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Clinton Probe Continues To Grow
Starr defends investigation, says "truth will come out eventually"
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Jan. 22) -- Despite Bill Clinton's continued denials, the furor over whether he had a sexual relationship with a young White House intern and then encouraged her to lie about it continues to build.
The president forcefully denied allegations Thursday that he had an affair with former White House aide Monica Lewinsky and then tried to get her to lie about it in an affidavit.
"The allegations are false, and I would never ask anybody to do anything other than tell the truth," Clinton said just before a meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
"I would rather you had more rather than less, sooner rather than later," the president told reporters. He said the White House was working to cooperate with Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr and hoped to release more information soon.
Starr speaks
At what was billed as a photo opportunity, Starr decided to take questions and was asked specifically if he was out to get the president. "Our job is to gather facts and to evaluate those facts and to get at the truth," said Starr. "The facts will come out and the truth will come out eventually, based on the presumption of innocence." (416K wav sound)
Asked if it was appropriate to "wire" Linda Tripp, the friend of Lewinsky who recorded 17 tapes of their conversations, Starr said, "We use appropriate investigative techniques, which are traditional law enforcement techniques." (160K wav sound)
Starr also defended the expansion of his Whitewater investigation, saying, "We at all times satisfy ourself through very careful analysis that we are acting properly within our jurisdiction." He noted he had investigated the White House travel office and FBI files controversies, which do not directly relate to Whitewater. (480K wav sound)
The scandal builds
Wednesday night, Newsweek magazine published excerpts on America Online from tapes of intern Monica Lewinsky, now 24, talking about the alleged affair.
And a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll finds the public deeply divided over whether the president is telling the truth.
Meanwhile, sources said today that Clinton "believes" he gave several gifts to Lewinsky.
The sources said that the gifts were "innocent little trinkets, the kinds of things he gives to people who pass through the Oval Office" and were "no big deal," but do indicate that the president had some kind of relationship with Lewinsky.
Sources familiar with a deposition the president gave in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case last Saturday said Clinton acknowledged under oath that he likely gave the gifts to Lewinsky.
In the same deposition, the president admitted for the first time that he did have a sexual relationship with Gennifer Flowers, sources said. During the 1992 presidential campaign, Clinton flatly denied having such an affair.
In several interviews Wednesday, Clinton denied having an affair with the Lewinsky, who was 21 at the time.
"That is not true," said Clinton during an interview on the PBS program "NewsHour." "There is not a sexual relationship ... I did not urge anyone to say anything untrue."(192K wav sound)
Bennett, the president's attorney, said again today there was no improper relationship between the president and the intern.
"Yesterday [Wednesday], the president was adamant that there was no improper relationship of any kind with this woman and that he never asked anyone to lie," said Bennett. "He is pretty upset at those allegations. They are false and there is no truth to them."
Bennett said he was troubled by leaks from depositions in the Paula Jones case. "Every morning I read in the paper of leaks, grossly distorted leaks, I must say, from the deposition, which are under seal," said Bennett. He said he intended to raise the issue of leaks with federal district Judge Susan Webber Wright.
Who is Lewinsky?
In a sworn affidavit, Lewinsky has denied having sex with the president or agreeing to lie about an affair. She is scheduled to give a deposition to Jones' lawyers on Friday but is expected to refuse to answer questions, exercising her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
One source told CNN that Lewinsky was "mesmerized" by the president and would often hang out in the West Wing area so that "she would bump into him and other important people."
The source went on to say: "They clearly knew each other and there was some form of a relationship, but you shouldn't rule out an innocent relationship that she then blew up or exaggerated."
Following her White House stint, Lewinsky moved to the Defense Department in April 1996. She was hired as a confidential assistant to Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon. She was promoted once and left the Defense Department in December 1997.
Her former co-workers call Monica Lewinsky "a hard worker" and "professional."
