Reprinted from The Washington Times , 5am -- May 15, 1998
Secret Service must talk, Starr says
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr told a federal judge Thursday that there is "no authority, none, zero" under the law for Secret Service agents guarding President Clinton to refuse to testify in the Monica Lewinsky sex-and-lies grand jury investigation.
Mr. Starr, in a rare court appearance aimed at advancing his stalled probe, told U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson that Treasury and Justice department officials erred in arguing that agents are exempted from having to tell the grand jury about what they knew or saw concerning Mr. Clinton's relationship with the former White House intern.
He argued that the law requires executive branch officials to provide any information they have of possible criminal violations and said it would be "inappropriate and indeed illegitimate" for the court to approve a protective privilege aimed at blocking the agents' testimony.
"The Secret Service is a law enforcement agency; its officers are proud that they have been sworn to uphold the law," Mr. Starr said.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gary G. Grindler, in arguing the government's case, said the "assassination of presidents" is at issue.
He said requiring agents to appear before the grand jury would hinder their ability to provide the close-contact protection that is required.
"If there's a moment's hesitation by the president [in allowing agents to get close], it can mean the difference between life and death," he said.
In other developments Thursday related to Clinton scandals:
- Betty Currie, the president's personal secretary, returned for another round of grand jury questioning on her ties to Miss Lewinsky, including 37 visits the former intern made to the White House after she went to work at the Pentagon.
- Convicted felon Susan McDougal was arraigned in federal court in Little Rock, Ark., on charges of criminal contempt and obstruction of justice for refusing to testify before the Whitewater grand jury about Mr. Clinton's knowledge of an illegal $300,000 loan.
Mr. Starr is seeking the testimony of at least three Secret Service agents in the Lewinsky probe, although it is not clear whether he wants to question plainclothes or uniformed agents. The grand jury probe has focused on whether Miss Lewinsky had a sexual relationship with the president and whether he and others told her to lie about it in the Paula Jones sexual misconduct lawsuit.
Mr. Starr challenged assertions that subpoenas would compromise the president's security, saying the agents can distinguish between legitimate conversations and suspected criminal misconduct they might witness in the course of their jobs.
"The testimony of certain Secret Service personnel is highly relevant," Mr. Starr said, adding that they could be useful in determining whether "one or more persons may have engaged in illegal acts including perjury, obstruction of justice and intimidation of witnesses."
Mr. Grindler, a top official in the Justice Department's civil division, told Judge Johnson that agents who lose Mr. Clinton's confidence because of pending grand jury testimony could be kept at a distance, limiting their role as protectors.
He said requiring their testimony would damage "the trust and the confidence of the president in the ability of the Secret Service to step in and protect the president against assassination."
He also argued that foreign leaders might be reluctant to meet with the president for fear their private conversations could compromised by Secret Service agents forced to testify about what they saw or heard.
He noted that President Bush had said in a letter that Secret Service agents should keep private what the see or hear.
Mr. Starr said Mr. Bush was talking about agents testifying in a public court proceeding, not a secret grand jury session.
At one point during the hourlong debate, Judge Johnson appeared to question the government's stand. "I don't see it," she said during her questioning of Mr. Grindler. She is expected to issue a ruling shortly.
Mrs. Currie's grand jury appearance Thursday was her fourth, as prosecutors sought to establish what she knows about Miss Lewinsky's White House visits and about gifts the former intern returned after she received a subpoena in the Jones suit.
Investigators also want to know about Mrs. Currie's role in a job search for Miss Lewinsky that netted her a position with Revlon in New York, which later was withdrawn.
Mrs. Currie's attorney, Lawrence Wechsler, said his client was expected back, but he did not say when.
In Little Rock, McDougal pleaded not guilty on her latest indictment, after which her attorney, Mark Geragos, said Mr. Starr's office "never wanted to hear the truth out of Susan or anyone else."
U.S. Magistrate Judge David Young set a jury trial for June 22, which will be heard by U.S. District Judge George Howard Jr. He presided over the first Whitewater trial.
The former business partner of Mr. Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton's in Whitewater Development Corp. was named on two counts of criminal contempt and one count of obstruction of justice for refusing to testify. She served 18 months on a civil contempt citation in the case and is now serving a two-year term in her conviction in the first Whitewater trial.
She faces up to 10 additional years in prison if convicted of the criminal-contempt charges.
Mr. Geragos also said McDougal's ex-husband, James B. McDougal, wrote a note saying, "Lie against Clinton and Tucker" and "for immunity" while he was serving his own prison term for Whitewater crimes. Mr. Geragos said the note bolstered Susan McDougal's claim that Mr. Starr has pressured her to lie to incriminate the Clintons.
Mr. Geragos said he obtained James McDougal's note within the last week and had confirmed the handwriting, but he would not say how he got it. Prison officials and Mr. Starr's office would not comment.
James McDougal died March 8 while serving his Whitewater term. He had been cooperating with the Starr investigation.
- Bill Sammon contributed to this report.
Copyright 1998 News World Communications, Inc.
Reprinted with permission of
The Washington Times.
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