Clinton Administration Abandons Executive Privilege Fight with Independent Counsel Starr

Strategic Insights -

The Clinton administration has dropped its fight against the independent counsel Kenneth Starr's investigation into the president's role in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, abandoning its claims of executive privilege in the process. This move paves the way for White House communications aide Sidney Blumenthal to testify before the grand jury. However, the administration will continue to invoke attorney-client privilege to shield Bruce Lindsey, a longtime Clinton friend and White House lawyer, from answering questions about the scandal. The decision came after Chief U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson ruled that the privilege Lindsey and Blumenthal enjoyed was superseded by Starr's search for information in his investigation.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Clinton administration has dropped its executive privilege fight, citing the need to avoid comparisons to Watergate and President Richard Nixon's attempt to use executive privilege to block release of the Watergate tapes.
  • The administration will continue to invoke attorney-client privilege to shield Bruce Lindsey from answering questions about the scandal.
  • Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's request for an expedited review by the Supreme Court still applies to the attorney-client protection Clinton is seeking for Lindsey.
  • The White House claims the issue of attorney-client privilege is one on which "no court of appeals has spoken" and is not worthy of an extraordinary review by the Supreme Court.
  • The White House suggests that the case be set for argument at the court's convenience, not June 29 as Starr had requested.
  • The president has claimed an absolute attorney-client privilege in conversations with Lindsey, citing the need to protect confidential communications between lawyers and clients.

Statistics:

  • 24 years ago, President Richard Nixon invoked executive privilege to block release of the Watergate tapes, leading to his eventual resignation.
  • 4 months old is the age of the grand jury investigation into the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
  • 1952 marked the year President Truman seized control of the nation's steel mills in the famous Steel Seizure Case.
  • 1993 marked the year Hillary Rodham Clinton allegedly lied about her role in a White House purge of its travel office staff, prompting Starr's investigation.

Sources:

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"The New York Times", Monday, April 19, 1999

"The Washington Post", Monday, April 19, 1999