World News Tonight (ABC) - 1998-09-13

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:04] On World News Tonight this Sunday,

[0:06] President Clinton's lawyers take their

[0:08] case directly to the public.

[0:10] >> He answered the questions narrowly but

[0:13] truthfully. There was no perjury there.

[0:15] >> But will the Congress buy it?

[0:17] >> I think clearly lying to a grand jury is

[0:20] a grounds for removal from office.

[0:22] >> And what about the public? We get early

[0:25] reaction from the nation's churches.

[0:27] >> Hey, I'm Mel Washington.

[0:28] >> Nice to meet you. Congress

[0:30] >> and from the Congressional Campaign

[0:32] Trail

[0:39] >> from ABC News. This is World News

[0:43] Tonight Sunday.

[0:45] >> Good evening. I'm Carol Simpson. The

[0:48] White House took the unusual step of

[0:50] sending President Clinton's lawyers out

[0:52] today to make their case directly to the

[0:54] public. Many Americans have now read the

[0:57] 445page report from Independent Council

[1:00] Kenneth Star accusing President Clinton

[1:03] of impeachable offenses. Ultimately, the

[1:06] president's fate rests with Congress,

[1:08] but Congress listens to its

[1:10] constituents, and a new ABC News poll

[1:13] gives an early look at how those

[1:15] constituents are responding. The

[1:17] president's job approval rating remains

[1:20] high, 59%.

[1:22] But most Americans want the

[1:24] investigation to continue. 53% say

[1:27] Congress should hold hearings on a

[1:29] possible impeachment. We begin our

[1:32] coverage tonight with ABC's Mike Von

[1:34] friend at the White House.

[1:37] >> The president decided not to go to

[1:39] church this Sunday morning. Instead, Mr.

[1:42] Clinton spent the day in the White House

[1:44] talking with advisers about foreign

[1:45] policy while his top attorneys who

[1:48] usually shun TV cameras took to the

[1:50] airwaves to tell the American people not

[1:53] to believe Ken Star's report.

[1:55] >> Whatever is in that report and whatever

[1:58] you've heard or whatever the American

[2:00] people have heard, there is no basis for

[2:02] beginning an impeachment proceeding.

[2:04] >> Citing testimony from Monica Lewinsky,

[2:06] Star provides graphic detail of her 10

[2:08] sexual encounters with the president.

[2:11] But Mr. Clinton's personal attorney says

[2:13] the president did not commit perjury

[2:15] when he denied having sexual relations

[2:18] with Lewinsky.

[2:19] >> Are you saying Monica Lewinsky lied?

[2:21] >> Not at all. Uh the president did not

[2:24] commit perjury. Uh our point is that the

[2:27] Star report is full of graphic and

[2:30] unnecessary salacious detail. It's not

[2:33] relevant to any of the charges.

[2:35] >> Senator Orin Hatch, who talked with the

[2:37] president this morning, offered an olive

[2:39] branch. He said if Mr. Clinton will just

[2:42] come clean and stop the legal hair

[2:44] splitting, he may still be censured, but

[2:46] avoid impeachment.

[2:48] >> It's time to just admit it, go from

[2:51] there, say he didn't mean to commit

[2:53] perjury. Uh hopes nobody will accuse him

[2:56] of that. Nobody's going to indict him.

[2:58] Not during his presidency, not

[3:00] afterwards. The American people want to

[3:02] get this behind them. Members of the

[3:04] House Judiciary Committee today went to

[3:06] a Congressional Office building to read

[3:08] the 2,000 unreleased pages of grand jury

[3:10] transcripts. Chairman Henry Hyde said he

[3:13] thinks impeachment hearings are

[3:15] justified.

[3:16] >> I must say I I do, but I I want to hear

[3:20] from everyone on the committee.

[3:21] >> And the Senate Majority Leader warned

[3:23] Mr. Clinton's attorneys that if they

[3:26] continue their combative strategy, it

[3:28] will be the president who pays. They

[3:30] still are in their uh their fight mode

[3:34] and I think if that's the attitude at

[3:36] the White House, it's going to lead to

[3:38] hearings and likely impeachment and

[3:41] trial by the Senate. While Congress and

[3:43] most of the country are looking at

[3:45] Star's report, the president's aids say

[3:47] he has not read it and does not intend

[3:49] to. Mr. Clinton says he wants to focus

[3:51] on running the country and let his

[3:53] attorneys deal with the Star report in

[3:55] Congress. Carol,

[3:57] >> thanks very much. Mike Vonremed at the

[3:58] White House.

