Clintons may face criminal charges
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
President Clinton still faces criminal charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and witness tampering when he leaves office, whatever the outcome of the impeachment effort in Congress.
Lawyers and others close to independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr's investigation said prosecutors have not ruled out the possibility of new criminal indictments in the 4-year-old inquiry, which already has accounted for 15 convictions or guilty pleas.
"It should be of note that Mr. Starr's [investigation] has not shut down since the delivery of his impeachment report to Congress," said one lawyer familiar with the probe. "He's still in business and that could be bad news for somebody."
The independent counsel's office, according to the sources, tentatively has targeted Mr. Clinton on as many as 15 felony counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and witness tampering in an attempt to cover up a sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Even White House Special Counsel Gregory Craig, who delivered an impassioned defense of the president last week before the House Judiciary Committee, has said Mr. Clinton's legal team believes it is a "very likely possibility" that the president will be indicted on charges of Criminal charges expected when president leaves office
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By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
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resident Clinton still faces criminal charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and witness tampering when he leaves office, whatever the outcome of the impeachment effort in Congress.
Lawyers and others close to independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr's investigation said prosecutors have not ruled out the possibility of new criminal indictments in the 4-year-old inquiry, which already has accounted for 15 convictions or guilty pleas.
"It should be of note that Mr. Starr's [investigation] has not shut down since the delivery of his impeachment report to Congress," said one lawyer familiar with the probe. "He's still in business and that could be bad news for somebody."
The independent counsel's office, according to the sources, tentatively has targeted Mr. Clinton on as many as 15 felony counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and witness tampering in an attempt to cover up a sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Even White House Special Counsel Gregory Craig, who delivered an impassioned defense of the president last week before the House Judiciary Committee, has said Mr. Clinton's legal team believes it is a "very likely possibility" that the president will be indicted on charges of perjury once he leaves office.
Some White House aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, have suggested over the past few weeks that a sealed grand jury indictment naming Mr. Clinton already has been handed up, although that has not been confirmed.
The president's latest public remarks, delivered yesterday during a press conference in Jerusalem, again carefully avoided any direct admission of guilt.
There is no prohibition against an independent counsel seeking an indictment in the case on his own. Mr. Starr's Sept. 11 report to Congress outlined 11 grounds for impeachment and was given to the House Judiciary Committee not as a final report, but as part of the requirements of the independent counsel law.
The Starr grand jury remains in session. The independent counsel, or a successor, has until January 2003, when the statute of limitations expires, to make a decision in the case.
Mr. Starr has declined comment on his investigation, but last month the independent counsel's office publicly left open the possibility of future charges.
Spokesman Charles G. Bakaly III, saying it could take up to "a minimum of one-and-a-half to two years" to wrap up the probe, has confirmed that Mr. Starr could still bring criminal perjury indictments against Mr. Clinton in the Paula Jones sexual misconduct suit, although he did not elaborate.
The president faces similar charges concerning his grand jury testimony in the Lewinsky investigation, particularly if the House fails to get a majority vote on articles of impeachment or the Senate falls short of the required two-thirds majority needed to remove him from office.
The Starr probe, according to the sources, also could involve charges against first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and others. Prosecutors continue to focus on Mrs. Clinton's role in the legal representation of Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan Association and the 1993 firing of seven White House Travel Office workers who were replaced by Clinton friends.
Mr. Starr's office has written one draft indictment of Mrs. Clinton accusing her of making false statements on her work for a Madison real estate project known as Castle Grande. It was written after Mrs. Clinton's January 1996 grand jury appearance, when prosecutors concluded she made false statements under oath in denying she had done legal work for the 1,050-acre Castle Grande venture.
In a statement, Mr. Starr has said that questions remain over Mrs. Clinton's involvement with Castle Grande -- much of which was outlined in the Rose Law Firm billing records that disappeared in 1994, shortly after they had been subpoenaed, and mysteriously surfaced two years later in the White House living quarters.
The records contained Mrs. Clinton's fingerprints.
Mr. Starr said former Associate Attorney General Webster L. Hubbell, a convicted Whitewater felon now under a new indictment in the Starr probe, "may have additional information pertaining to Castle Grande ... that we have been unable to obtain." He said Mr. Hubbell and Vincent W. Foster Jr. took Rose firm records on Madison in the 1992 presidential election. Mr. Foster, White House deputy counsel, died in July 1993 in what police have said was a suicide.
Prosecutors said a second set of billing records was found in 1997 in Mr. Foster's attic.
After the records' discovery by a White House aide, the Resolution Trust Corp. said Mrs. Clinton was involved with the two entities despite her sworn denials -- including drafting an option agreement that facilitated a questionable $300,000 payment to Madison official, Seth Ward, Mr. Hubbell's father-in-law. The option guaranteed Mr. Ward a payoff and negated his liability in the project.
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