Monica in the Dock?

WASHINGTON: Can you have a trial without witnesses? Trent Lott would prefer it that way. The Senate majority leader is testing out the idea of a quick and painless two-week impeachment trial of Bill Clinton to start January 11. After a few readings from the Book of Starr and presumably a quick acquittal (followed by a censure resolution), the whole mess would be history by Jan. 22.

But Henry Hyde and his team of 13 GOP House "managers" are in no mood for expediency. They want to hear from Monica, Betty and Vernon, and even let the President's team cross-examine: a real two-sided trial that the U.S. justice system can be proud of. A legitimate point -- but TIME congressional correspondent Jay Carney says these guys aren't the ones to make it. "In the House, it was the Republicans who insisted that they didn't need witnesses," he says. "Coming from them it could sound a little hollow."

The White House, of course, is more than willing to waive its right to face its accusers and fall in behind Lott. "We're closer to where Trent Lott is," one staffer told the New York Times, in what had to be the understatement of the winter. But Lott may not be there for long. "He's going to hear it from conservatives who want a full-blown trial," says Carney. "Clearly, he's floating a trial balloon, and seeing how long it stays afloat." A few weeks is all he needs.