[4:00] Mr. Star's report accuses the president

[4:02] of perjury, obstruction of justice,

[4:04] witness tampering, and abuse of power.

[4:07] I'm joined now by more of my colleagues

[4:09] in Washington, ABC's Jackie Jud, Sam

[4:12] Donaldelsson, and Koki Roberts. First to

[4:14] you, Jackie. What do you think is the

[4:16] strongest part of Star's case against

[4:18] the president? Well, certainly the part

[4:20] of the report that has the largest

[4:22] amount of evidence does deal with the

[4:24] perjury allegations, the allegations

[4:26] that Mr. Clinton lied not only in the

[4:28] civil deposition in the Jones case, but

[4:31] then again before the federal grand jury

[4:33] and that he lied on a couple of points

[4:35] allegedly uh dealing with whether he had

[4:38] a sexual relationship with Lewinsky and

[4:40] when he said in the civil deposition

[4:41] that he wasn't alone, he couldn't recall

[4:44] being alone uh with Lewinsky in the Oval

[4:46] Office. Star has some very very detailed

[4:50] recollections from Lewinsky that she

[4:52] gave to the grand jury. She also

[4:55] apparently wrote notes about some of the

[4:57] encounters right after they occurred.

[4:59] Additionally, Carol Lewinsky talked to a

[5:02] lot of people. There were 10 or 11

[5:03] witnesses uh who say they told her about

[5:06] the affair and some very graphic details

[5:09] of the affair. There's a lot there. If I

[5:11] may move now, thank you, Jackie, to Sam

[5:13] Donaldson at the White House. All the

[5:15] president's men and women, Sam, are

[5:16] mounting his defense. What is their

[5:19] defense against those kind of perjury

[5:21] charges? Well, Carol, his lawyers have a

[5:23] very tough case to make. They cannot say

[5:24] that the president told the truth in the

[5:26] Paulo Jones deposition. By his own

[5:28] admission, now he was not honest about

[5:30] his relationship with Lewinsky. But they

[5:32] have to make the case that while he may

[5:34] have lied, he did not actually perure

[5:36] himself under the law. They say Mr.

[5:38] Clinton was using a confusing definition

[5:40] of what sex is all about. That he really

[5:43] believes that oral sex is not sex under

[5:46] the definition that he was using. and

[5:48] that when it comes to whether he was

[5:49] ever alone with Lewinsky, he said he

[5:51] could never remember any specific time

[5:53] being alone with her, they're going to

[5:54] have to hope the country believes that

[5:56] even though now he admits that they had

[5:57] sexual relations at various times, he

[5:59] did not recall that at all. Finally, I

[6:02] have to tell you, the Clinton lawyers

[6:03] are saying very boldly and very

[6:05] straightforwardly that even though the

[6:07] president or anyone may make statements

[6:09] that are intentionally misleading, that

[6:13] is not perjury.

[6:14] >> Thank you, Sam. And now moving to Koki

[6:16] Roberts on Capitol Hill. We know the

[6:18] requisites for impeachment are quote

[6:20] high crimes and misdemeanors. Do the

[6:22] president's alleged transgressions rise

[6:24] to that level, Ki? Well, that would be

[6:26] something for the Congress to determine,

[6:28] Carol, and and they are setting about

[6:30] that task right now. The members of the

[6:33] judiciary committee are uh going into

[6:35] the room where they have the rest of the

[6:37] evidence, those 18 boxes that Star

[6:40] delivered to each party and looking

[6:42] through those. Next week, they expect to

[6:46] uh try to pass some sort of rules that

[6:48] will allow the committee to uh conduct

[6:50] an impeachment inquiry. Uh rules for

[6:53] subpoening witnesses, holding witnesses

[6:55] in contempt. There's a lot of fighting

[6:57] going on about that right now, but the

[6:59] process is well underway

[7:01] >> and we will stay tuned. Thank you so

[7:03] much to my colleagues Koki Roberts, Sam

[7:05] Donaldelsson, and Jackie Jud. Editorials

[7:08] in a number of major newspapers around

[7:10] the country today are calling on

[7:11] President Clinton to resign. Among them,

[7:14] the Atlanta Constitution, the

[7:16] Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Jose

[7:18] Mercury News, and the Seattle Times. We

[7:21] asked ABC's Mark Mullen to gauge the

[7:24] national mood.

