SENATOR DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN'S STATEMENT
ON CLINTON INVESTIGATION
September 3, 1998



Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I rise with the same purpose as my colleague 
and friend from Nebraska, to thank the
Senator from Connecticut for saying what needed saying, and saying it in 
a manner that gives us hope at a time of
profound despond. 

In the aftermath of the President's speech on August 17, I commented that 
it was not adequate. But it was not until just
this moment that the full measure of that inadequacy was presented to us 
in the context of the needs of the Nation, of the
profound moral consequences that will arise not just from what has 
happened but from what might happen if we do not
proceed with the measure of moral compass, but also with a capacity to 
understand we are all sinners. I say to my friends
from Nebraska and from Connecticut, I am the oldest of the three of us 
and, therefore, have sinned the most. On that you
may be sure. 

But we have to resolve this. The Senator did not call for any immediate, 
precipitous action. We have a process in
place--imperfect in so many respects, but in place--and in time, not 
distant time, a point of decision will come to the
Congress, a decision will come to the Congress, and it will be for us to 
discharge our sworn duty. We take an oath to
uphold the Constitution of the United States, uphold and defend the 
Constitution of the United States against all enemies,
foreign and domestic--foreign and domestic, sir, which acknowledges that 
we can be our own worst enemies if we do not
hew to our best standards, knowing that we are all imperfect but have an 
obligation to do our very best. 

In the words of Lord Mansfield in a case heard in London in 1772 
(Somersett v. Stewart, 12 Geo. 3), the issue was a
profoundly moral one. A man had a slave in England he wished returned to 
Jamaica to sell. That would have been legal
under American law at the time. It was not legal under English law. In an 
epic statement, Mansfield said, `Fiat justitia, ruat
coelum'--`Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.' But it also 
could be indicated, `If justice is done with sufficient
regularity and moderation, the heavens need not fall. They might even 
rejoice in the nation that has shown a capacity for
redemption and self-renewal.' 

So I wish to state my profound gratitude for what you have said and done, 
and hope we will listen to your wise counsel. I
might just say it was in so many ways representative of the very best of 
our Old and New Testament heritage. 

I yield the floor.