Senate Trial Underway
(1/7/99)
The U.S. Senate convened as a jury Thursday, to begin considering the impeachment of President Clinton. KSL-TV's Charles Sherrill witnessed the historic events.
The Senate was more somber than usual Thursday morning as its 100 members prepared to stand in judgement of a President for the first time in the twentieth century. The 13 Republican prosecutors, one of them Utah's Chris Cannon, walked from the House side of the Capitol to the Senate to deliver the two articles of impeachment that the House passed last month. They were read aloud by the lead prosecutor.
Early Thursday afternoon Utah's Orrin Hatch and five other Senators escorted Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist into to chamber where he will preside over the impeachment trial. Every Senator then took an oath and pledged in writing to be an impartial juror.
While tourists queued up outside the capitol hoping for a glimpse of history in the making the Senators inside squabbled about how to proceed. A day of negotiating produced no agreement. It was first announced that all the Senators would meet Thursday afternoon and try to reach agreement. When that fizzled votes were set for 5:00 p.m. on a Republican plan and a Democrat plan. That too was cancelled. They'll try again Friday.