[7:26] >> Away from the pundits, the spin doctors,

[7:28] and the lawyers, voters across America

[7:30] reacted. Voters like Kurt Vulkman and

[7:33] Jim Wuitch in Chicago.

[7:35] I think they've had it out for him from

[7:37] the beginning. If he's allowed to get

[7:39] away with perjury, then I should be

[7:40] allowed to get away with my parking

[7:41] tickets.

[7:42] >> While many Americans have paid little to

[7:44] no attention to the allegations in the

[7:46] past few months, the release of the Star

[7:48] Report detailed in most every newspaper

[7:50] made it this weekend's required reading.

[7:52] From Los Angeles,

[7:54] >> he hasn't done anything that anybody in

[7:55] Washington hasn't done themselves

[7:57] >> to New York.

[7:58] >> It's totally immoral

[7:59] >> to Miami. I don't think he has set an

[8:02] example for uh the American people. Uh

[8:06] there's too much hanky panky going on in

[8:08] the White House.

[8:09] >> The first duty of a married man caught

[8:11] in an affair. He's supposed to deny it

[8:14] to death.

[8:15] >> There was also reaction from a former

[8:16] accuser of the president. A spokesperson

[8:19] for Paula Jones thinks the Star report

[8:21] will change attitudes about Jones. I

[8:23] think that

[8:25] the history books will dub her much more

[8:29] of a hero

[8:30] um than the Democratic pundits have done

[8:34] over the last four years.

[8:36] >> In the days ahead, the public debate

[8:38] over the Star report will continue. Some

[8:40] will support the allegations of Kenneth

[8:42] Star, while others defend President

[8:43] Clinton. Ultimately, members of Congress

[8:46] will decide who has a stronger voice and

[8:48] what the future of President Clinton

[8:49] will be. Mark Mullen, ABC News, New

[8:52] York.

[8:54] >> Rural Kiaup County in Iowa mirrored the

[8:57] voting patterns of the national

[8:58] elections in 1992 and 1996.

[9:02] Both times voting for Mr. Clinton. ABC's

[9:05] Jim Williams went to Sigourney in Kiaak

[9:08] County to see what they think today.

[9:12] >> It was going to come out, but you know,

[9:14] he lied.

[9:15] >> Hundreds of miles from Washington, there

[9:17] is another White House. Well, I believe

[9:19] that everybody deserves a second chance.

[9:21] >> On the menu at this Iowa restaurant,

[9:24] catfish and the Star Report.

[9:27] That was the wrong thing for a president

[9:29] to do.

[9:30] >> It wasn't the catfish that was causing

[9:32] heartburn.

[9:33] >> He should do the right thing and that

[9:35] would be resigned and let somebody in

[9:37] there that's got morals and wants to run

[9:39] our country and not play around with a

[9:41] bunch of women. Throughout the weekend

[9:43] in this rural community of 2100, people

[9:46] have read the lurid details in their

[9:48] newspapers. That's made some parents

[9:51] quite angry at the president.

[9:53] >> He made our job as parents very

[9:54] difficult.

[9:56] We talk about things they used to talk

[9:57] about in porno shows and now it's on

[10:00] national news.

[10:01] >> But Jan Waller saw a chance to teach her

[10:04] 16-year-old son and his friends about

[10:06] the consequences of using poor judgment.

[10:08] >> 10 sexual encounters. So she took them

[10:11] to the library to read the report on the

[10:13] internet.

[10:14] >> He's old enough that we can do this and

[10:16] have a discussion about it.

[10:17] >> But it is not the White House crisis

[10:19] that has people here most concerned.

[10:22] They fear something a lot closer to

[10:24] home. The threatened farm crisis. When

[10:27] ABC News was last here two years ago,

[10:30] the farm economy was booming and the

[10:32] president easily carried the county in

[10:34] the 96 election. Today, farmers are

[10:37] facing dropping crop prices and bad

[10:40] weather, and they're outraged that so

[10:42] much attention is focused on the

[10:44] president's troubles.

