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Politics : Did Slick Boink Monica? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dave Walp who wrote (894)	1/25/1998 2:43:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20981

an. 25 - ABCNEWS has learned that Independent Prosecutor Kenneth Starr's investigation has moved well beyond Monica Lewinsky's claims, in taped conversations, that she had an affair with President Clinton. Several sources have told ABCNEWS that, in the spring of 1996, the president and Lewinsky were caught in an intimate encounter in a private area of the White House. It is not clear whether the witnesses were Secret Service agents or White House staff. Soon after the alleged incident, Lewinsky was moved from her job at the White House to the Pentagon. ABCNEWS Correspondent Jackie Judd reports this development is important because, until now, there had only been circumstantial evidence of an affair in Lewinsky's claims on hours of tapes obtained by Starr's office. Although it is not illegal to have an affair, it would undercut Clinton's reported denial of a sexual relationship under oath last week when he was deposed by lawyers for Paula Jones. Additionally, it underscores how Starr is collecting evidence and witnesses to build a case against the president, a case that would not hinge entirely on the word of 24-year-old Lewinsky. White House counsel Lanny Davis told ABCNEWS that Judd's reporting was "way out in front" and warned that the report "had better be right." "I believe the president," Davis said. Clean-Up Crew Emerges The White House damage-control machine belatedly kicked into action this morning, as Clinton aides appeared across the TV dial on political talk shows to defend the president against allegations he pressed Lewinsky to lie under oath about alleged White House trysts. Clinton adviser Paul Begala, appearing on This Week, did not directly address Judd's report. But he attacked Starr's investigation, particularly his use of hidden microphones to catch Lewinsky discussing an alleged relationship with the president. "There is an investigation. It will clear the president," Begala said. "Let's everybody take a deep breath. Let's conduct this investigation-not based on leaks and lies and manufacturing evidence and dropping bombshells." The president is not expected to answer any detailed questions about the allegations until after the State of the Union Tuesday, though First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to give a nationally televised interview on Monday. A delay may be unwise, according to former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta. "He should do it before the State of the Union," Panetta told the San Jose Mercury News. "If he doesn't, people will continue to raise more questions. You can't sidestep an issue this big in terms of the seriousness." Clinton Support Plummets A bruising week of grave allegations has deflated the president's public approval ratings. An ABCNEWS poll on Saturday found that more and more Americans are beginning to believe Clinton did have sex with Lewinsky, did encourage her to lie about it and deserves to lose his job if the accusations are proved. ABCNEWS Chief White House Correspondent Sam Donaldson reports that even some White House aides are suggesting among themselves that Clinton should resign. Clinton has repeatedly denied allegations that he tried to cover up a sexual relationship with Lewinsky. Clinton has brought in two old friends to help with damage control: Hollywood producer Harry Thomasson and former Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor. Harold Ickes, who left the White House unceremoniously after being passed over for the chief of staff, is also said to be lending a hand on an unpaid basis, Donaldson reports. The White House counter-efforts come as Lewinsky's lawyers continue trying to hammer out a deal with Starr to gain immunity in exchange for testimony about her relationship with Clinton. Earlier this month, Lewinsky signed a sworn affidavit denying any sexual relationship with Clinton. But Starr's office has hours of recordings that, sources tell ABCNEWS, show she may have lied under oath. `Shocking Stuff' Saturday afternoon, Newsweek magazine released excerpts of secret audio tapes recording conversations between Lewinsky and Linda Tripp. The tapes reveal that Lewinsky discussed plans to lie about the alleged relationship with the president and alleged pressure to cover it up in sworn testimony. "Look, I will deny it so he will not get screwed," Lewinsky says of her upcoming deposition for the Paula Jones case. "But I'm going to get screwed personally." ABCNEWS' Judd reported Friday that on the tapes Lewinsky also says she saved-apparently as a kind of souvenir-a navy blue dress with the president's semen stain on it. A Flurry of Subpoenas and Delay Meanwhile, Starr has aggressively pressed ahead with his investigation issuing a flurry of subpoenas for documents and testimony from key figures from the White House to the Pentagon to the United Nations. Those now summoned to appear before a federal grand jury include the president's close friend, Vernon Jordan, personal secretary to the president Bette Currie, and several former White House interns who worked with Lewinsky, according to news reports. Ginsburg, has told prosecutors that in exchange for immunity, his client would testify she had a sexual relationship with Clinton. But the lawyer said Lewinsky was not prepared to flatly accuse either the president or Jordan of asking her to lie about the alleged affair. Prosecutors rejected the offer, the Los Angeles Times said. The White House has not commented on these statements either. Although Lewinsky denied an affair with Clinton under oath, lawyers and others familiar with the taped conversations said Lewinsky told Tripp that she performed oral sex on him numerous times. The sources said Lewinsky asserts on the tapes that Clinton had been seeing at least four other women, three of whom worked at the White House, and that she was angry about it. One person familiar with the secretly taped conversations said Lewinsky tells Tripp that Clinton gave her gifts-a dress, a hat pin and a copy of Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass." Clinton's Legal Woes Could Skyrocket The president has made blanket denials of the cover-up and sex allegations, as has Jordan, a close Clinton friend and top Washington power broker. Clinton's legal problems could skyrocket if Lewinsky were granted immunity. That would allow Lewinsky to repudiate her sworn affidavit without fear of prosecution for perjury. Clinton and Jordan then would be left open to possible charges of obstructing justice and suborning perjury, serious felonies almost certain to imperil Clinton's presidency. Officials familiar with the debate among Clinton's advisers said the president's legal team-including private attorney David Kendall, longtime friend Bruce Lindsey and White House counsel Charles F.C. Ruff-is urging a measured response. Their argument, the officials said, was that it would not be wise to release too many details until the criminal and civil cases played out more. Ginsburg said that Lewinsky was offered immunity last week if she would confirm the allegations against Clinton and participate in gathering further evidence against the president and Jordan. He told ABCNEWS's Nightline that Starr's deal was good for one day only and fell through partly because Ginsburg did not have the offer in writing nor did he have access to the tapes in the special prosecutor's possession.

To: Dave Walp who wrote (894)	1/25/1998 4:29:00 PM
From: Janice Shell	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 20981

Ever since the feminists got the law changed after Anita Hill went after Justice Thomas such evidence is admissible. Obviously it depends on the case in point, and on the "pattern" presented. Seems to me legitimate enough if a harassment suit is brought, and the plaintiff (male or female) wishes to show that the accused has been conviced of harassment on five other occasions. BUT as I've noted, in this case Monica does not allege harassment. So what's admissible here, and what does it prove? That he likes to screw?