Clinton Could Have Been Charged in Lewinsky Scandal
By James Vicini
siliconinvestor.com
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the final report on the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal that
threatened Bill Clinton's presidency, an independent counsel said on Wednesday that
sufficient evidence existed to prosecute and probably convict Clinton for impeding
justice and giving false testimony.
More than four years after the allegations first emerged that Clinton sought to hide his
affair with the White House intern Lewinsky, a special U.S. appeals court released a
report by independent counsel Robert Ray as required by law.
"The independent counsel concluded that sufficient evidence existed to prosecute and
that such evidence would 'probably be sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction ...
by an unbiased trier of fact,"' Ray said in the 237-page report.
In an investigation that earlier led to Clinton's impeachment by the U.S. House of
Representatives and then acquittal by the U.S. Senate, Ray said he decided against
prosecution on the grounds that "noncriminal alternatives" were sufficient.
He said Clinton received "significant administrative sanctions" for his actions.
Right before he left office in January 2001, Clinton admitted knowingly giving false,
evasive statements in a deal with Ray that ended the investigation without any criminal
charges.
Clinton accepted a five-year suspension of his license to practice law in Arkansas and
paid a $25,000 fine. He also agreed not to seek reimbursement of his legal fees.
At issue was Clinton's testimony more than four years ago in the Paula Jones sexual
harassment case in which it was alleged he had had sexual relations with Lewinsky.
Clinton denied he had, but later admitted the liaison.
RAY: CLINTON IMPEDED JUSTICE
Ray said that evidence showed Clinton engaged in conduct that impeded the
administration of justice, including testifying falsely under oath in the Jones case.
Clinton said he could not recall ever being alone with Lewinsky, said he had not had a
sexual affair or engaged in sexual relations with her, and said Lewinsky's sworn
affidavit denying a relationship was "absolutely true," Ray said.
Ray's predecessor, Kenneth Starr, initially investigated the Lewinsky affair. Starr's
report to Congress led to Clinton's impeachment in December 1998 on charges of
perjury and obstruction of justice -- the second presidential impeachment in U.S.
history. The Senate acquitted Clinton in February 1999.
The Lewinsky affair was one of a number of investigations conducted by the
independent counsel's office, dating back to Starr's appointment in August 1994, of the
president and his wife, now Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Ray announced in September 2000 there was not enough evidence to warrant criminal
charges against the Clintons over the Whitewater land deal in Arkansas. The tangled
business deal was the first matter investigated by Starr.
That report is expected to be released later in March, as Ray seeks to shut down his
office.
"This final report brings to a conclusion events that have now become part of history,"
Ray said of the Lewinsky investigation.
"If any one lesson is to learned from this office's experience, it is that a prosecutor can
serve only one function -- to seek justice under the criminal law," he said.
Ray quoted Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski, who said his investigation of
then-President Richard Nixon showed that no one is above the law. "A generation
later, let it also be said so here," Ray said. |
