March 19, 1999
Web posted at: 7:03 p.m. EDT (1903 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 19) -- In his first solo news conference in nearly a year, President Bill Clinton faced questioning on the crisis in Kosovo and suspected Chinese espionage, as well as a host of domestic issues including fallout from the Monica Lewinsky matter.

The session lasted over an hour and Clinton spoke to a broad spectrum of issues ranging from foreign policy to the independent counsel act to first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's political future and Vice President Al Gore's misstatement that he invented the Internet.

The president tried to prepare the American public for possible U.S.-led NATO air strikes in Kosovo in the wake of failed peace talks. Clinton said Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic "stands in the way of peace" and that NATO is prepared to strike against Serbian targets if pushed.

"Unquestionably there are risks in military action, if that becomes necessary. U.S. and other NATO pilots will be in harms way. The Serbs have a strong air defense system. But we must weigh those risks against the risks of an action.

"If we don't act, the war will spread. If it spreads, we will not be able to contain it without far greater risks and cost. I believe the real challenge of our foreign policy today is to deal with problem before they do permanent harm to our vital interests," Clinton said.

It was April 1998 -- when the Monica Lewinsky scandal dominated news reports -- that the president last held a solo White House news conference. It's one of the longest stretches any modern president has gone without a full-blown formal news conference.

He's answered a few questions with visiting heads of state. But the solo news conference has become a tradition many deem essential to holding a president accountable.

Back then the Lewinsky scandal was running full-tilt. But now, with impeachment behind him, politics and international concerns dominated the event.

The day's news conference was the first time that Clinton answered in-depth questions of possible espionage regarding allegations that China was stealing secret U.S. nuclear warhead technology.

The president said his administration became aware in 1996 of the "possibility that security had been breached" at Energy Department labs during the mid 1980s. He said his administration has implemented changes to protect national security.

"It is my understanding that the investigation has not yet determined for sure that espionage occurred. That does not mean that there was not a faulty security situation at the lab," Clinton said. "Plainly, the security was too lax for years and years and years at the labs."

The Clinton Administration has been accused to being slow to respond to those internal reports of possible spying.

The president said he has asked the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, led by former Sen. Warren Rudman (R-New Hampshire), to assess the timetable and "to make any recommendations about what further action also might need to be taken."

When asked if any such breaches could have taken place during his tenure as president, Clinton said: "I can tell you that no one has reported to me that they suspect such a thing has occurred."

Clinton flatly denied the possibility that China spying was suppressed to further his election and trade goals.

While questions about the Lewinsky investigation have nearly run dry following the end of the Senate impeachment trial, the president did not escape them altogether Friday.

When asked what the scandal had taught young people about telling the truth, Clinton said: "I think that what young people will learn from my experience is that even president's have to do that and there are consequences when you don't."

But Clinton rejected the notion that his lies about the nature of his relationship with the former intern would remain his presidential legacy: "I also think that there will be a box score, and there will be that one negative, and then there will the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times when the record will show that I did not abuse my authority as president, that I was truthful with the American people, and scores and scores of allegations were made against me and widely publicized without any regard to whether they were true or not."

He refused to comment further about his opinion on whether the Independent Counsel Act should be renewed this year. Instead he referred reporters to the flip-flopped position of Attorney General Janet Reno and the American Bar Association, who now say the statute should be allowed to expire.

The president was also asked the sensitive question about the current state of his marriage. "I think we're working hard. We love each other very much," the president answered.

And what of a possible run for New York senator by his wife? "I do not know and really have no idea what decision she will ultimately make," Clinton admitted.

But he did say she would be a "magnificent" and "terrific" senator, and tried out a few possible campaign trail themes: "She knows so much about public policy. She cares so much about the issues, especially those that have a particular impact on New York, including the education and economic issues that would be very important to the people there."

Clinton said while he fully supports any decision made by his wife, he is as much in the dark as anyone when it comes to the question of whether she will make a Senate run.

"The people she's talking to must know more than I do, because I literally don't have a clue. If you asked me today whether I thought it was more likely or not that she would run or not run, I could not give you an answer. I just don't know," he said.

His own misstatements were not the only ones Clinton was questioned about Friday. He was also asked about a recent claim by the vice president that Gore invented the Internet -- a source of gleeful ridicule by Republicans.

The president defended Gore's record in the high-tech arena, saying that "he has been for 20 years one of the major architects of America's progress in technology. And he deserves a lot of appreciation for that."

Clinton credited Gore's work on the Telecommunications Act and said overall, "There's no question that he has been integral to all the good things that have happened in this administration."

On the subject of the rumored departure of a member of his cabinet, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Clinton did not knock down the speculation, saying he has "not discussed Mr. Rubin's plans personally with him in quite a long while."

But he did urge his most trusted economic adviser to stay with the administration. "I hope he'll stay."

All in all, the president answered 24 questions from the White House press corps. The long gap between news conferences did not seem to hurt his performance, as the president exhibited his mastery of the format, speaking at length on a large number of policy topics.

The White House says Clinton will now go back to holding regular news conferences -- part of a strategy to get on an even keel with reporters and perhaps the public.

Wednesday, March 17, 1999

• Reno backs scrapping 'structurally flawed' counsel law
• The flavor of Medicare
• Senate backs missile defense system
• Grand juror testifies Starr's prosecutors were not out to get the Clintons
• Clinton, Congress vow to push ahead on Medicare
• Controversial Starr assistant to leave OIC
• More nuclear security tesitmony due today
• Paula Jones: She and husband living apart but claims marriage not in jeopardy
• Forbes learns lesson about Web
• GOP swats away Democratic amendments, moves toward budget approval
• Clinton plans news conference Friday
• Clinton finds meaning in old Drifters tune
• First lady chats about pets' book, better literacy for children
• The down-home and high-tech adornments of Gore's upbringing

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