Reprinted from The Washington Times , 5am -- April 3, 1998
Starr vows to push on, get to 'truth'
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr pressed his investigation forward Thursday, saying his office would continue to investigate suggestions of crimes by President Clinton and call more witnesses before the Monica Lewinsky sex-and-lies grand jury.
"It's not whether a particular civil complaint filed by one individual has merit or has no merit," Mr. Starr said in a rare discussion with reporters after the dismissal Wednesday of Paula Jones' sexual misconduct lawsuit.
"The real question we're examining is, were crimes committed? The crimes we have been charged with investigating are subornation of perjury, intimidation of witnesses and obstruction of justice. Those are very serious matters. ...
"That's why we put people under oath. They don't just come in and say, 'Well, tell us whatever you think.' They said, 'OK, you're taking an oath. You're affirming or swearing, under God, that you will -- so help me, God, that I will tell the truth.' That's awfully important."
Mr. Starr's inquiry, expanded on the recommendation of Attorney General Janet Reno, is aimed at determining whether Mr. Clinton had sexual relations with Miss Lewinsky and if he and others, including Washington lawyer Vernon E. Jordan Jr., then urged her to lie about it in testimony related to Mrs. Jones' suit.
"There's no room for white lies, there's no room for shading, there's only room for truth," Mr. Starr said. "You must play by the rules. If you lie under oath, if you intimidate a witness, if you seek otherwise to obstruct the process of justice, it doesn't matter who wins and who loses in the civil case. What matters, from the criminal law's perspective, is, were crimes committed?"
He said that his staff was seeking to wrap up the four-year investigation but that claims of executive privilege by the president to shield conversations he had with staff about Miss Lewinsky had slowed the process. He said it would be "very helpful" if witnesses summoned before the grand jury "would simply answer the questions."
In the grand jury investigation, White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles was the latest person to be called to testify -- a day after U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright threw out the Jones suit.
"They asked me a lot of questions about what went on in the White House," Mr. Bowles said as he left the courthouse after four hours of closed-door testimony. "I answered all of their questions wholly and completely. It was an easy time for me."
Mr. Bowles' appearance was scheduled for some time, said his attorney, Earl Silbert, and had nothing to do with Judge Wright's ruling. He previously testified before the Whitewater grand jury in Little Rock on whether former Associate Attorney General Webster L. Hubbell was paid "hush money" in exchange for his silence in the Starr investigation.
Meanwhile, attorneys for Mrs. Jones said an appeal of Judge Wright's decision was probable, while Mr. Clinton -- before ending his 12-day trip to Africa -- celebrated the ruling with a cigar, a beating of native drums, and by declaring he was pleased.
"From all the understanding that I have from the legal pundits, the [8th Circuit Court of Appeals] is not at all happy with any summary-judgment decisions," said Susan Carpenter-McMillan, spokeswoman for Mrs. Jones. "So I don't think this is over until the Eighth Circuit finally rules."
John W. Whitehead, head of the conservative Rutherford Institute, which has paid Mrs. Jones' legal bills, said a review of the ruling had begun and he was "99 percent" certain it would be appealed.
Mr. Whitehead also said that while the ruling was a legal victory for Mr. Clinton, it did not vindicate the president.
"The opinion presumes essentially what happened in that room happened. All she's saying was, on technical and legal grounds, it's not extreme and outrageous enough to be actionable under law," he said.
Mrs. Jones' Dallas law firm of Rader, Campbell, Fisher & Pyke said it was "a shame that, unless the ruling is reversed on appeal, there will now never be a determination of who was telling the truth and who was lying." The firm has 30 days to appeal the ruling.
Mrs. Jones has not commented publicly on the case. She avoided reporters outside her Long Beach, Calif., apartment, saying only, "I can't talk right now. I'm going to the gym."
In Africa, Mr. Clinton told reporters: "Obviously I'm pleased with the decision. The judge's ruling speaks for itself." First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton said she and her husband "felt throughout this whole thing that it would turn out fine ... based on the fact that there was no evidence to support these groundless claims."
Before the dismissal, Mrs. Jones' attorneys were prepared to question former White House aide Kathleen E. Willey for a second time concerning accusations she made involving an unwanted sexual encounter with the president. The canceled deposition, scheduled for April 4 in Richmond, Va., was aimed at determining whether Democratic fund-raiser Nathan Landow pressured Mrs. Willey to lie in the case.
Mr. Landow's suspected involvement is being investigated by Mr. Starr. Mr. Landow has denied any wrongdoing.
Mr. Starr, in an unusually long session with reporters outside his McLean, Va., home, said he was seeking to wrap up his 4-year-old investigation as soon as possible. "We do recognize there is a very keen and powerful interest in bringing all these matters to resolution as quickly as possible," he said. "We're very sympathetic to that. We are seeking to gather the evidence, bring it before the grand jury."
Mr. Starr declined to say whether his staff was preparing a report for Congress. He said he had "an obligation" to gather and assess facts and "make a judgment as to whether we must provide information to Congress."
He said he had not read Judge Wright's decision. "I am not in a position to comment for really two reasons: One, I have not read the opinion, and if that sounds like a dodge, it's a fact; I have not read the opinion. But even more important, I am really not steeped in the law that she was dealing with, and I don't know the facts that she was dealing with."
Mr. Starr noted that his investigation was broadened by Miss Reno because "she came to a legal judgment, based upon the facts that were at hand, there should be an investigation of whether Monica Lewinsky and others engaged in certain criminal activity in connection with a civil case."
"That is our system, and my job is to do that part of the examination."
With regard to its claims of executive privilege, the White House Thursday asked the court to make available transcripts of legal proceedings involving Mr. Clinton's decision to invoke the privilege. The White Huse asked that transcripts of legal arguments be provided to reporters.
In a related matter, booksellers and civil rights advocates rallied Thursday against Mr. Starr's bid to find out what books Miss Lewinsky has been buying. Kramerbooks, near Dupont Circle in Washington, filed a motion in court to quash a Starr subpoena requiring the store to hand over a list of purchases by Miss Lewinsky.
"In his investigatory zeal, Ken Starr seems to give little heed to the basic right of all Americans to read what they want, free from government surveillance," said Steven Shapiro, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union.Copyright 1998 News World Communications, Inc.
Reprinted with permission of
The Washington Times.
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