-Caveat Lector-
Ray: Face-to-Face Talk Led to Clinton Deal
By Bill Miller Washington
Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 1, 2001 ; Page A05
It was a tactic independent counsel Robert W. Ray had used in
his days as a federal prosecutor: Meet face to face with the
target of an investigation, lay out the facts, and explore
chances of a deal.
This time, the target was the president of the United States, and
the meeting occurred Dec. 27 in the Map Room of the White House.
Until that day, Ray said in an interview yesterday, there were no
discussions with Clinton about an agreement that would preclude
an indictment for Clinton's role in the Monica S. Lewinsky
scandal.
Ray, who said he had requested the meeting, wanted "to
communicate directly, without any filtering," so that Clinton
clearly understood his position. He spoke to Clinton for 15
minutes. Although Clinton said nothing in response, the deal
began to take shape.
"To cut to the chase, it was important to go directly in," Ray
said. "That was all that was necessary -- one time to communicate
directly with the president."
That was their only meeting. From that point on, Ray said he
dealt with Clinton's lawyer, David E. Kendall. Ultimately, Ray
agreed not to pursue an indictment of Clinton for alleged perjury
and obstruction of justice in Clinton's testimony during a
deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case.
In return, Clinton agreed to acknowledge that he had made false
statements under oath about his relationship with Lewinsky, give
up his Arkansas law license for five years and pay a $25,000
fine, and promised not to seek reimbursement for legal fees.
But the paperwork wasn't signed until 9:30 a.m. Jan. 19,
Clinton's last day in office. The agreement was made public
hours later.
Ray insisted that until the deal was struck, he hadn't made a
judgment about whether to seek Clinton's indictment. He said he
was deliberately following two paths at the same time: one
preparing for prosecution, one considering options that could
resolve the matter without charges in a fair way.
Indeed, Ray interviewed Lewinsky on Dec. 8 at his office, a move
that her lawyer Plato Cacheris believed was a prelude to calling
her before a grand jury.
Kendall declined comment on the Map Room meeting or other aspects
of the negotiations. The session at the White House was first
reported in Time magazine. Others at the meeting included
Kendall's co-counsel, Nicole K. Seligman, then-White House
counsel Beth Nolan, deputy independent counsel J. Keith Ausbrook
and investigator Kim Widup.
Ray said numerous factors went into his decision to strike the
deal, including his studies of the nation's experience during the
Watergate scandal and President Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard
M. Nixon. Asked to weigh the strength of the case he could have
brought against Clinton, Ray responded: "It's just like poker.
You don't get to see my cards unless the decision had to be
made."
A former federal prosecutor from New York, Ray took over the
Lewinsky probe and other investigations from Kenneth W. Starr in
October 1999. He said he determined early in his tenure to be in
position to come to a resolution on Lewinsky soon after Clinton
left office. He said he did not consult Starr about the
negotiations with Clinton or otherwise seek his advice.
Ray said he believed he built credibility with the public by
wrapping up other investigations to clear the decks for the
Lewinsky matter.
Ray announced in March that his office had determined that no
crimes were committed by Clinton administration officials who
obtained hundreds of FBI personnel files of employees hired in
the Reagan and Bush administrations. In June, he said he would
not pursue charges in the firings of seven White House travel
office employees in 1993. And in September he announced that he
would not prosecute Clinton or Hillary Rodham Clinton on charges
stemming from the Whitewater real estate deal and other Arkansas
business transactions.
Ray said that impaneling a grand jury in July was another
critical step toward the recent windup. "My job was to put a
grand jury in place six months beforehand," he said, adding,
"Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst."
Ray said he attempted to time his announcements so they would not
unfairly interfere with last year's elections.
Under the law, Ray's office still must submit written reports
detailing its findings to the special three-judge panel that
oversees its work. The court will give key players in the
investigation time to file written responses before determining
whether to make the reports public.
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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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