The US Senate has voted not to halt the impeachment trial of President Clinton and then voted to call three witnesses including Ms Monica Lewinsky.
But the voting showed that there will not be the two-thirds majority of 67 votes needed to convict the President of the charges of perjury and obstruction of justice when that stage is reached. Republicans and Democrats are now discussing how to end the trial by mid February according to Senate majority leader, Trent Lott.
All the 45 Democrats except one, Senator Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, voted to end the trial and to oppose the calling of witnesses. All the 55 Republicans voted the opposite way.
Senator Feingold said later he joined the Republicans because a vote to dismiss would "improperly short-circuit the case".
The Senate minority leader, Senator Tom Daschle, said after the votes that "the President will not be removed from office. For the good of the country and in keeping with the Constitution it is now time to end this trial."
The White House reaction to the votes was cautious. Before the votes it had warned that the calling of witnesses risked prolonging the trial for weeks if not months.
But yesterday, White House counsel, Mr Gregory Craig, made no mention of long delays. Saying that "today's events made clear that the votes are not there to convict and remove the President from office", he added that any further proceedings "run counter to the best interests of the Congress, the Presidency and the American people".
The other two witnesses will be Mr Vernon Jordan, a confidant of President Clinton who arranged a job for Ms Lewinsky, and White House communications adviser, Mr Sidney Blumenthal. He has told a grand jury that the President described Ms Lewinsky to him as a stalker.
Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate met after the votes to discuss how to bring the trial to a speedy end. Republicans have proposed that the three witnesses be deposed by lawyers from both sides by the end of this week.
There would then be a vote on whether it was also necessary to call the witnesses to the floor of the Senate. Following closing arguments by both sides and a closed door session, the final votes would be taken on the charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.
Discussions are also taking place on a separate vote to censure the President's behaviour. Senator Daschle said later he would "strongly support" a motion of censure. The White House and its allies declared Mr Clinton's impeachment trial "all but dead" following the vote, AFP adds.
"This impeachment trial is a cadaver: they'll drive it around and show it around for a while. But it's over," Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan said.
Mr Clinton's spokesman, Mr Joe Lockhart, warned that failure to reach a deal on the hearing that the White House approves - particularly granting its lawyers ample time to prepare - could set the stage for protracted legal wrangling.
The White House wants time to prepare for the depositions and could choose to call its own witnesses. Witness list in impeachment trial cut to three: page 17