[10:45] >> Look at the papers and nothing about the

[10:47] economy in the papers, farmers. That's

[10:49] that's nothing. It's all about this

[10:50] stupid affair that our president had.

[10:54] >> Here, people are comparing Bill

[10:55] Clinton's problems to their own. And

[10:58] they say their problems are much more

[11:00] important. Jim Williams, ABC News,

[11:03] Sigourney, Iowa.

[11:05] Still ahead on World News Tonight this

[11:07] Sunday, we hear from churchgoers on

[11:09] President Clinton and the Star Report.

[11:12] Plus, how the report is flying on the

[11:14] campaign trail. And Russia's new prime

[11:17] minister takes to the airwaves.

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[13:01] >> For Democratic candidates in tight races

[13:03] this congressional election year. The

[13:06] crisis in Washington presents a dilemma.

[13:08] Whether to stand by the president or

[13:10] not. ABC's Anderson Cooper reports.

[13:16] >> Good to see you. How things going? When

[13:18] Democratic Congressman Mel Watt began

[13:20] campaigning this weekend in North

[13:21] Carolina at a high school football game,

[13:23] he tried to sound upbeat.

[13:25] >> It's been a long day, but uh but it's

[13:28] going all right.

[13:28] >> Watt serves on the House Judiciary

[13:30] Committee and is determined not to bow

[13:32] to pressure and distance himself from

[13:34] the president.

[13:35] >> I think it's too early to uh either cozy

[13:38] up to the president or distance yourself

[13:40] from the president. I mean, we've got a

[13:42] responsibility to be impartial. At

[13:44] campaign stops throughout the weekend,

[13:45] people seem supportive of Watt's

[13:47] position, but political analysts say he

[13:49] and other Democratic candidates

[13:51] nationwide may suffer this fall because

[13:53] of President Clinton's troubles. The

[13:55] danger for Democrats because of the

[13:58] scandal in Washington is you'll get

[14:01] voters who typically would turn out and

[14:03] vote Democratic becoming so

[14:05] disillusioned they simply pass this

[14:07] election. Across the country, Democratic

[14:09] candidates are finding it increasingly

[14:11] difficult to focus on issues like

[14:13] healthc care reform and education.

[14:15] Instead, they're having to answer

[14:16] questions about the president and his

[14:18] behavior. Many Democrats are trying to

[14:20] distance themselves from the president.

[14:22] >> I don't think there's any excuse that

[14:24] for what the president did. I think the

[14:25] conduct was reprehensible and I think

[14:27] most everybody agrees with that.

[14:29] >> Vice President Al Gore, however, remains

[14:31] a campaign draw. This weekend he was in

[14:34] Washington state campaigning for

[14:35] congressional candidate Brian Baird.

[14:38] WSTP listeners here in North Carolina.

[14:40] One of Mel Watt's Republican opponents

[14:42] this weekend released a radio ad

[14:44] connecting Watt to the president. The

[14:46] incumbent cemented his reputation as one

[14:48] of the most liberal members of Congress

[14:51] and one of the staunchest supporters of

[14:53] the White House. It's a strategy he's

[14:55] convinced will work. It's what people

[14:57] are talking about. This is the only

[14:58] issue in the campaign.

[14:59] >> But Watt seems unconvinced. Nobody

[15:02] really knows how this cuts at this point

[15:04] and uh it's kind of rolling your dice

[15:07] and and taking your chances with what

[15:10] kind of reaction the American people are

[15:12] going to have. For now at least, Watt's

[15:14] willing to gamble that the American

[15:15] people have had enough of the Clinton

[15:17] crisis and is willing to bet the

[15:19] president's problems won't become his

[15:21] own.

[15:22] >> Anderson Cooper, ABC News, Charlotte,

[15:24] North Carolina.

[15:26] Please stay with ABC News for the latest

[15:28] on the crisis in Washington. And join

[15:30] Peter Jennings tonight at 9:00 Eastern

[15:32] time for a 1-hour special report. Coming

[15:36] up, Russia's new prime minister tells

[15:38] the country what's on his mind.

[15:45] We know all about it. Some people throw

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[17:15] >> Are we gonna have a good time today?

[17:17] >> Bye, Dad.

