And this even as outgoing House Speaker Newt Gingrich said the full house could vote on impeachment as early as next Thursday.

``This is not about sex, it is about multiple obstructions of justice, perjury, false and misleading statements, witness tamperings and abuses of power,'' lawyer David Schippers told the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

Schippers' summation followed a last defensive stand by Abbe Lowell, the Democrats' chief investigator, as the committee geared up to vote on four articles of impeachment by week's end.

The White House, meanwhile, made a last-minute appeal to lawmakers to be guided by their `conscience' and `judgement' and one each of abuse of power and obstruction of justice.

The panel's Republican majority on Wednesday released tentative formal charges, including two counts of perjury and one each of abuse of power and obstruction of justice.

Democrats offered up a tough censure, or formal rebuke. Alternative, hoping to siphon support from impeachment.

Lowell entreated the committee to spare Clinton from impeachment `as many of you have said, the political equivalent of the death penalty,' as he sought to dismantle the case against him.

But schippers marshaled arguments for Clinton's ouster, charging that Clinton `repeatedly lied' to conceal a relationship with Lewinsky composed of `many acts of inappropriate contact.'

Schippers case was a lengthy, somtimes day-by-day narrative of Clinton's relationship with lewinsky and efforts to conceal it which the career prosecutor peppered with sarcastic asides.

After showing Clinton's videotaped denial of ever being alone with Lewinsky, Schippers paused, then said ``life was so much simpler before they found that dress'', a reference to the FBI determining that Clinton had stained one of Lewinsky's dress with his DNA.

And he backed up harsh words about Clinton with excerpts from Clinton's videotaped january deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harashment case against him.

All eyes in the committee room were glued to four large televisions on which a glum-faced clinton deined an affair with lewinsky. He later admitted they had an inappropriate relationship.

Schippers and lowell who also used the videotape, as well as audiotapes will become just the third us president to face an impeachment motion.

If the full house sends the charges to the senate for trial, he will be just the second us president to be impeached.

Clinton-ld-impeachment

Clinton tape takes stage at impeachment hearing

washington, dec 10 (reuters) president bill clinton's videotape testimony in the paula jones sexual harassment case today took centre stage before the house judicairy committe as lawmakers pushed an impeachment vote.

Chief democratic counsel abbe lowell, making a two-hour final agrument before the panel begins debate on four articles of impeachment against clinton later today, showed the previously secret tape to rapt lawmakers.

Playing from televisions on each side of the hearing room where articles of impeachment were approved against richard nixon marely 25 years ago, the tape showed clinton sitting impassively as lawyers and a judge argued for ten minutes of definition of sexual relations to be used in the case.

"I think this could realy lead to confusion," warned clinton's lawyer, robert bannett, as the president sipped from a coffe cup and fingered his reading glasses.

"Does anybody in this room, does anybody in the united states, have a clear conception of what the definition of 'sexual relations' was if those three people, and that judge in that context had to spend that much time getting to the point?," lowell asked.

Clinton's testimony that he did not have sexual relations with monika lewinsky is the basis for one of the panel's perjury article of impeachment and led to independent counsel kenneth starr's investigation of the lewinsky matter.