Reprinted from The Washington Times , 5am -- May 18, 1998
'Talking points' keep Starr on chase
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
A three-page summary telling Linda R. Tripp how to lie in the Paula Jones sexual misconduct lawsuit remains a key reason why independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr wants to question top White House aides in the Monica Lewinsky sex-and-lies grand jury investigation.
Mr. Starr, according to lawyers and others close to the grand jury probe, wants to know what White House Deputy Counsel Bruce R. Lindsey and senior aide Sidney Blumenthal know about the source of the summary, or "talking points," that were given to Mrs. Tripp by Miss Lewinsky, the former White House intern.
The summary, which prosecutors are convinced was not written by Miss Lewinsky, could corroborate accusations of a White House attempt to obstruct justice and suborn perjury in the Jones suit, the sources said.
And while the Jones case has been dismissed, Mr. Starr's office continues under a court order to probe accusations involving Miss Lewinsky's claims on 20 hours of audiotapes that she had an 18-month affair with President Clinton, and that he and others told her to lie about it in the Jones suit.
Mr. Starr said recently in a statement that the decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright in Little Rock to throw out the case had "no effect" on the ongoing investigation.
Mr. Lindsey and Mr. Blumenthal have already been called before the grand jury but reportedly refused to answer questions on conversations they had with the president about Miss Lewinsky under a claim by Mr. Clinton of executive privilege.
That claim has now been rejected by Chief Judge Norman Holloway Johnson, and the White House has until tomorrow to appeal it. Barring a reversal, Mr. Starr is expected to call Mr. Lindsey and Mr. Blumenthal for return grand jury appearances.
The summary, dated Jan. 14, was given to Mrs. Tripp by Miss Lewinsky as the two rode home together from their Pentagon jobs. It describes how she could deny claims that Mr. Clinton acted improperly with White House aide Kathleen Willey, whose name had turned up in the Jones case. The summary includes instructions on how to dodge questions on sexual misconduct and contains a legal affidavit that Mrs. Tripp could copy to deny the accusations.
In it, Mrs. Tripp is told to say:
- That after Mrs. Willey came out of the Oval Office -- where she has said she was groped by the president -- she looked "very happy."
- That when a Newsweek reporter contacted her about a possible story on the Willey accusations, she should say Mrs. Willey "tried to enlist the help of someone else in her lie that the president sexually harassed her, you now do not believe what she claimed happened really happened."
- That it is now "completely plausible" that Mrs. Willey "herself smeared her lipstick, untucked her blouse, etc. You never saw her go into the Oval Office, or come out of the Oval Office."
Mr. Starr, according to the sources, also wants to know what conversations Mr. Lindsey had with Mrs. Tripp about the Jones suit. White House records show she called Mr. Lindsey when reporters first began asking questions on her pending deposition in the case. Her name surfaced when the Willey accusations became public.
Any instructions Mr. Lindsey gave to Mrs. Tripp, the sources said, could tie him to a possible obstruction of justice. He spoke "more than once" with Mrs. Tripp about the case, said one official familiar with the probe, and told her to meet with Mr. Clinton's personal attorney, Robert S. Bennett, who represents the president in the Jones case. Instead, she contacted Mr. Starr after Mr. Lindsey's advice "appeared to contradict what she had been told" by Mrs. Willey, the official said.
The grand jury is investigating statements by Miss Lewinsky that she had sexual relations with the president, and that he and Washington lawyer Vernon E. Jordan Jr. told her to lie about it in the Jones suit. Mr. Clinton has denied the affair. He and Mr. Jordan also have denied telling her to lie.Copyright 1998 News World Communications, Inc.
Reprinted with permission of
The Washington Times.
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