XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX THU MARCH 23 2000 22:02:04 ET XXXXX

'WILL WE HAVE TO REOPEN IMPEACHMENT?' ASKS CONGRESSMAN OVER MISSING WHITE HOUSE E-MAILS

Lawmakers late Thursday questioned if impeachment proceedings would somehow have to be reopened after the Justice Department disclosed it has launched a criminal investigation on whether White House officials illegally suppressed large numbers of e-mails that could have shed light on a range of controversies, including the Lewinsky saga.

"New evidence could reopen the entire matter," Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde confided to an associate. "I am very troubled by these reports."

A Hyde staffer downplayed the congressman's comments.

"I think it is a long shot," said the Hyde aide.

Investigators had not determined the content of the missing e-mails.

Investigators are also looking into charges that Clinton officials threatened employees of a non-government contractor if they disclosed any of the missing messages, as first reported by the WASHINGTON TIMES.

MORE

Major print media jumps on the White House e-mail story in Friday cycles -- NY TIMES and WASH POST Page One leads -- after nearly a year of non-coverage.

Last summer, INSIGHT magazine was first to report that more than 100,000 Executive Branch e-mails were being withheld from investigators.

As recently as last week, NEWSWEEK ranking editor Evan Thomas told a C-SPAN caller on the network's WASHINGTON JOURNAL broadcast that he was not aware of the e-mail situation.

-- Uncle Bob (unclb0b@aol.com), March 23, 2000

Answers

Boy, that's all we need.

-- (politicians@are.assholes), March 24, 2000.

Talk about beating a dead horse...

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), March 24, 2000.

Things were a lot easier in the 60's, when they could just kill those leaders whose policies they disagreed with.

-- (@ .), March 24, 2000.

If impeachment proceedings were to be reopened, I find hard to imagine that they could be concluded in time to remove Clinton from office while he was still in office.

@, maybe they still can, they just don't need to. ;( (sad wink)

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), March 24, 2000.