WASHINGTON – The White House pointedly let it be known that President Clinton couldn’t be bothered yesterday to watch one nanosecond of the start of the Senate impeachment trial against him.
“I am reliably informed [he] was not watching,” said White House press secretary Joe Lockhart.
Clinton was in the residence of the White House just after 10 a.m. when Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) began reading articles of impeachment against him for perjury and obstruction of justice in the Monica Lewinsky mess, Lockhart said.
But instead of tuning in, Lockhart said, the president exercised, did some work and made a few phone calls while Hyde was telling the Senate that Clinton “has brought disrepute on the presidency.”
Clinton was lunching with Veep Al Gore just after 1 p.m., as Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist swore in the 100 senators to “do impartial justice” against him, Lockhart added.
It was after lunch when the president surfaced publicly, flanked by wife Hillary and Gore, to urge expanding after-school programs to safeguard kids from bad influences.
An animated Mrs. Clinton – who spent the rest of the day out of sight – welcomed the crowd, warmly smiling at her husband when he got an unusually long standing ovation.
Clinton was red-faced but seemed relaxed in front of the crowd – full of teachers’ union officials and a sprinkling of Dem lawmakers.
Both Clinton and Gore took pains to note and welcome the presence of the family of Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.) – one of the few House Republicans to vote “no” on impeachment.
Only one senator-juror came to Clinton’s education event – Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.).