| 00:00:00 | THAT'S WHAT THIS PROCESS IS ALL ABOUT. |
| 00:00:02 | WE ARE FACING, INDEED, OUR MOMENT OF TRUTH. |
| 00:00:05 | NOW, THE MOMENT OF TRUTH FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FIRST FIRST FACED HIM IN DECEMBER OF 1997. |
| 00:00:14 | IT FACED HIM IN THE NATURE OF A LEGAL DOCUMENT, LEGAL INTERROGATORIES THAT WERE FORWARDED TO HIM IN PURSUIT BY THE PAULA JONES ATTORNEYS OF DISCOVERY PROCEEDINGS IN THEIR CASE, A DOCUMENT LAID BEFORE THE PRESIDENT TO BE ATTESTED TO UNDER OATH TO ANSWER CERTAIN QUESTIONS. |
| 00:00:34 | THE PRESIDENT FACED HIS MOMENT OF TRUTH RIGHT THERE AND THEN. |
| 00:00:40 | THE FIRST ITEM IN THE LEGAL PROCEEDINGS THAT HAVE BECOME THE HAL MARK OF THESE PROCEEDINGS, AND THERE, UNDER OATH, TESTIFIED FALSELY. |
| 00:00:55 | AT THAT MOMENT HE BEGAN THE CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT LED A MONTH LATER TO HIS APPEARANCE BEFORE THE DEPOSITION LAWYERS AND JUDGE AND FARTHER DOWN THE LINE TO THE GRAND JURY IN AUGUST OF THAT YEAR. |
| 00:01:09 | BUT HERE'S THE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE THAT MEMBERS MUST TAKE INTO ACCOUNT AS THEY EVALUATE THE EVIDENCE. |
| 00:01:15 | THE EVIDENCE IS THAT WHEN HE SIGNED THESE INTERROGATORIES, THIS FIRST MOMENT OF TRUTH TO WHICH I ALLUDE, THERE WAS NO PARSING OF DEFINITIONS, THERE WAS NO ARGUMENT AMONG THE LAWYERS ABOUT MEANINGS AND DEFINITIONS, THERE WAS NO JUDGE INTERPOLATING THE OPINION OF THE COURT TO THE LAWYERS, THERE WAS NO PARSING OR MIXING OR EVADING OF TYPES OF DEFINITIONS AND WORDS. |
| 00:01:47 | THIS WAS A STRAIGHT INTERROGATORY TO WHICH THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES ADDED PERJURIOUS AND FALSE ANSWERS. |
| 00:02:00 | IN A SINGLE MOMENT IN THE OVAL OFFICE, OR WHEREVER HE EXECUTED THIS SET OF INTERROGATORIES, HE BEGAN THE LONG CHAIN OF FALSEHOODS THAT HAVE LED US TO OUR MOMENT OF TRUTH HERE TODAY. |
| 00:02:14 | WE MUST EXERCISE THAT CONSCIENCE TO WHICH ALL THE MEMBERS HAVE ALLUDED, AND RECOGNIZE WHEN THE PRESIDENT FACED THAT MOMENT OF TRUTH IN COUNTLESS OCCASIONS EACH TIME HE SWEPT IT AWAY AND CAUSED HIMSELF THE DIFFICULTY THAT HE BRINGS TO OUR CHAMBER HERE TODAY. |
| 00:02:34 | I YIELD THE BALANCE OF MY TIME TO THE GENTLEMAN FROM TENNESSEE. |
| 00:02:40 | THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: THE GENTLEMAN FROM PENNSYLVANIA REMAINS STANDING. |
| 00:02:45 | >> MAY I INQUIRE HOW MUCH TIME REMAINS? |
| 00:02:49 | THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: 1 1/2 MINUTES. |
| 00:02:50 | >> I MIGHT ADD THAT I WANT TO, AGAIN, HONOR THE CONSTITUTION BY WHAT WE DO TODAY. |
| 00:02:55 | I THINK WE ALL SHARE THAT. |
| 00:02:56 | AND WHILE THE POLLS SEEM TO SHOW ONE THING, THEY ALSO SEEM TO SHOW THAT MANY PEOPLE |
Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, a loud lament has been heard about some deprivation of the right to vote one's conscience. But that is exactly why we are here today. All of us in the ultimate must vote the ultimate sense of conscience. That is what this process is all about. We are facing indeed our moment of truth.
Now, the moment of truth for the President of the United States first faced him in December of 1997. It faced him in the nature of a legal document, legal in interrogatories that were forwarded to him in pursuit by the Paula Jones attorneys of discovery proceedings in their case, a document laid before the President to be attested to under oath to answer certain questions. The President faced his moment of truth right there and then, the first item in the legal proceedings that have become the hallmark of these proceedings, and there under oath testified falsely.
At that moment, he began the chain of events that led a month later to his appearance before the deposition lawyers and judge and, further down the line, to the grand jury in August of that year. But here is the important difference that Members must take into account as they evaluate the evidence.
The evidence is that when he signed these interrogatories, this first moment of truth to which I allude, there was no parsing of definitions. There was no argument among the lawyers about meanings and definitions. There was no judge interpolating the opinion of the court into the argument of the lawyers. There was no parsing or mixing or evasion of types of definitions and words. This was a straight interrogatory to which the President of the United States added perjurious and false answers.
In a single moment in the Oval Office or wherever he executed this set of interrogatories, he began the long chain of falsehoods that have led us to our moment of truth here today.
We must exercise that conscience to which all the Members have alluded and recognize that when the President faced this moment of truth in countless occasions, each time he swept it away and caused himself the difficulty that he brings to our Chamber here today.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Bryant).
(Mr. BRYANT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)