House Republicans Concede to Democratic Demands in Impeachment Inquiry

House Republicans, eager to shed the label of partisans, acceded to certain Democratic demands Monday in the impeachment inquiry, promising a fair process and acknowledging the importance of bipartisan cooperation. The Judiciary Committee agreed to release edited transcripts of telephone tapes and grand jury testimony, including that of Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinsky, and granted Democratic lawyers permission to review documents deemed irrelevant to the inquiry. Meanwhile, the full House is expected to vote on the matter by the end of next week, setting up a full-scale impeachment inquiry to begin after the Nov. 3 elections.

Key Takeaways:

• The Judiciary Committee will release 3,000 pages of evidence collected by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, out of a total of 50,000 examined by committee lawyers.
• The featured elements in this final release of Starr evidence include edited transcripts of telephone tapes and grand jury testimony of Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinsky.
• Chairman Henry Hyde granted Democratic lawyers permission to review documents deemed irrelevant to the inquiry, despite Republicans ignoring most of the Democrats' requests over past weeks.
• Hyde announced that he would grant the Judiciary Committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the power to subpoena witnesses to testify before the committee.
• Democrats plan to interrogate Lewinsky, Tripp, and Starr in hopes of discrediting them.
• The Judiciary Committee will convene hearings to be briefed by its lawyers on the strength of all the evidence against Clinton next Monday, followed by a vote on whether to move forward with an investigation.
• The full House is expected to vote on the matter by the end of next week, with both votes expected to go against the president.
• The impeachment inquiry will begin after the Nov. 3 elections, with a full-scale trial in the Senate requiring a two-thirds majority vote, including at least 12 Democrats.

Statistics:

• 3,000 pages of evidence released by the Judiciary Committee, out of 50,000 examined by committee lawyers.
• 10,000 pages of evidence still in the independent counsel's vaults, which Democrats believe might be favorable to Clinton.
• 50,000 pages of evidence examined by committee lawyers.
• 2,000 hours of audiotapes recorded by Linda Tripp, with the most incriminating evidence expected to be released sometime next week.
• 12 Democrats required to vote against Clinton in the Senate to oust the president from office.

Sources:

• "House Republicans Accede to Democratic Demands in Impeachment Inquiry"
• Associated Press
• (no date specified in original source material)