Republicans join chorus against Starr investigation
Copyright c 1998 Nando.net
Copyright c 1998 Reuters News Service
As grand jury visits multiply, White House tries to stay its course
White House denies 'alternate story' on Lewinsky
WASHINGTON (March 1, 1998 2:01 p.m. EST nando.net) - The focus of the scandal surrounding President Clinton shifted Sunday to whether Ken Starr, the special prosecutor leading the investigation, is out of control and should resign.
Even Republicans who have been critical of the president admitted that Starr may have been unwise in extending his investigation to the president's aides.
"I think that Ken Starr made a mistake on that," Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Penn., told CBS' "Face the Nation." "But from what I understand he is pulling back," he added. "I think emotions ran a little high."
Supporters of Clinton say Starr has gone too far -- especially in the past week, when Starr subpoenaed presidential aides such as Sidney Blumenthal about whether he helped spread malicious lies in an attempt to sabotage Starr.
"The fact of the matter is that Kenneth Starr has been totally out of control," Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"He has this fixation of trying to topple the president of the United States."
Asked whether Starr should step down, Leahy answered: "Sure he should."
Starr and a grand jury are probing allegations Clinton had an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky and urged her to lie about it under oath. Clinton has denied the allegations.
"Mr. Starr is somewhat on a vendetta against the president, I think," Democratic strategist James Carville said on NBC. "This is the craziest thing I've ever seen in my life when we call people before a grand jury to ask them their political beliefs."
Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch defended the legality of what Starr was doing on "Meet the Press."
"Put yourself in Ken Starr's shoes," Hatch said. "In the federal criminal code it says if people are trying to impede the investigation ... it's illegal. It's a criminal act. He was perfectly within the codes of legal sanctions to do what he did."
Hatch added: "I think it was politically inadvisable. But I don't think it was illegal."
Specter noted that Starr's brief had widened considerably from his initial investigation of the Whitewater affair. "A lot of people wonder how he got from a land deal in Arkansas to the president's personal life."
But Republican political strategist Mary Matalin said Starr had been unfairly attacked.
"This is a campaign, this is a war," she said on NBC. "He's been slimed by these guys and it's worked."
She noted that Clinton's aides were being questioned about whether they were discrediting Starr's investigation. "This is a criminal action, to impede an investigation. Ken Starr has every right to pull these guys into the grand jury and ask them wat they are doing to impede his investigation."
The Washington Post quoted friends as saying that while Clinton was publicly calm, he was privately furious about the Starr investigation.
"There's a great deal of anger," the newspaper quoted a friend who had spoken with Clinton about the matter as saying. "But it's more than anger. There's genuine concern, even if it weren't him in the cross hairs ... that Ken Starr represents a danger in American life."
The story said that Clinton has even mulled how Starr might be removed from office, not by firing him, but by pressuring him into clearly overstepping the bounds and letting Starr "effectively fire himself."
But Clinton aide Rahm Emanuel said so far Clinton had not been distracted by the scandal. "I am surprised how focused he is," Emanuel told CBS's "Face the Nation."
"What I think Ken Starr should do is ... acknowledge that he has a dead end, wrap up the investigation," he added.
By MAGGIE FOX, Reuters
nando.com |
