Friday, February 5, 1999 --- New York (APJP) -- The impeachment trial began its slow devolution toward ending yesterday at 1 PM.

Some might have added "with a whimper" as Chief Justice Rehnquist gaveled the proceedings to order, but there were some choice "bangs" during yesterday's festivities in the form of self-inflicted wounds by one of the House Managers.

Those of you who are news junkies may have read Walter Mears' AP piece yesterday on the growing friction between the Senate and the House Managers. In truth, our congressional sources tell us that the situation is even nastier than Mears depicts -- and the conduct of one Manager in particular, Rep. James Rogan (R-CA), may have scuttled the possibility of a simple majority voting for conviction of Clinton, which, while not forcing his removal, would have been used by his political detractors for all the political leverage it would have been worth.

Most of yesterday's presentation was predictably dull. The tepid comments of Henry Hyde and Bill McCollum were enough to induce narcolepsy. Ed Bryant made yet another drawling and droning presentation, but this one put a new spin on Monica Lewinsky -- depicting her as a hostile witness giving "guarded" and "narrow" answers during her deposition, meaning that the Senate must, simply must, order her dragged into the well to find out what it is that she's hiding. And the usually emphatic Asa Hutchinson laid out a series of "facts" showing that Vernon Jordan "must" testify in the flesh -- but Asa seemed to have considerably less fire in the belly than he did at the beginning of the trial process.

The first fireworks that look to have set fire to the Managers' case came in the presentation by James Rogan arguing that witnesses absolutely, positively had to be called. At the opening of his presentation, Rogan managed to insult the Senate in such a heavy-handed manner, said one of our congressional sources, that certain Republican Senators who had intended to vote yes to witnesses changed their votes to a no. The words that caused the conflagration: "If one senator has failed to personally sit through this deposition and every deposition, that Senator is not equipped to render a verdict on the impeachment trial of the president of the United States."

For those unfamiliar with the Constitution -- and we have to assume Rogan is among those people -- it is the exclusive duty of the Senate to determine the rules and procedures by which they will conduct an impeachment trial. To have Rogan, whose responsibility is to prosecute the case, tell the smaller and more select house of Congress how to do their duty goes far beyond mere unbridled arrogance and into the realm of affront.

At the end of his portion of the presentation, in which he pleaded for the Senate to hold open deliberations, he was a bit more deferential: "If the witnesses will not be brought here live before the Senate, please allow the doors of the Senate to be open so that the testimony upon which each of you must base your verdict will be made available not only to all 100 senators, but will be made available to those who will make the ultimate judgment as to the appropriateness of the verdict -- the American people."

But it was way too late -- he'd managed to perform the first installation of real damage to his own reputation and the House case.

Once the voting was finished, Trent Lott looked visibly surprised at the 70-30 margin by which witnesses had failed from even the limited C-SPAN camera view -- caught off-guard no doubt by a vote count quite different than that he had anticipated.

And Rogan was not through making a complete jackass of himself.

Following the vote to allow depositions and videotapes of Lewinsky, Jordan and Sid Blumenthal into evidence, Charles Ruff made a formal motion that the Managers inform him by 2 PM Friday of the deposition and videotape evidence they intended to use in their Saturday presentation. And David Kendall argued that it was only fair that, like "[the] procedure that would be normal in a civil trial, by a fair time tomorrow [the Managers should] designate the portions of the three depositions that they intend to use."

Rogan replied for the Managers: "A similar request was made to Justice Kauss to do the same thing in a case, and Justice Kauss looked at the lawyer making the request and he said, 'I believe the appropriate legal response to your request is that it is none of your damn business what the other side is going to put on.'

"With that, Mr. Chief Justice, we'll yield back the balance of our time."

The House Managers might as well have yielded all of their remaining time to yammer on about trumped-up high crimes and misdemeanors, including their Saturday presentation. Mind you, the attorneys from the White House are big boys and girls well able to take plenty of unfair abuse --- witness how they handle the press -- but they looked none too happy at this snide rejoinder from Rogan. And our sources say that the Senators were taken even more aback by this outburst from Rogan than his previous insult. A Senate aide we spoke with called Rogan's response to Ruff's request "obnoxious [and] irresponsible... this cost the managers, and big."

We would add that Rogan's conduct has now cost him the support of the mainstream in his own party -- and any hope of re-election to the House. But we're sure his quick wit and gentle demeanor, as demonstrated during yesterday's impeachment trial deliberations, will win him a spot as a talking head either at Fox News Channel or MSNBC once the electorate sends him back to the private sector.

-- David J. Gonzo