Moving Toward Impeachment

For the first time in 105 years, a committee of the House of Representatives assembled last week to begin an inquiry into the possible impeachment of the President of the U.S. Like many historic occasions, this one began with relatively obscure preliminaries and routine, undramatic details. Unlike the solemn moment of nonpartisan statesmanship that was clearly called for, however, the first full-scale meeting of the House Judiciary Committee devoted to the impeachment question produced a round of unfortunate bickering between Democrats and Republicans and a vote recorded along strict party lines. The committee's chances for future cooperation were hardly destroyed in the process, but it was far from an auspicious beginning.

At the meeting Chairman Peter Rodino, a Democrat, sought the committee's authority to let him personally subpoena documents and information leading up to a presidential impeachment proceeding. That authority carries less power than it might imply, since the committee cannot subpoena evidence for an actual impeachment hearing; the full House membership must vote the committee such powers at a later date.

Yet some Republicans grew deeply suspicious about Rodino's motive in asking even for the lesser authority. In an angry speech on the House floor, G.O.P. Moderate Thomas Railsback of Illinois charged that Rodino's request could result in "an unparalleled fishing expedition."

Rodino got his subpoena power, but in a 21-17 vote that was on strictly partisan lines. The Democratic leadership in the House is gravely worried about provoking such splits, fearing that they would only exacerbate divisiveness throughout the nation. Additionally, any conviction of an impeached President would obviously require a substantial number of Republican as well as Democratic votes. That means, as Rodino repeatedly reminded his colleagues, that "we'll have to get bipartisan support."

Momentous Project. The committee chairman professed no alarm over the glaringly partisan vote by the committee's 21 Democrats and 17 Republicans, saying that by consulting with G.O.P. members he will be able to still partisan suspicions. Rodino promised ranking Republican Edward Hutchinson that he and other G.O.P. members will be kept fully informed of all committee activities and will never be confronted by the Democrats with surprise developments.

Meanwhile, Rodino has begun assembling an "impeachment staff," which by last week included two attorneys, six investigators, an office manager and about a dozen other workers. Now he is looking for a chief counsel who is nonpartisan. "I want a good trial lawyer," says Rodino. "I want a man who is aggressive but not abrasive. And he has to be tuned in on constitutional law."

Rodino has also prepared an agenda for his momentous project. It begins with the assembly and cross-indexing of materials collected by various other governmental committees looking into presidential activities, including the Watergate committee in the Senate, the Armed Services Committee investigations in both houses, CIA involvement in Watergate, and the House study of work performed on Nixon's homes at Government expense. This and other material will then be formally evaluated to determine whether the committee has "probable cause" to charge that "impeachable offenses" have indeed been committed by the President of the United States. If it decides that they have, says Rodino, the committee will probably first schedule closed-door hearings to gather testimony and later hold public ones if the evidence clearly warrants. Should the committee formally determine that there are grounds for impeachment, Rodino continues, "then you are at the stage that you'd be writing Articles of Impeachment."

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