[17:18] >> Thanks for jumping in and watching,

[17:19] Tyler.

[17:20] >> Bye, Mommy.

[17:20] >> Bye, sweetie.

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[17:46] >> In news overseas, Russia's new prime

[17:48] minister, Yevgenei Priikov, gave his

[17:51] first extensive television interview

[17:53] tonight since being confirmed by the

[17:55] Russian Duma on Friday. ABC's Bob

[17:58] Woodruff is in Moscow.

[18:01] >> In his interview tonight, Yavghini

[18:02] Priakov promised to keep economic reform

[18:05] on track.

[18:07] >> The course of reform will be guaranteed.

[18:09] He said nobody should have any doubt.

[18:12] But with the people suffering and food

[18:14] lines growing longer, Primacov also

[18:16] offered some changes to narrow the gap

[18:18] between rich and poor. He said he'd try

[18:21] to pay salaries and pensions to get food

[18:24] and medicine back on the shelves in time

[18:26] for winter, but he didn't say how he'd

[18:28] pay for it.

[18:30] >> More than half the population is under

[18:32] the poverty line. He said we can't allow

[18:35] that to continue. What has reformers

[18:37] here worried is the power of the

[18:39] communists who have grown stronger with

[18:41] the struggling economy.

[18:43] >> Primacov also said tonight that the

[18:44] communists will not control him but

[18:47] their critical role in his confirmation

[18:49] on Friday has landed two politicians

[18:51] aligned with the communists in top jobs.

[18:54] Yuri Maslov, deputy prime minister in

[18:57] charge of the economy. Victor Gashanka,

[19:00] chief of the central bank. It was Garash

[19:02] Shanka who was fired from the same job

[19:04] four years ago when the ruble collapsed.

[19:07] Some think that will happen again.

[19:10] >> I think that we will see hyperinflation

[19:12] happening in Russia very fast, possibly

[19:16] already in September.

[19:17] >> To keep that from happening, the world's

[19:19] wealthier nations, known as the G7, will

[19:22] meet in London tomorrow to talk about

[19:23] the Russian economy. They've made it

[19:25] clear in the past, and they'll no doubt

[19:27] say it again. If Russia wants more aid,

[19:30] it must continue its reform. Bob

[19:32] Woodruff, ABC News, Moscow.

[19:35] >> On the West Bank today, Palestinians

[19:37] protested the fifth anniversary of the

[19:39] Oslo Peace Accords by burning American

[19:42] and Israeli flags. It was the third

[19:45] straight day of unrest on the West Bank.

[19:48] When we come back, Northwest Airlines

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[21:50] Can your mailbox do that?

[21:52] >> You could win $50,000. Play what's in

[21:54] the box now at your neighborhood

[21:56] mailboxes, etc.

[21:59] >> In sports, the home run derby continues.

[22:01] Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa was

[22:04] redhot today. He hit two home runs,

[22:07] belting both of them out of the park.

[22:09] He's now tied with Mark Maguire for the

[22:11] new single season record of 62. And the

[22:14] season isn't even over yet.

[22:17] Northwest Airlines finally came to terms

[22:19] with its striking pilots late yesterday.

[22:22] The pilots were out for 15 days, the

[22:25] longest strike against a US airline

[22:27] since 1989.

[22:29] But it may take Northwest longer than

[22:31] that to undo the damage. Here's ABC's

[22:34] Farai Chada.

[22:36] >> The settlement came after Northwest

[22:38] Airlines lost over $200 million. Late

[22:41] yesterday, pilots and management finally

[22:43] ratified an agreement. We're a

[22:45] professional pilot group and we want to

[22:47] get back to doing what we do best and

[22:48] and what's important to us.

[22:50] >> The contract, which gives neither side

[22:52] exactly what it wanted, offers pilots a

[22:54] 12% pay hike, a $57 million lumpsum

[22:58] payment, stock options, and the end of

[23:01] the two-tiered wage system. The man who

[23:03] brokered the deal, White House lawyer

[23:05] and Clinton confidant Bruce Lindseay.

[23:08] Now Northwest must put 31,000 employees

[23:11] back to work. The startup will be done

[23:13] in stages over 9 days with 28.5%

[23:17] of Northwest flights operating by

[23:19] Wednesday, September 16th.

