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Investigating the President

 Bowles Testifies Before Grand Jury (04-02-98)

 White House Supports News Media's Request (04-01-98)

 Starr Investigation Costs Just Shy of $30 Million (04-01-98)

 Landow Not A Clinton Confidant (03-27-98)

 More Stories...


Transcript

 Ken Starr Discusses His Investigation (04-02-98)

 More Transcripts...


Polls

 Lewinsky Father: Executive Privilege Will Prolong Daughter's Suffering (03-23-98)

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Documents

 Legal Documents Released In The Jones v. Clinton Case

 The Willey-Clinton Letters

 The Julie Steele Affidavit


Video On Demand

 CNN Special: What Do We Know? (03-13-98)

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Voter's Voice

 Starr vb. Clinton (03-24-98)

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Timeline/Players

 A Chronology: Key Moments In The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal

 Cast of Characters In The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal


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 Community: Debate the scandal on the AllPolitics messageboard.


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Voter's Voice

Investigating Clinton

Here's some of the latest reader e-mail about Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky and Ken Starr.

If you'd like to comment on any of the day's news, drop us e-mail at response@turner.com. Be sure to include your name and home town, and we hope you'll check out the next installment of Voter's Voice.


'Gave Starr The Green Light'

Let us not forget that it was a three-judge panel that appointed Starr in the first place and it was the president's own attorney general (AG) and the same three-judge panel that gave Starr the green light to investigate the present matter.

This is the same AG who was buffeted repeatedly by criticism from the Congress for not triggering the independent counsel statute during the congressional campaign finance investigation.

This fact lends credibility to her decison that allows Starr to proceed with the Lewinsky matter. We must also realize that it was not in the best interest of Starr's investigation of the president to have the fact that taped conversations between Lewinsky and Tripp be made known. It would have been far more beneficical to Starr's investigation if he was able to conduct additional surreptitious electronic intercepts of converstions between Lewinsky, Tripp and possibily the president. Starr would be in a much better investigate position if all this information were not in the public domain.

-- Peter Sakaris, Omaha, Neb., Jan. 31


'Disgraced Himself'

If it looks like a duck... quacks like a duck... it's probably a duck...

Let the chips fall where they may. I personally believe Mr. Clinton is guilty as sin. What I want to know is this, is there a decent man or women out there that seeks a political position without bringing all this "dirty laundry" with them?

How does Mr. Carville look at himself in the mirror every morning knowing that he blatantly lies to the American people? Is that what politics is all about? I thought it was to "serve."

The president has disgraced himself, his family, and more importantly the office of the President of the United States of America. We are the laughing stock of the world. The president should be held to a higher moral and ethical standard, not the other way around. I am disgusted.

-- Matt Hodge, Dahlonega, Ga., Jan. 31


'The Investigation Should Go On'

Yes, the investigation should go on. I don't know of anyone who doesn't care about this matter. If President Clinton lied, he should step down from his office. If there is a "vast conspiracy" against him as Mrs. Clinton seems to think, why hasn't the press discovered it? It seems to me that there is a general campaign to have this country think that no one cares about this.

Well, we will see when it comes time to vote. I am an independent voter and I listened to a favorite (Barry Goldwater) say give him a chance. I thought Mr. Clinton was a bright star on the horizon. Now, I realize that this man has lied in the past about Gennifer Flowers on national TV ("60 Minutes"). I realize that he has a degree of arrogance unmatched by any former president. Well, that is enough about this from me.

-- Mary Thompson, Jan. 31


'A Higher Moral Code'

The most disturbing thing in the investigation of the president is the lack of commitment to a higher moral code by the American people. Why shouldn't we expect our leader to live by the same code we would expect our friends and family to live by? The fact that he may have had an affair is not unforgivable; however, this pattern of using women and lying about it is. This especially in a time when we have just seen good people lose their military careers for far less! Do we think Clinton deserves special treatment?

-- N. Vaughan, San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 31


'Starr Is Doing A Good Job'

I think Ken Starr is doing a GOOD job in getting/revealing the TRUTH. After all, the very position he is in, the liberals created. Mr. Starr is not the one out of step, ladies and gentlemen. Bill Clinton has disgraced his office and our country. Let us ask ourselves; is all this lust a matter of one big coincidence?

