Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: WASHINGTON (AP) -- Monica Lewinsky's mother failed today in an attempt to avoid further questioning by a federal grand jury investigating allegations of a presidential affair and cover-up. After a two-hour closed hearing before presiding Judge Norma Holloway Johnson, Marcia Lewis' attorney told reporters that Ms. Lewinsky's mother will continue to be a witness in the case. Without giving any details of the arguments at the U.S. Courthouse, attorney Billy Martin said that ``Marcia Lewis walked into the courthouse as a witness. She is here complying with a subpoena. ... Unfortunately, nothing changed. She remains a witness before the grand jury.'' Martin said Mrs. Lewis has ``loving support of her daughter, Monica, and would look forward to making a statement'' when her testimony is completed. It was not immediately clear whether Mrs. Lewis was resuming her questioning before the panel today. Martin spoke to reporters during a midday lunch break. Mrs. Lewis had taken sick during an appearance before Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr's grand jury some six weeks ago. A psychiatrist, Dr. Neil Blumberg, was called into the closed hearing for Lewis, but said afterwards that the judge would not allow him to make any comment on why he was there or who had summoned him to courthouse. Little has been seen of her publicly in recent weeks, although Mrs. Lewis accompanied her daughter and Ms. Lewinsky's lawyer, William Ginsburg, to a professional basketball game here last week. Prosecutors working for Starr are trying to learn whether Ms. Lewinsky, a former White House intern, had an affair with President Clinton and whether they tried to keep it secret. They have been seeking to identify friends and associates in whom Ms. Lewinsky may have confided her relationship with the president. Linda Tripp, who worked with Ms. Lewinsky at the White House and subsequently moved to the Pentagon, tape-recorded conversations in which Ms. Lewinsky described such a relationship with Clinton. Ms. Tripp subsequently gave the tapes to Starr's office. The president has denied that he had sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky. Mrs. Lewis had emerged from her earlier grand jury appearance in mid-February on the verge of tears after a session in which she briefly required medical assistance. Martin said at the time that it was ``an ordeal that no one should have to go through.'' ``She was unable to complete her testimony,and her obligation to testify continues,''he said subsequently in a statement. ``As you can imagine, this is a very emotionally draining and difficult time for my client, Marcia Lewis. No mother should ever be forced by federal prosecutors to testify against their child.'' Mrs. Lewis' ex-husband, Bernard Lewinsky, who is Ms. Lewinsky's father, went on ABC television to denounce Starr's prosecution strategy, saying that it was calculated to ``to pit a mother against her daughter, to coerce her to talk.'' -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