[23:22] >> Northwest won't be fully operational

[23:24] until the end of September. The airline

[23:26] still faces negotiations with five other

[23:29] unions. Farai Chada, ABC News, New York.

[23:33] >> According to a report released today by

[23:35] government auditors, a significant

[23:37] number of workers in the nation's

[23:39] nursing homes have criminal records.

[23:41] Government auditors base their findings

[23:43] on a random sampling of nursing homes in

[23:46] Maryland. Still ahead, reflecting on the

[23:49] Star Report and President Clinton from

[23:52] some churchgoers.

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[25:26] be silver. The Star Report is the talk

[25:29] of the nation. Where will it end? Join

[25:31] Peter Jennings and the people at ABC

[25:33] News for Crisis in the White House.

[25:34] Facts and Fallout tonight at 98 central.

[25:39] >> Finally tonight, the religious faithful

[25:42] and the presidential scandal. On Friday,

[25:44] President Clinton told clergy at the

[25:46] National Prayer Breakfast that he had

[25:48] sinned and he was he asked forgiveness.

[25:51] At churches all over the country today,

[25:53] the president and his self-admitted

[25:55] moral lapses were the topic of sermons

[25:58] and prayers. As ABC's Steve Osansami

[26:01] reports, there was forgiveness, but also

[26:04] disappointment.

[26:07] >> In churches across the country this

[26:08] morning, President Clinton's troubles

[26:10] were the subject of Sunday sermons.

[26:13] >> I was embarrassed to look at some of the

[26:16] things that were in the paper yesterday.

[26:18] >> Presbyterian Reverend Frank Harrington

[26:20] of Atlanta spoke with Mr. Clinton at

[26:22] Friday's prayer breakfast in the White

[26:24] House East Room. I don't think there is

[26:26] a fancy way to say that I have sinned.

[26:30] >> And the reverend and his congregation

[26:32] believe God in his mercy will accept the

[26:34] president's apologies.

[26:36] >> I think he's he has a genuine sense of

[26:38] sorrow for what he did and he said that

[26:41] and it came across as genuine. I think

[26:44] the consequences to him are still

[26:47] playing out.

[26:48] >> Others were not as forgiving.

[26:50] >> He's he needs to have a little more

[26:51] selfrespect and respect for other

[26:53] people. It's making the the nation look

[26:56] bad as a whole. He is a reflection on

[26:59] all of us.

[27:00] >> But what concerns the church more than

[27:01] the president is the moral standard he

[27:04] sets for the rest of the country. And as

[27:06] some clergy have put it, God may save

[27:08] the president's soul, but not his

[27:10] presidency.

[27:14] >> That was the Sunday lesson at Atlanta's

[27:16] New Hope Baptist Church, a black

[27:18] congregation many might expect to excuse

[27:20] the president. It would be better for

[27:23] you to step down while in grace

[27:29] >> than to be asked down

[27:32] in disgrace.

[27:34] >> Reverend Dennis Bird says the

[27:35] president's actions demonstrate this

[27:37] country is infected with low moral

[27:40] character. The Reverend believes this

[27:42] one nation under God would be better

[27:44] served if Clinton left office.

[27:46] >> Uh he's made things right with God. Now,

[27:48] he may have to suffer the consequences

[27:50] when it comes down to the law.

[27:52] >> The Baptist Church declared this a day

[27:53] of prayer for the president. Next week,

[27:56] the Presbyterians will hear a sermon

[27:58] entitled, "What do we tell our kids?"

[28:01] >> Steo Enzabi, ABC News Atlanta.

[28:05] >> And that's our report. Later tonight at

[28:07] 9:00 8 Central, Peter Jennings hosts

[28:09] Crisis in the White House, the Star

[28:12] Report, facts and fallout. And tomorrow

[28:14] on Good Morning America, a town meeting

[28:16] on reaction to the Star Report. I'm

[28:19] Carol Simpson. For all of us at ABC

[28:20] News, have a good week and good night.

[28:27] >> Monday, the document that could destroy

[28:29] the president, the nation seen it. What

[28:31] do they think? Will upcoming elections

[28:33] be affected? Watch ABC's World News

[28:35] Tonight with Peter Jennings.

[28:37] >> Tonight, the job is dangerous. It isn't.