Article WP // "Confession May Put Clinton in Jail
By Laurie Asseo
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, December 16, 1998; 3:36 p.m. EST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Even if President Clinton could avoid
impeachment by saying he lied about Monica Lewinsky, such a tactic
would probably land him in jail after he left the White House, defense
lawyers say.
If Clinton admits he committed perjury, as some friends and foes are
suggesting he do as a last-ditch attempt to keep the House from
impeaching him, ''he will be convicted on his own confession and sent to
prison,'' lawyer Gerry Spence of Jackson Hole, Wyo., said Wednesday.
Such an admission would put the president ''in real legal jeopardy, which
is why he will not do it and you can't blame him,'' added New York
lawyer Gerald Lefcourt, former president of the National Association of
Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Clinton acknowledges he misled the country, Congress and his family
about his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky, but has carefully avoided any
confession of lying to a federal grand jury or in a civil deposition.
''I could not admit to doing something that I am quite sure I did not do,''
the president said last weekend.
But an admission of lying is exactly what some members of Congress and
newspaper editorial writers want to hear.
''Right now, to me he is an unrepentant perjurer who should lose his job
unless he changes his tone,'' Rep. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said late last
month while the Judiciary Committee was considering impeachment.
Clinton needs to declare that ''in fact he lied and say he's willing to face
the court like any other American citizen (after leaving office) and be held
accountable for his actions,'' Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., said this
week.
Spence counters that any other American citizen -- even the most horrible
murderer or rapist -- cannot be expected to testify against himself.
Based on what is now known, many lawyers believe a perjury case
against Clinton would be a weak one. But Lefcourt said a confession
''removes all doubt and changes a half-baked case into a real solid one.''
''I would never advise him to make such an admission,'' added George
Washington University law professor Mary Cheh.
A statement by Clinton would be admissible against him in criminal court
and would provide prosecutors with ''very dramatic ammunition,'' she
said.
Miami criminal defense lawyer Neal Sonnett said he believes there is a
real danger that Clinton will be prosecuted after leaving office. An intent to
lie is a required element of perjury, the lawyer said, adding that it could be
argued that in his grand jury testimony, ''he really was intending not to lie.''
Sonnett said Clinton would create risks for himself if he tried a carefully
worded statement such as, ''A reasonable person could say I lied under
oath. I don't disagree with that.''
''A lawyer who advises him otherwise would have to have an awfully
good malpractice policy,'' Sonnett added.
© Copyright 1998 The Associated Press |
