize us.”
Potter said more of the fault for sell
ing alcohol to minors should be placed
on the actual employees who sell to
minors, not the store. She said regard
less of how well some employees are
trained, they may still sell to minors.
But even if retailers or employees
were held more responsible, Bellevue
Sol Paul Hartnett said that was only a
small part of the problem.
Liquor license establishments
account for about 20 percent of all sales
to minors, he said. The remaining get
their alcohol from friends or relatives.
“Most of the iceberg is under the
surface someplace,” Hartnett said, “and
we have to deal with that problem.”
Professors avoid lawsuit comments
SUIT from page 1 ^
Schwebach began filing complaints
with the university about harassment in
the political science department in
spring 1995.
Because to action was taken by for
mer Political Science Department
Chairman David Forsythe in 1995, the
lawsuit alleged, additional complaints
were filed with die arts and sciences
college and the UNL Academic
Senate’s Academic Rights and
Responsibilities Committee.
In spring of 1998, the Academic
Rights and Responsibilities Committee
said the political science department
tolerated a hostile climate for women.
The committee recommended placing
the department on a “receivership,” a
three-year probation-like period
UNL Chancellor James Moeser
appointed a three-member faculty com
mittee to look at the department’s cli
mate. The committee found no hard evi
dence to support gender inequity.
Moeser did not return phone calls to
the Daily Nebraskan on Monday.
Joan Giesecke, dean of libraries,
was a member of the ad hoc committee.
“We reported on what we discov
ered when we talked to people in the
department,” Giesecke said.
“We said that a vast majority of
respondents did not identify problems
with gender related differential treat
ment in the department”
The faculty committee presented
seven recommendations to Moeser.
Some of the recommendations
included calling for the department to
work “very hard” to hire more women,
ensuring that the department chairman
was trained on university gender bias
and sexual harassment policies, and
developing policies to demonstrate the
department’s sensitivity.
The committee reported not finding
any “hard evidence of gender equity” in
the department.
Giesecke said it was up to die (chan
cellor’s office to act on the recommen
dations. J.T. Smith, a second-year polit
ical science graduate student, said he
had heard some discussion within the
department Monday about die lawsuit
“I cannot speak for other graduate
students,” Smith said. “But die general
scope of what I have been hearing is that
it’s a story that will not go away”