Speed Read

Special counsel Gregory Craig and Deputy White House counsel Cheryl Mills, continued the defense of President Clinton against charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in his impeachment trial.

Craig focused on the perjury charge, dismissing it as “flawed and unfair,” in large part because of what he asserted was a lack of specificity. “Imagine a robbery indictment that failed to indicate who or what was robbed and what property was stolen. ... Imagine a murder indictment without identifying a victim.”

Craig also accused the House prosecution team of being so intent on bringing charges against Clinton that they chose to criminalize behavior that was “immaterial, unimportant, and fundamentally frivolous.”

Mills, seeking to debunk the obstruction-of-justice charge, noted that one House prosecution manager had likened the case against Clinton on this allegation to “the finely tuned mechanism of a Swiss watch.” But, she said, “When you put the facts together, they don’t quite make out a Swiss watch. In fact, they might not even make good sausage.”

Today’s Testimony

* David Kendall, special counsel, will continue the White House defense. Dale Bumpers, former Democratic senator from Arkansas, will present closing arguments for the White House.

FRIDAY: THE NEXT STEP

* The senators submit questions to Chief Justice Rehnquist, who then will present the questions to either the White House counsel or the House managers.