-- Michael S. Biggs, Jan. 31


'Anything For A Book Deal'

I have no respect for anyone that would record a conversation that's supposed to be confidential. Mrs. Tripp knows very well she was wrong and being distrustful. How in the world could anyone accept anything she has to say? She will say anything for a book deal -- lie, cheat, or trick. President Clinton and Mrs. Clinton have their problems, and certainly we have ours. We don't know anything of these recent allegations charged against him nor do we know how accurate they are. It is ridiculous our government would spend $31 million for an investigation of a land deal and we end up with President Clinton's sex life. It's incredible Mr. Starr would stoop so low to create a witness like Mrs. Tripp, who now says she witnessed a phone call President Clinton is supposed to have made. She is incredible, and I am sure she can't be taken serious. Mr. Starr, I believe, is now grasping for garbage in the back alleys looking for anything.... This is a sad day for our country (the greatest nation on earth) to have such a sorry, sorry story lurking in its background.

-- Valpa C. Rosa Sr., Browns Mills, N.J, Jan. 31


'The Right Wing's Doberman'

It has been clear from the start that Kenneth Starr, unlike the special prosecutor's role in the Watergate scandal, has been an outspoken enemy of Mr. Clinton and the Democratic administration. It is a joke to hear Republicans piously refer to the devoutly-Republican Mr. Starr's persecution of Mr. Clinton as an impartial investigation. Kenneth Starr is nothing more than the right wing's Doberman. The tenor, length and so far unproductive, yet unswayingly vicious meanderings of his to-date empty efforts are a disgrace to this nation, far outweighing any peccadilloes of which Mr. Clinton is accused (and may I remind everyone that in the U.S.A. there is this little thing called presumption of innocence which the Republicans would obviously like to dispense with).

Let's be honest here. What Mssrs. Gingrich, Lott, Armey and the rest of their comrades attempted to do through their puppet, Mr. Starr, was nothing less than an attempted coup d'etat against the democratically elected president of the United States of America. The honest and free people of this country have far, far more to fear from the intentional undermining of democracy being brazenly carried out by the Republican leadership, than they do of Mr. Clinton's supposed indiscretions and supposed cover-up. This Republican undermining of American democracy has been going on now for over five years. They keep futilely hunting for something to bring down the President, not satisfied with the fact that, despite having the most successful campaign contribution-generating machine in this country, they were defeated at the polls. So they resort to tactics that would make any garden-variety dictator (Soviet or Nazi) proud. Americans must immediately rally to Mr. Clinton's defense if they wish to protect their country's democratic institutions. If the president of this country can be ousted by a blatantly opposition-oriented, all powerful inquisitor who is free to "investigate" anything and everything he wants, over and over, ad infinitum, ad nauseam regardless of his original mission, so long as it is a means to the toppling of the president, then democracy is dead in America. We all should be very, very afraid of what America would look like if these extremists can so easily and effectively depose and dispose of their most powerful political opponent....

-- David Deutsch, Livingston, Calif., Jan. 31


'Media Frenzy'

Perhaps American journalists should step outside their centre of the universe and see life from the real world. In the real world we deal in facts -- not conjecture, personal agendas, career paths, naivete, money etc. -- but actual facts. So the fact that presidents and a lot of mere mortals have and continue to commit all manner of crimes, and that they've been doing it and getting away with it for centuries really don't justify the current media frenzy concerning Clinton. This is happening in America -- a country where logic, the law and common sense seldom meet...

-- Clive Sheridan, Auckland, New Zealand, Jan. 31


'Who Cares If He Had Affairs?'

I am American living in Beirut and I am ashamed at the way the press and the people of the United States are reacting to this scandal.

First, when other countries hear that we are concentrating on whether Clinton had an affair or not, we endanger not only the image of America but also our national security. It is very difficult for our government to negotiate or influence national issues when other countries wonder if the president is even going to be there next week!

Second it is not abnormal for men, women, nor government officials to have affairs. It has been going on since the beginning of time. Do CEO's of great companies get fired because they slept with their co-workers? Who cares if he had affairs? If Hillary can deal with it, why can't we!

The American people should wake up and realize we have a great economy. Asia is in a crisis and it is a great time to influence them towards democracy and open markets; Saddam is manufacturing chemical weapons that he will drop on the U.S. and his neighbors; the Pope just left Cuba, great time to influence Cuba. Russia has nuclear weapons that certain radicals would like to point towards the U.S.; the peace agreement in the Middle East is falling apart; Europe is uniting -- and all these issues are far more important than if Clinton had sex in the Oval Office.

The American people should concentrate on their own personal morals and let the man protect us and do his job!

-- Nori Zoghzoghi, Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 31


'A Little Ticked'

I've never felt particularly compelled to post anything like this before but, I'm a little ticked.

