LA Times: Starr Examines Clinton Link to Female Intern
Ironword
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/NATION/UPDATES/lat_clinton0121.htm
Los Angeles Times
Wednesday, January 21, 1998
Starr Examines Clinton Link to Female Intern
By DAVID WILLMAN and RONALD J. OSTROW, Times Staff Writers
WASHINGTON--A panel of federal judges has authorized
the Whitewater independent counsel to examine whether
President Clinton encouraged a woman to testify falsely regarding
the nature of their relationship, people familiar with the matter said
Tuesday.
An attorney representing the woman, who served as a White
House intern until spring 1996, said he and his client conferred over
the last several days in Washington with the staff of independent
counsel Kenneth W. Starr, who was appointed in August 1994 to
probe the Whitewater case.
The significant broadening of Starr's mandate vaults the
independent counsel's inquiry beyond allegations of financial
irregularities in Arkansas. It brings the power of a criminal
investigation to allegations related to Clinton's sexual behavior.
The woman apparently at the center of Starr's new area of
inquiry, Monica S. Lewinsky, 23, is a former White House intern.
She has recently signed a sworn declaration in the Paula Corbin
Jones suit, stating in part that she has not had a sexual relationship
with the president.
According to people familiar with the matter, among the
allegations Starr is now investigating is whether Clinton deployed his
friend and trusted advisor, Vernon Jordan, to discuss with
Lewinsky her testimony or to otherwise shape her account in the
Jones case. Jordan did not return messages left for him Tuesday
night.
On the basis of a tip from an associate of Lewinsky's who was
familiar with her tenure at the White House, Starr's office began
investigating and sought the broadened mandate, sources said.
Sources told the Washington Post that the associate provided
Starr with audiotapes of more than 10 conversations she had with
Lewinsky over recent months in which Lewinsky graphically
recounted details of a 1½-year affair she said she had with Clinton.
Lewinsky's attorney, William H. Ginsburg of Los Angeles, said
he does not know whether his client has had an intimate relationship
with Clinton.
In an interview, Ginsburg said the declaration was signed before
he began representing Lewinsky. Her original attorney, Francis
Carter, ceased representing her as of Monday and declined to
explain why when reached for comment.
"I can't tell you what's true and what's not true," Ginsburg said.
"She signed the declaration and stands on it at this time. . . . But I'm
smart enough after 30 years as a trial lawyer to know that there's
always a surprise around the corner. If he [Clinton] did have a
sexual relationship with a 23-year-old intern, I question his
judgment. If he didn't, then I think Ken Starr and his crew have
ravaged the life of a youngster."
White House Special Counsel Lanny J. Davis referred questions
regarding the new allegations to a private lawyer, Robert S.
Bennett, who is representing Clinton in the sexual-harassment case
brought by Jones. Bennett could not be reached for comment
Tuesday night.
On Saturday, the president was questioned under oath for
several hours at Bennett's office by lawyers representing Jones.
Her suit is scheduled to go to trial in May, in Little Rock, Ark.
The federal judge presiding over the case has ordered parties in the
matter not to comment publicly; it was not known Tuesday whether
Clinton was asked about Lewinsky on Saturday.
Ginsburg and an official at the Pentagon, where Lewinsky
worked as a public-affairs assistant from April 1996 until about
three weeks ago, described her as diligent and hard-working. They
said Lewinsky has remained in Washington since leaving the
Pentagon job and was expected to assume a new position, in
corporate public affairs in New York, next month.
"I've known her since she was a little girl," Ginsburg said. "She
always has been a very well-behaved, bright kid, now a young
lady."
Lewinsky grew up in Beverly Hills and attended Lewis and
Clark College in Oregon before joining the White House as an
intern, Ginsburg said.
A spokeswoman for Starr, Deborah Gershman, could not be
reached for comment Tuesday night. But, according to people
familiar with the independent counsel's investigation, prosecutors
have focused heavily on the allegations related to Lewinsky for at
least a week. One lawyer aware of the matter said Starr "is not
investigating the president's sex life. [They] are investigating people
being encouraged to lie."
To win the expanded investigative authority, Starr first submitted
his request, last week, to the Justice Department. Officials said the
department then forwarded Starr's request to a special three-judge
panel in Washington appointed by Chief Justice William H.
Rehnquist to oversee the independent counsel.
This is not the first time that Starr's staff has delved into
allegations of Clinton's infidelity. In June 1997, reports surfaced that
prosecutors had questioned present and former Arkansas state
troopers regarding Clinton's personal practices as governor.
Those inquiries elicited strong criticism of Starr from the White
House and other supporters of the president, who complained that
the independent counsel had strayed far from his mandate of
probing the underlying financial transactions at the root of
Whitewater.
The new questions, which prompted Starr to seek an expansion
of his jurisdiction, are but the latest of a personal nature to visit
Clinton since he first sought the presidency in 1992. It was during
his campaign for the Democratic nomination that year that Clinton,
joined by his wife, said in a nationally broadcast interview that he
had caused pain in their marriage.
"I'm not prepared tonight to say that any married couple should
ever discuss that with anyone other than themselves," he said when
asked about extramarital affairs during an interview on CBS-TV's
"60 Minutes" on Jan. 26, 1992. When the interviewer, CBS
correspondent Steve Kroft, noted that "that's not a denial," Clinton
responded:
"Of course it's not. . . . I have acknowledged wrongdoing. I
have acknowledged causing pain in my marriage. I think most
Americans who are watching this interview tonight, they'll know
what we're saying. They'll get it."
Coming on the heels of allegations by Gennifer Flowers, a
former Arkansas state employee and cabaret singer, that she and
Clinton had a 12-year affair, the candidate's comment was
interpreted as an acknowledgment of infidelity. Then, less than a
year into his presidency, the American Spectator magazine and The
Times reported comments from Arkansas state troopers who said
that they at times had assisted the governor's extramarital exploits.
Through it all, voters have not been dissuaded. Clinton
overcame Flowers' allegations to win the pivotal New York primary
in 1992 and defeated President Bush that fall. Last November, with
Jones' allegations still unresolved, Clinton overwhelmingly won
reelection.
Times research librarian Janet Lundblad contributed to this
story.
Copyright Los Angeles Times
JTNOBLE
So Monica stands by her statement "at this time". What about next time? Looks
like the chickens are coming home to roost.