"If he comes forth and tells it and does it in the right way and there aren't a lot of other factors to cause the Congress to say, this man is unfit for the presidency and should be impeached, then I think the President would have a reasonable chance of getting through this, Hatch said.

"I don't know anybody at the top of the system who really wants to see the President hurt in this matter, Hatch said on NBC Television.

Clinton, who has denied having a sexual relationship with Lewinsky, a former White House volunteer, and denied urging anyone to lie, is to give testimony on the subject to a grand jury on August 17.

His statements, and those of Lewinsky, 25, could be the culmination of independent prosecutor Kenneth Starrs investigation into the matter.

Starr must present a report onthe Lewinsky case and other investigations concerning Clinton and the White House to the House Judiciary Committee, which must decide whether to file articles of impeachment with the full House. If the House decides there are grounds for impeachment, the senate then acts as the final judge in ruling whether the President should be removed from office.

Hatch stressed that there was still no proof that the President lied in denying a sexual relationship, and it wasn't known if Starr will present evidence of more serious crimes, such as suborning perjury or obstruction of justice.

But Hatch said that if it doesn't lead to something a lot more serious, and even if it does, if he handles it right, it may be enough to cause people to say, ‘hey, look, he is the President, he has two years to go, we may want to give him every benefit of the doubt and show leniency here.

But Congressman Bob Barr, a strong advocate of bringing impeachment charges against the President, said an apology would not be enough.