-Caveat Lector-
Maryland Judge to Weigh Tripp Wiretap Case
By David Morgan
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (Reuters) - A Maryland judge this week will
take up the thorny question of whether Linda Tripp can be
prosecuted under the state's wiretap law for recording a
telephone conversation with Monica Lewinsky from her home in
suburban Washington.
Howard County Circuit Judge Diane Leasure will oversee two
pre-trial hearings which could be an albatross for Democrats who
pushed for the prosecution because the case will resurrect the
White House sex scandal while Vice President Al Gore (news - web
sites) is fighting for his party's presidential nomination.
Tripp, the former White House secretary whose disclosures led to
Clinton's impeachment, is scheduled to come to trial on Jan. 18,
six days before the Iowa caucuses. Lawyers say the proceedings
could be postponed until later in the year, possibly when the
presidential race is in full stride.
That could pose problems for Gore, who has worked to distance
himself from the scandal while honing his own bid for the White
House.
Monica Lewinsky herself could be called this week to testify on
behalf of the prosecution, which must prove that their evidence
against Tripp has not been tainted by information derived from
former Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's investigation of the
president.
``My instincts tell me that the prosecution, and I think
everyone else in the state of Maryland, would like this to go
away,'' said University of Maryland Law School Prof. Abe Dash.
``I have no doubt that from the governor on down... the feeling
now is that if you're a Democrat you just don't want this
spreading around in the papers and on TV while poor Gore is
trying to win primaries.''
Tripp attorneys, who want the case dismissed, will have two
opportunities to scuttle it this week, beginning with a hearing
in which Leasure must decide if a conversation with Lewinsky that
Tripp taped on Dec. 22, 1997, was covered by a grant of federal
immunity early enough to prevent its use as evidence in a state
criminal proceeding.
Tripp is charged with making the recording and sharing its
contents with Newsweek magazine. She could face five years in
prison and $10,000 in fines on each of two counts.
Maryland State Prosecutor Stephen Montanarelli claims the tape
can be used as evidence because Tripp handed it to investigators
on Jan. 16, 1998, with only an assurance of federal immunity from
Starr's office. True immunity, he contends, did not begin until a
judge ordered it on Feb. 19. Prosecutors admit that their case
will be all but over if Leasure rules that immunity began in
January.
``If immunity attaches on Jan. 16, it will make prosecution very
difficult. We'd have to rethink whether to even proceed with the
case,'' said Steve Halpert, an investigator with Montanarelli's
office.
Witnesses due to be called on the immunity question, including
five members of Starr's office, are scheduled to testify Monday
and Tuesday.
Also scheduled for Tuesday is New York literary agent Lucianne
Goldberg, who first advised Tripp to tape Lewinsky's
conversations about the former White House intern's sexual affair
with the president.
Later in the week, Leasure will oversee a so-called Kastigar
hearing in which prosecutors face the task of proving their
evidence against Tripp is independent from the protected findings
of Starr's investigation.
Tripp attorneys say they may call Lewinsky to testify at the
hearing if prosecutors do not.
``Our opinion is that their case is tainted no matter when you
start the immunity,'' said Tripp lawyer David Irwin. ``It's
ridiculous. This is a waste of government funds and a waste of
taxpayer dollars.
It's just absurd.''
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