She gave detailed testimony and provided extensive corroborating physical evidence of a sexual relationship with the President. The President also testified before that grand jury in August. His testimony concerned his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky, his testimony before the Federal court in the sexual harassment lawsuit, and actions he took and statements he made before and after testifying in that lawsuit. The House impeachment of the President for obstruction of justice is based on numerous charges that he illegally tried to conceal the nature of his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky from the Federal court hearing the sexual harassment case against him, and its impeachment of him for perjury is based on charges of numerous perjurious statements in his grand jury testimony, including charges of perjury regarding his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky and his efforts to obstruct justice in the sexual harassment case against him. Under Senate rules, the House managers and the President's counsel are then each given one hour to argue a motion to dismiss impeachment procedures.
Senators then debate the motion during closed session.
The Harkin motion was not an arguable or debatable motion. The Senate was operating under the terms of a resolution that it had passed earlier. The resolution did not explicitly provide for a motion to suspend the rules to permit debate in open session on any other motions made that were debatable in closed session. However, it implicitly allowed such a motion because it explicitly allowed certain motions to be made which, under Senate rules, must be debated in closed session if they are debated. A motion must be made for the Senate to go into closed session.