456. Blumenthal 6/4/98 GJ at 52 (emphasis added).
457. Blumenthal 6/25/98 GJ at 17. See also Blumenthal 6/25/98 GJ at 26 (“My understanding was that the accusations against him which appeared in the press that day were false, that he had not done anything wrong”).
458. Ickes 7/23/98 GJ at 8. Mr. Ickes worked as Deputy Chief of Staff for President Clinton from early 1994 through January 1997.(459)
459. Ickes 7/23/98 GJ at 8.
460. Ickes 6/10/98 GJ at 21-22, 66 (meeting occurred on Monday following the week that the media first reported the Lewinsky story).
461. Ickes 6/10/98 GJ at 73 (emphasis added). See also Ickes 8/5/98 GJ at 88 (“(H)e denied to me that he had had a sexual relationship. I don’t know the exact phrase, but the word `sexual’ was there. And he denied any obstruction of justice”).
462. Ickes 6/10/98 GJ at 73.
463. Clinton 8/17/98 GJ at 105-109 (emphasis added).
464. Id. at 107.
465. 1512-DC-00000037.
466. Text of President’s Address to Nation, reprinted in Washington Post, August 18, 1998, at A5.
467. Morris 8/18/98 GJ at 28.
468. Id. at 30.
469. Id. (emphasis added).
470. Id. at 35.
471. Televised Remarks by President Clinton at the White House Education News Conference, Monday, January 26, 1998, 10:17 a.m.
472. Other than Ms. Lewinsky’s status and age, several aspects of the relationship could have raised public concerns. First, Ms. Lewinsky lost her job at the White House in April 1996 and was transferred to the Pentagon. Under oath, Ms. Lewinsky was asked: “Do you believe that if you hadn’t had a sexual relationship with the President that you would have kept your job at the White House?” She answered: “Yes.” Lewinsky 8/26/98 Depo. at 60.
Second, Ms. Lewinsky was asked, “Do you believe that your difficulty or inability to return to employment at the White House was because of your sexual relationship with him?” She answered: “Yes. Or the issues that, or that the problems that people perceived that really were based in truth because I had a relationship with the President.” Lewinsky 8/26/98 Depo. at 60.
Third, in late 1997, the President saw to it that Ms. Lewinsky received extraordinary job assistance. Such assistance might have been tied to her involvement in the Jones case, as discussed earlier, as well as a benefit to an ex-paramour. If the latter was a factor, then the President’s actions discriminated against all of those interns and employees who did not receive the same benefit.
473. NBC News, “Today” Show, interview with Mrs. Clinton by Matt Lauer, Jan. 27, 1998, 1998 WL 5261146.
474. Associated Press, Jan. 27, 1998, 1998 WL 7380187.
475. Nightline, Jan. 26, 1998, 1998 WL 5372969.
476. Associated Press, Jan. 26, 1998.
477. Schmidt and Baker, Ex-Intern Rejected Immunity Offer in Probe, Washington Post, Jan. 24, 1998, at A1.
478. “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” PBS, Jan. 21, 1998, 1998 WL 8056086. The President stated later in the interview: “I’ll do my best to help them get to the bottom of it.”
479. All Things Considered, National Public Radio, Jan. 21, 1998, 1998 WL 3643482.
480. Roll Call Interview, Jan. 21, 1998, 1998 WL 5682372.
481. Lloyd N. Cutler, Legal Opinion of September 28, 1994.
482. Brief for President Clinton, filed June 15, 1998, at 30, In re Lindsey, 148 F.3d 1100 (D.C. Cir. 1998).
483. 418 U.S. 683 (1974).
484. Hernreich 2/25/98 GJ at 5-7.
485. Even though the White House later withdrew the claim, the mere assertion of Executive Privilege as to Ms. Hernreich is important. Such an invocation causes a needless, but substantial, expenditure of litigation resources and delays and impedes the grand jury process. The overuse of Executive Privilege against the United States in the criminal process thus ultimately hinders the faithful execution of the laws–as the Supreme Court unanimously recognized twenty-four years ago in United States v. Nixon.
486. In re Grand Jury Proceeding, 5 F. Supp. 2d 21 (D.D.C. 1998).
487. John F. Harris, Clinton Finds There’s No Escape; In Africa, President Sidesteps Executive Privilege Questions, Wash. Post, Mar. 25, 1998, at A2.
488. Declaration of Charles F.C. Ruff at 56 (Mar. 17, 1998).
489. Breuer 8/4/98 GJ at 96-97, 108-09.
490. In re Grand Jury Proceedings, Unpublished Order (under seal), August 11, 1998.
491. Mills 8/11/98 GJ at 53-54.
492. Id. at 53, 54, 64-66, 71-74, 77-78.
493. Clinton 8/17/98 GJ at 167 (emphasis added).
494. Lindsey 8/28/98 GJ at 58. The President’s use and withdrawal of Executive Privilege was not new to this Office. In August 1996, the White House invoked Executive Privilege to prevent White House attorneys from producing documents regarding their communications with Hillary Rodham Clinton. After the OIC filed a motion to compel in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, the claim was withdrawn, and the White House relied solely on a claim of government attorney-client privilege, which the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit rejected. The public never knew at that time of the President’s assertion of Executive Privilege in that case. In 1997, the President again asserted Executive Privilege–this time to prevent Thomas “Mack” McLarty from testifying fully. The conversations in question related in part to Mr. McLarty’s efforts to find employment for Webster Hubbell as Mr. Hubbell was resigning his position as Associate Attorney General. The President withdrew the assertion before the OIC filed a motion to compel.
495. President Clinton’s Motion for Continuance, filed July 28, 1998.
496. DeFrank, Prez Vows Cooperation Pledges Complete, Truthful Testimony, N.Y. Daily News, Aug. 1, 1998, at 3.
497. Clinton 8/17/98 GJ at 7.
498. Clinton 8/17/98 GJ at 10.
499. E.g., Clinton 8/17/98 GJ at 12, 102, 109, 110.
500. Text of President’s Address to Nation, reprinted in Washington Post, August 18, 1998, at A5. (emphasis added).
Conclusion
This Referral is respectfully submitted on the Ninth day of September, 1998.
Kenneth W. Starr
Independent Counsel
