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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MulhollandDrive who wrote (60666)	9/24/1999 10:29:00 AM
From: jlallen	Respond to of 67261

ROFL!!!! JLA

To: MulhollandDrive who wrote (60666)	9/24/1999 10:32:00 AM
From: Zoltan!	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 67261

Chromosomally corrupt: September 24, 1999 Clinton Starts to Reward His Enablers By PAUL A. GIGOT One of President Clinton's charms is his epic brazenness. Only a man of invincible political audacity would nominate James Lyons to a prestigious lifetime spot on the federal bench. This one makes clemency for Puerto Rican bomb-makers look prudent. Mr. Lyons is the Denver attorney who helped Bill and Hillary sweep Whitewater under the carpet back in 1992. At their request he produced the notorious "Lyons report," which claimed that the whole thing was no big deal and helped the issue disappear by election day. Several years and Whitewater convictions later, the country has learned a painful lesson in presidential character. The exception, of course, is Mr. Clinton, who seems to have learned only that he can get away with anything. That's the only way to explain his decision Wednesday to appoint Mr. Lyons to the 10th circuit court of appeals, a judgeship one rank below the Supremes. He can't be trying to help Al Gore, who doesn't need another reminder of Clinton controversy and scandal. And it can't be a payoff to Democratic constituencies, since Mr. Lyons is a 52-year-old white, male lawyer of no great renown. No, this one has the odor of payment for stonewall services rendered. And stonewall Mr. Lyons did, precisely when the Clintons needed him most. Recall the March 1992 context: Mr. Clinton had been battered by bimbos and his draft deception when Jeff Gerth of the New York Times broke the Whitewater tale. David Ifshin, now deceased but then campaign counsel, advised the Clintons to come clean or "you'll wind up with a special prosecutor," according to liberal writer James Stewart's Whitewater book. Instead, Hillary enforcer Susan Thomases enlisted Mr. Lyons, a Clinton pal going back to the 1970s, to conduct an "independent" study. Mr. Lyons promptly retained an accounting firm (with which he had business ties), and within just eight days a draft report was complete. But soon thereafter Mr. Lyons told his accountant he wanted two versions of the report--a summary for the press, but a complete report for internal use. As the Senate Whitewater committee later found, Mr. Lyons urged the Clintons not to release the full report, which contained details of tax deductions and "loans and advances by the McDougals," their business partners. "Accordingly, it is my recommendation to you that you maintain the complete report in strictest confidence and do not waive either the attorney/client or accountant/client privilege," Mr. Lyons wrote. Thus did the Clinton pattern of spin-and-deny begin, reinforced by the man who is now supposed to be a model of ethics as a federal judge. Only years later did we learn that the publicly released Lyons report was financial Swiss cheese. It overstated the Clintons' investment in Whitewater by more than $22,000, thus making it appear as if the Clintons were as much at risk as Jim McDougal. And it claimed they were passive investors when Hillary in particular played a more active role. In late 1993, with Whitewater percolating again, the accountant wrote Mr. Lyons that the 1992 report couldn't have been complete because too many documents weren't made available. But Mr. Lyons didn't make that memo public at the time either. For good measure, Mr. Stewart reports that Mr. Lyons joined White House damage-controllers at other times too. Mr. Lyons didn't return phone messages left yesterday with his office. A White House spokesman says Mr. Lyons is "an excellent lawyer" (obviously!) and that his report "has been corroborated in lots of ways"--which would certainly be news to the Arkansas jurors who found Whitewater fraud. All of which makes the Lyons choice an insult to Senate Republicans, assuming it's still possible to insult them. Colorado Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell has known Mr. Lyons for years and has endorsed him. But his junior colleague, Wayne Allard, says he wasn't consulted about the choice and has "some big concerns,'' while Pat Roberts of Kansas adds, "I have serious reservations." Maybe they can rouse even the forgiving Orrin Hatch into scrutiny and opposition. Sources say the Judiciary chairman also wasn't consulted on the nomination, though he's treated Attorney General Janet Reno like a relative and Utah is part of the 10th circuit's six-state region. Old Whitewater news aside, what the Lyons effrontery shows is that Mr. Clinton hasn't a shred of remorse. Despite what they've put the country through, he and his wife still think it's all someone else's fault. And they're now asking the GOP Senate to assist in their political vindication. With his presidency winding down, Mr. Clinton may also be trying to change his reputation for disloyalty. His big problem here is that the list of his enablers and protectors may exceed the number of available sinecures. He might have to fire people to make room. With her financial experience, Susan McDougal has a strong claim to be Treasury Secretary. John Huang would be a natural to run the IMF, the better to chase laundered foreign money. Susan ("I don't recall") Thomases would fit right in at the CIA. And if someone like Mr. Lyons merits an appellate judgeship, White House consigliere Bruce Lindsey deserves nothing less than to be Chief Justice of the United States. interactive.wsj.com