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Starr Objects To White House's Supreme Court Appeal

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics) -- Whitewater special prosecutor Kenneth Starr filed a 30-page appeal with the Supreme Court Thursday, urging justices to reject White House efforts to withhold from a federal grand jury the notes of conversations that Hillary Rodham Clinton had with government lawyers.

In his filing, Starr asked the high court to refuse to hear the White House's appeal of a lower court ruling that would permit access to the notes, claiming that the case "raises no constitutional questions."

"What the case presents, at bottom, is a bold assertion of a governmental privilege against a federal grand jury's interest in securing relevant evidence," Starr said.

At issue are the notes taken by former White House deputy counsel Jane Sherburne following the first lady's testimony in January 1996 before a Whitewater grand jury in Washington. In two conversations, Mrs. Clinton briefed Sherburne on the six hours of her testimony.

Starr subpoeaned those notes but the White House says they are confidential, citing lawyer-client privilege, and has refused to make them available. But the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the White House, noting that Sherburne was a government official and not the first lady's private attorney.

Starr is making the same argument to the Supreme Court. "Mrs. Clinton is not a government officer or employee," Starr wrote, making his point that her personal lawyers' notes would be confidential because of attorney-client privilege, but not those of the government lawyers.

The White House contends that as first lady, Mrs. Clinton should be considered a government officer. She has a White House office, staff and a wide variety of official duties.

Starr counters that the notes concern her former law firm's billing records as well as her handling of documents in former White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster's office after his death, and "did not involve governmental duties assigned to Mrs. Clinton."

Starr also says that the White House has already given his investigation notes from similar conversations between other administration figures, such as former White House aides Bernard Nussbaum and Maggie Williams, and government lawyers.

"The White House has produced reams of attorney notes, virtually identical to those at issues here, including notes addressing the same subject. The only difference here is that these notes reflect communications with Mrs. Clinton," Starr wrote.

The Supreme Court must decide by June whether it will consider the case.

If the answer is yes, arguments will not be heard until the fall with a ruling issued at the end of 1997, or even 1998. If the appeal is quashed, the Clinton Administration will be forced to surrender the notes.

CNN's Bob Franken contributed to this report.