Stunned by the story that has overwhelmed the nation's capital, one person who worked with Lewinsky in the public affairs operation at the Pentagon told CNN, "When we turn on CNN and see her picture, it's really hard to believe she's at the center of all this because ... that's just Monica."
Although some in the Pentagon thought her to be young for her job, Lewinsky's performance at the Defense Department is described as "unremarkable."
"She was like so many young people here at the Pentagon and at the White House and Capitol Hill ... working long hours for not that much money." Lewinsky was described as a hard worker who would "be at her desk at 7:30 in the morning and she'd still be there late into the evening."
Sources tell CNN they did see her occasionally with Linda Tripp, who allegedly secretly recorded conversations with Lewinsky: "The only person I ever saw her with was Linda ... I'd see them having coffee once in a while."
The tapes and Starr's investigation
Starr, who has been given permission to investigate if the president or his friends attempted to persuade Lewinsky to lie under oath, is in possession of 17 tapes recorded by Tripp, Lewinsky's one-time friend and a former White House aide.
Reporters who have listened to the tapes say in one of them Lewinsky expresses a fear that Starr's lawyers will find out about gifts and letters she and the president exchanged. There is reported to be a mention of a dress and a photograph with an intimate inscription that the president gave to Lewinsky.
Sources said Starr persuaded Tripp to "wear a wire" and record her conversations with Lewinsky about the alleged affair and if the president's close friend, Vernon Jordan, q Washington lobbyist, attempted to persuade her to lie to laywers for Jones about her relationship with Clinton.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Starr issued a wide-ranging subpoena for White House documents.
Clinton has promised to cooperate with the investigation, and Thursday his attorneys were sifting through White House records to provide Starr with the information he wants.
Specifically, Starr has asked for White House logs that would show how often Lewinsky visited the West Wing of the White House. He has also asked for telephone records to show if Lewinsky called the president or if he called her. In addition, he also asked for courier records which might reveal packages sent between the president and Lewinsky.
Two sources tell CNN that Lewinsky was a frequent visitor to the West Wing of the White House, often late in the evening, usually signing in as saying she was visiting secretary Betty Currie.
One of these sources said Lewinsky was almost always alone, and often at the White House past midnight.
Washington reacts
First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters on a trip back from Baltimore Wednesday that she does not believe the allegations and believes they are part of a "concerted effort to undermine his legitimacy." (384K wav sound)
Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said if the charges are verified, that impeachment might be considered.
"I think the charges against the president and Mr. Jordan are just that, charges," said Hyde. He said that Starr's investigation will either verify the charges or "disavow" them.
"If he verifies these charges, impeachment might very well be an option," said Hyde.
An attorney for Lewinsky, William Ginsburg, said she was "devastated" and "very upset" by the allegations.
Asked directly if Lewinsky had an affair with the president, Ginsburg said he would neither confirm or deny it because of the ongoing Starr investigation.
"If the allegations are true, then [Clinton] is a misogynist and I question his ability to lead," said Ginsburg. "If they are not true, then why is the independent prosecutor ravaging the life of a 23-year-old girl?"
Ginsburg confirmed that Jordan helped Lewinsky get an interview at a New York public relations firm.
In New York, the Revlon cosmetics firm said Wednesday it had offered Lewinsky a public relations administrator position this month -- at Jordan's recommendation -- but has now withdrawn that offer.
Bill Richardson, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, also offered her a job at the suggestion of somebody on the White House staff, according to a spokeswoman, but Lewinsky declined so she could pursue a position in the private sector.
At her weekly briefing, Attorney General Janet Reno repeatedly refused to comment on any aspect of Starr's expanding investigation or allegations about Clinton and Lewinsky.
Reno refused to be drawn into a discussion of whether the independent counsel statute offers any guidance when a prosecutor wishes to expand an inquiry, or whether it's proper for a prosecutor to begin surveillance in a new area before being granted permission to expand an inquiry. (192K wav sound)
"I would refer you to the language of the law," Reno told frustrated reporters. "It depends on the circumstances."
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