not a right wing ideologue
Perhaps you'd prefer the message from left wing ideologues, like the editorial writers at the Boston Globe.
A BOSTON GLOBE EDITORIAL
Clinton's contempt
Slicing through the various interpretations that can be put on the two court decisions from Little Rock, Ark., on Monday is the central lesson, which is neither mixed nor murky: Do not lie. Especially, do not lie under oath and when directed to answer by a federal judge.
President Clinton did lie in a deposition in January of last year, and then he turned right around and lied to the American people. The second lie was a betrayal of the voters who elected him. The first was an insult to the law he is sworn to uphold.
Judge Susan Webber Wright was justified in finding him in civil contempt.
Other aspects of the case continue to be troubling, but the mistake should not be made of apportioning responsibility as if the whole episode were a zero-sum game.
The Supreme Court is responsible for a monumental miscalculation in allowing the Paula Jones civil suit to go forward while Clinton was in the White House. Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel, is responsible for an investigation that has been excessively prosecutorial, as demonstrated by Monday's acquittal of Susan McDougal on charges that her refusal to give Starr testimony amounted to an obstruction of justice. The House is responsible for voting impeachment when on balance Clinton's misdeeds might have been handled better in the courts.
However, none of this in any way mitigates the obligation of Clinton, who is 100 percent responsible for telling the truth.
Too often in his presidency Clinton has given fudged or legalized or outright false answers. His repeated attempts to characterize his deposition as legally accurate based on a contorted definition of sexual relations mock common sense. And, as Judge Wright found, his sworn assertions that he couldn't remember being alone with Monica Lewinsky are laughable.
As a lawyer and former state attorney general, Clinton's sworn lies are especially reprehensible and worthy of disbarment. He could still be indicted after he leaves office. Clinton has wasted the sixth year of his presidency and cast a cloud over the last two. For this he is responsible.
This story ran on page A18 of the Boston Globe on 04/14/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
boston.com |
