Report: Willey Wanted To Sell Story To Supermarket Tab

Bennett plans to release transcript of Willey cross-examination

Willey and Clinton

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 19) -- A supermarket tabloid says it sought an interview with Kathleen Willey for six months and that she was interested in selling her story about unwanted sexual advances in the White House for $300,000. But Willey's attorney dismissed the tabloid's account as false.

Star Magazine Editor Phil Bunton said Thursday the tab made a counter-offer to Willey's attorney, Dan Gecker, for $50,000, but nothing happened. The Star interview idea died when Willey went on "60 Minutes" last weekend with her accusations against President Bill Clinton.

"It [the $300,000] seemed to be a number that he was really sort of fixated on and was not prepared to bend on," Bunton said. The tabloid talks were first reported in The Daily News in New York.

Gecker took issue with Bunton's account, though. "I told Star all along we would never sell to a tabloid," the attorney said. "Star never offered $50,000. We never demanded $300,000, or any other figure. We never negotiated with Star."

Gecker said he did talk with Star representatives about a Willey interview, but contact ended after the tabloid sent him a Feb. 10 confidentiality agreement.

"The letter suggested that I was the one to approach them. They clearly misrepresented the situation and I never spoke to them again," Gecker told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Meanwhile, Clinton's attorney, Robert Bennett, plans Friday to release a transcript of his cross-examination of Willey, CNN has learned.

The release is part of a continuing counterattack against Willey, who claims Clinton kissed her, fondled her breast and put her hand on his genitals during a meeting just outside the Oval Office in 1993. Clinton has denied any impropriety.

Earlier in the week, Bennett hinted he might release his questioning of Willey about her alleged encounter with Clinton. The transcript has been under seal.

"I believe with cross-examination, which is the greatest vehicle in the world to test truth, I will be able to bring many facts out which didn't get on ["60 Minutes"]," Bennett said.

Since Willey's interview aired, White House officials and Clinton supporters have attacked Willey's credibility, releasing friendly letters she wrote to Clinton after the alleged incident and raising questions about whether she had a financial motive for making her allegations by pursuing a book deal.

Friend says she lied at Willey's request

On Wednesday, a lawyer for a former close friend of Willey, Julie Hiatt Steele, released an affidavit saying she lied to a reporter at Willey's request to bolster Willey's allegations against Clinton.

In an affidavit dated Feb. 13, Steele said that last year Willey asked her to lie to a Newsweek magazine reporter about what Willey said and did right after the alleged encounter with Clinton in 1993.

She said Willey wanted her to say that she had confided details of the incident right after it happened and felt upset and harassed. Steele now says that never happened.

While some details of Steele's allegations had previously been disclosed in media reports, the full affidavit wasn't released until Wednesday.

In Willey's "60 Minutes" interview, she said she believes Steele was pressured into making the statement.

"I think that the White House wanted to try to discredit me, and they found a pawn in her," Willey said.

Republicans accuse Clinton, Gore of hypocrisy

As the White House tried to fend off Willey's accusations, some Republican lawmakers have used Clinton's and Vice President Al Gore's own words to accuse them of a double standard.

They circulated copies of comments Clinton and Gore made about the 1991 confirmation hearings of then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, who was accused of sexual harassment by Anita Hill.

In an October 1991 interview, Clinton blamed lawmakers of both parties for conducting a Senate hearing "that reminded me of a trial where someone accuses someone else of a sexual offense and then an attempt is made to destroy the character of the victim."

Republicans also cited remarks by Gore, who then was a Tennessee senator, in which he explained his vote against Thomas' confirmation.

"One of the things we've all been learning about on the subject of sexual harassment is what goes on inside the mind of a victim, which sometimes leads that person to keep silent about it and to continue maintaining a facade of friendship and an outward relationship so long as that secret is kept," Gore said.

Since Willey made her accusations on "60 Minutes" last weekend, the White House has tried to undercut her, releasing friendly letters she wrote to the president after the incident and questioning the possible book deal.

CBS says no to the White House outtakes request

Meanwhile, CBS rejected a White House request to release a transcript or videotape of its full 45-minute interview with Clinton lawyer Bennett, who responded to Willey's charges on "60 Minutes."

CBS aired portions of Bennett's rebuttal last Sunday, and the network said releasing the entire interview would be tantamount to a reporter giving up notes.

Bennett complained Wednesday that his CBS interview was edited to make him look bad. During the session, he often appeared to be looking down at the floor, and he was halting rather than forceful in his denials of presidential wrongdoing.

"We consider it notes and background information," said CBS spokeswoman Sandra Genelius. "The piece that we put on the air is fully representative of the interview."

Thursday March 19, 1998

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• 'Primary Colors' A Judgment On A Political Generation
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• GOP Women Accuse Democrats Of 'Selective Outrage'
• Lewinsky High School Classmate Testifies
• White House Scandal At A Glance
• Troopers Told Tucker Of Arranging Liaisons For Clinton
• The One That Got Away?
• Illinois Primary Results
• Deal Reached To Keep The Internet Tax-Free For Now
• Most Of California's Prop. 187 Ruled Unconstitutional
• Republicans Say No Decision Yet On How To Proceed With Starr Report

Documents:
• Julie Steele Affidavit