Results of CIC Contacts with Congress Most Members of Congress Shun President Clinton
November 1997
The Clinton Investigative Commission has been contacting Capitol Hill
offices and demanding a position from all Congressmen and Senators on the appointment of
an independent counsel and the beginning of impeachment proceedings against President
Clinton. The following are
preliminary results of the House:
Of the 435 members of the House of Representatives, 218 Representatives (50%) refused to answer either question or did not return our repeated calls. It appears a majority are not willing to defend President Clinton publicly.
As to Question #1: "Is the Congressman/Senator in favor of the slow and costly process of an independent counsel to investigate the Clinton-Gore fundraising scandals?" 66 Representatives said they "do not take polls or surveys", 53 were "unsure", 14 answered "No", and 75 said "Yes." It seems there is no political cover for Attorney "General Stonewall" Reno anywhere in Congress.
As to Question #2: "Is the Congressman/Senator in favor of impeachment proceedings using existing evidence and saving the taxpayers millions?" Again 66 Reps. said they "do not take polls or surveys", 51 were "unsure", 16 responded "No", and 35 have said "Yes", including Democrats. In addition to our survey calls, we have confirmed through private contacts and other sources that more Republican Congressmen, and Democrats, currently favor impeachment. Only two---Reps. Barr and Solomon---have gone public. Expect more to go public in the near future as "private" support gains momentum. Memorable quotes from staffers of selected Congressional offices:
"I've been on the Hill for 21 years. I've never seen anything like it. They [the Clintons] are like a Mafia"----Office of a Pennsylvania Congressman who asked for anonymity.
"You're kidding! I won't deal with this"----Office of Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ).
"He knows nothing about the issues"----Office of Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA).
(Click!)---Office of Rep. Thomas Foglietta (D-PA) hanging up the phone.
Incredibly, Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA) answered "no on neither," leaving us to surmise that he did not favor an independent counsel nor impeachment. Boucher is the only Congressman to answer this way.