Orrin Hatch: “Mr. Chief Justice and distinguished Senators, Daniel Webster once observed that a ``sense of duty pursues us ever. It is…”

“Mr. Chief Justice and distinguished Senators, Daniel Webster once observed that a ``sense of duty pursues us ever. It is omnipresent like the Deity. If we take to ourselves the wings of morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, duty performed or duty violated is still with us. . . .'' The duty which has faced each United States Senator is the obligation to do impartial justice in a matter of significant historical import with lasting consequences for our constitutional order--the consideration of the impeachment articles against President William Jefferson Clinton. Our duty calls on us to answer a serious question--whether the President's actions warrant his removal from office. Fundamentally, in arriving at our individual decisions, we must consider what is in the best interests of the American people. The President engaged in conduct, that even his defenders recognize, was reprehensible and wrong. A bipartisan majority of the House also found that he committed serious, impeachable crimes. So, the test for the Senate must be to do what's in the best interest of our nation. It is not a matter of what is easiest or cleanest. It is a matter of what is in the immediate and long term national interest.”