Leave the president alone. He's obviously getting his job done. I guess my fellow Republicans have to focus America's attention on something, so they have to get off the topic of the "business of America" and get slimy and unethical, hurling allegations that, to date, seem the unfounded ramblings of an insecure intern desperate to be a person of importance.

I don't give a damn about the president's personal sexual habits. For all I care he can dance around the Oval Office in women's underwear singing the national anthem in falsetto while receiving sexual favors from overseas tourists that are taking pictures.

It sickens me to hear those pitiable, self-righteous, immature, snobs crying about how they are shocked and offended. One particularly moronic politician made reference to his distaste for the situation at hand because we "are trying to raise children."

Oh, for shame, that your children might have to listen to the fruits of your own smear campaign! If you are so afraid of what your children are exposed to, conduct your own affairs in a more respectable manner.

The president of the United States is a position that shall always be held by a human being that is flawed and fallible. I'm no great theologian but didn't the only perfect man born to this world once say, "Let him that is without sin cast the first stone"? All of you who are outraged, be outraged at your own sins and leave Bill Clinton's alone. You have enough on your own plate.

-- David A. Rosselott, Jan. 31


'Aghast At The Reportage'

As an Oregonian (the home of Packwood), I am no stranger to the idea that a sex scandal can bring down an elected official. I have, however, been just simply aghast at the reportage that has passed for journalism over the last 10 days regarding this current scandal.

I have heard all of the instantaneous fast-breaking factoids passing as new revelations; frequently these breathless news reports have been based on information that has subsequently proven to be false.

The lesson that we all can draw from this is not so much that we are afflicted with a national leader whose affinity for scandal rivals his affinity for Big Mac's, but that we are also afflicted with a free press (one of the cornerstones of democracy) that has lost its own bearing and is populated not with earnest, objective seekers of truth but by prime-time wannabe's who seek fame, fortune, and ratings by spurring on a constitutional crisis that is in some part of their own making.

After enduring the better part of a week of watching (or trying to avoid) the bus-loads of talking head media pundits talking primarily amongst themselves about the import of the current events (nothing like listing to Ms. Huffington, the Rosanna Rosannadanna of political thought, share HER views with us, by golly!), now we are being treated to the same select privileged insiders trying to fathom why the plebeian groundling unwashed masses are rejecting their instantaneous revelations and insightful commentary.

WE understand that the Pope's visit to Cuba is important. WE understand that new rounds of layoffs at major firms represent an unstated threat to all of us. WE understand that there is a burgeoning risk of conflict in the Middle East that may result in death to humans, be they Iraqi or American. We are by and large just a bit more sophisticated than the pundits and news-shapers inside the Beltway give us credit for and we are tired of the single-minded focus of the media on an issue that has no relevance to the government as an entity, the nation that this government serves, or the world in which this nation plays a role as a leading power.

-- Ken Kittrell, Chemult, Ore., Jan. 31


'My Job Is To Keep MY Husband At Home'

Let's get on with life! We have a world which needs our attention. This is ridiculous. My job is to keep MY husband at home. Who else is screwing whom is of no interest to me. Wouldn't life be much simpler if Monica simply said she told the truth in the affidavit. She would be better off, Clinton would be better off, the country would be better off. Only the far right would have apoplexy, and Starr would fold his tent and creep away, finally.

-- Barbara Stevelman, Crompond, N.Y., Jan. 31


'Keep Up The Close Coverage, Please'

I want to know if the president has committed perjury or obstruction of justice. Keep up the close coverage, please.

-- Tom Wills, Jan. 30


'This Is NOT A Witch Hunt'

I applaud the efforts of the news media to provide all relevant information about the Clinton scandal. You have a right and a duty to provide us, the public, with the information we need and desire to form our own opinions.

You have been doing a fine job so far. Please keep it going! This is NOT a witch hunt. You are providing a public service.

I check out CNN every evening for the latest news. Also, Larry King is "My Man"!!

Regards,

-- Cheryl Williams, Pittsburgh, Pa., Jan. 30

In Other News

Saturday Jan. 31, 1998

Lewinsky's Lawyer: Tripp Wasn't Privy To Any Clinton Call
Keeping Score In the Lewinsky Matter
Clinton Plays Golf Near Presidential Retreat
Forbes Wins A Straw Poll
Ken Starr's Law Firm Subpoenaed By Clinton Lawyers
Goldberg Says She May Release Tapes Of Conversations With Tripp





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