-Caveat Lector-
Wednesday December 13 6:37 PM ET
Testimony Demanded in E-Mail Case
By GREG TOPPO
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge has ordered lawyers for a White
House computer contractor to testify about allegations that
Clinton administration officials threatened and intimidated
computer technicians repairing a defective White House e-mail
system.
Northrop Grumman Corp. lawyers claimed that attorney-client
privilege shielded its attorneys from testifying about the case.
The conservative group Judicial Watch alleged in a lawsuit that
White House lawyers and top presidential aides learned 21/2 years
ago about an e-mail problem and threatened Northrop Grumman
computer employees with jail time and loss of their jobs if they
spoke to anyone about the problem.
A 1998 problem with the system prevented thousands of incoming
messages from being archived. As a result, the e-mails were not
reviewed by White House lawyers to determine whether they should
have been turned over to investigators probing cases that
included the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Whitewater and campaign
fund raising.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth on Wednesday ordered prominent
Washington attorney Earl Silbert and two Northrop Grumman
corporate lawyers to review notes on their conversations about
the threat allegations and answer questions about them in court.
``The assertion of the attorney-client privilege has severely
inhibited the evidentiary process before this court,'' Lamberth
said.
In previous testimony, Silbert has said he spoke briefly to the
White House counsel's office in 1998, but didn't recall what he
spoke about.
Northrop Grumman has refused to allow Silbert to describe his
work for the company, which entailed less than five hours of
legal work in September, October and December 1998.
Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., who chairs the House Government Reform
Committee, said it appears that Northrop Grumman hired Silbert
after complaints by three employees that they were threatened by
a White House aide who told them to keep their mouths shut about
the computer problem.
Northrop Grumman is trying to keep portions of several documents
secret, including Silbert's notes of an interview in 1998 with a
Northrop Grumman employee at the White House.
In his order, Lamberth on Wednesday agreed that the documents
should remain secret, saying Judicial Watch hadn't proved that
Northrop Grumman and the Executive Office of the President
engaged in ``criminal activity'' or obstruction of justice in the
case. Judicial Watch said the documents should be released due to
the ``crime-fraud'' exception to attorney-client privilege.
But the judge ordered Silbert, as well as Northrop Grumman
attorneys Ralph Pope and Lowell Brown, to review three
``privilege logs'' surrounding the case and testify about them.
The logs have already been submitted to the judge.
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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