FORD URGES CLINTON REBUKE; FORMER PRESIDENT SUGGESTS PUNISHMENT.

Byline: Richard L. Berke The New York Times

Former President Ford broke his silence on the White House scandal Saturday and suggested that the most fitting punishment for President Clinton would be a rebuke in the well of the House, where he would stand and listen while Republicans and Democrats denounced his conduct.

In what may prove to be an important boost for Clinton's search for a way to short-circuit the impeachment process, Ford's recommendation is striking not only because he breaks ranks with Republican leaders who have pressed for impeachment hearings or called upon the president to resign, but also because of his own experience with impeachment deliberations.

Ford, who made the recommendation in an Op-Ed article in Sunday's New York Times, succeeded to the presidency in 1974, after President Nixon resigned during the impeachment proceedings over Watergate. Ford later damaged his own political standing by pardoning his predecessor.

``Imagine a president receiving not an ovation from the people's representatives but a harshly worded rebuke as rendered by members of both parties,'' Ford wrote. ``I emphasize: This would be a rebuke, not a rebuttal by the president. On the contrary, by his appearance the president would accept full responsibility for his actions, as well as for his subsequent efforts to delay or impede the investigation of them. No spinning, no semantics, no evasiveness or blaming others for his plight.''

Gregory Craig, the special counsel to the president, Saturday welcomed Ford's comments, and he did not rule out the possibility of a rebuke. ``Gerald Ford is a man who has been there, who understands a situation like this and understands the importance of deferring to constitutional standards under all circumstances,'' he said in an interview. ``President Ford is absolutely right. This kind of conduct simply doesn't rise to the level of an impeachable offense.''

Ford weighed in at a crucial point in the White House scandal. Now that the House Judiciary Committee on Friday released the final trove of evidence in its consideration of impeachment charges, the scandal has shifted to political grounds.

The committee is scheduled to meet Monday, and its Republican majority is widely expected to recommend a formal House impeachment inquiry. David Schippers, the chief investigative counsel for House Republicans, plans to appear before the committee to expand the current list of 11 possible grounds for impeachment of Clinton to include counts involving making false statements under oath and trying to conceal a crime, Republican officials said. They said Schippers would insist that the case is not about sex.

White House lawyers and political aides said they were devoting the weekend to scouring the 4,600 pages of newly released testimony and transcripts, seeking evidence to support their case that Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr was motivated by partisan gain.

White House comment

Three senior White House officials in interviews Saturday offered scathing remarks about Starr's report to Congress. ``If you look at what's in all the 10,000 pages that are out, the story is it's the incredible shrinking Starr referral,'' said Joe Lockhart, the White House press secretary.

In his harshest comments about the Starr report, Craig asserted: ``This was not written for the purpose of informing or educating the decision makers. It was written to trash the president with the American people and to inflame the jury, which is the Congress.''

Rahm Emanuel, a senior political aide to the president, said of Starr, ``He's got more legal manipulation than he does legal analysis.''

Even as the Congress moves toward a formal impeachment inquiry, Democratic lawmakers have been moving aggressively behind the scenes to explore ways to reach a settlement that could save the president - and the Congress - from a protracted impeachment process.

Seeking a solution

Sens. John Rockefeller of West Virginia and John Breaux of Louisiana, who are both close to Clinton, approached Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut more than a week ago to begin talks on an appropriate punishment short of impeachment that could be supported by the Senate, several people familiar with the discussions said. These people all spoke only on the condition of anonymity.

The talks were described as ongoing and informal, and the senators have discussed several options - ones not unlike the suggestion of former President Ford - including the possibility that Clinton be rebuked with something stronger than a formal censure by Congress but not a full impeachment.

``There's a feeling that it's got to be beyond censure,'' said a Senate official who is close to the talks. ``This is not looking for ways to defend the president. It is looking for ways to make it clear that what he did was unacceptable but also listening to what the American people want: to wrap this thing up and move on.''

While some prominent Republicans, like former Sen. Bob Dole, Clinton's rival for the presidency in 1996, have privately been receptive to the notion of a settlement that stops short of impeachment, no major figure in the party has gone as far as Ford in calling for a compromise.

The 38th president, who is 85, said Clinton had ``broken faith with those who elected him,'' and ``has since been forced to take refuge in legalistic evasions.'' Ford explained that while he had no interest ``in rescuing'' Clinton, he feared the long-term consequences for the nation of trying to remove Clinton from office. But, he asserted, ``A simple apology is inadequate, and a fine would trivialize his conduct by treating it as a mere question of monetary restitution.''

Ford said of his recommendation: ``Anyone who confuses this scenario with a slap on the wrist or a censure written in disappearing ink underestimates the historical impact of such a pronouncement.''

Despite Ford's recommendation and the drive in the Senate to find an end to the scandal, private deliberations in the House over a deal with Clinton have halted for now, people who have been involved in the discussions said.

Democrats who had pressed for a solution said it was clear that Republicans would not be willing to reach any accommodation before Election Day and that there was no consensus even among Democrats as to how the matter should be settled.

People involved in the talks said the political environment was greatly unsettled and that many lawmakers are bracing for other potential turns in the case, like indictments from Starr or the possible appointment by the Justice Department of an independent counsel to examine campaign finance accusations against Clinton.

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PHOTO (Color) Former President Gerald Ford's op-ed piece calls for a House rebuke of President Clinton.

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