This is Henry Hyde’s summation of the case against President Bill Clinton in the Senate impeachment trial.
Hyde, a Republican congressman from Illinois, was the Lead House Manager and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
During his speech, Hyde read from a schoolboy’s letter. The letter, from William Summers, is shown at the end of this page.
Henry Hyde’s summation of the case against President Clinton.
HOUSE JUDICIARY CHAIRMAN REP. HENRY HYDE (R-ILLINOIS): Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice.
Mr. Chief Justice, counsel for the president, distinguished members of the Senate, 139 years ago — 136 years ago at a small military cemetery in Pennsylvania, one of Illinois’ most illustrious sons asked a haunting question: Whether a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal can long endure.