Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Starr Targets Secret Service > WASHINGTON (AP) -- Setting the stage for a showdown with > the Secret Service, Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr > has asked a judge to compel members of the White House > security detail to answer questions about President > Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky. > > An official knowledgeable about negotiations between > Starr's office and the Justice Department said the > prosecutor filed his motion Friday after the talks broke > down. The Clinton administration plans to fight it, the > official said. > > Starr is seeking grand jury testimony from uniformed > officers responsible for the security of the White House > complex. He apparently believes they have information > that might shed light on the Clinton-Lewinsky > relationship, said the source, who spoke only on grounds > of anonymity. > > The Clinton administration argues that compelling > testimony from tight-lipped Secret Service officials > would undermine the trust between presidents and their > protectors, a precedent they say could endanger future > presidents. > > The officers have no first-hand knowledge about the > relationship, but may have been told something about it > second-hand, the official said. > > Starr's motion, initially reported by The Wall Street > Journal, argues that no Secret Service officials are > exempt from the requirement to testify. He appears to be > making a distinction between uniformed officers and > plainclothed agents who are in the closest proximity to > the president. The official said Starr's motion does not > name plainclothed agents, although it does seek > testimony from specific uniformed officers. > > By not going after agents, Starr weakens the Secret > Service's argument for a privilege against grand jury > testimony, the official said. The Justice Department had > indicated earlier that compelling the testimony of > anyone from the Secret Service -- even uniformed > officers -- would set a dangerous precedent. > > Starr's office has questioned several uniformed officers > in recent weeks about the days leading up to Ms. > Lewinsky's exit from the White House when she was > transferred to a new job at the Pentagon in the spring > of 1996, according to two lawyers familiar with the > prosecutor's investigation. > > The lawyers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said > that while the officers answered the prosecutors' > questions, Starr wants to delve into additional areas as > well. > > Asked in Little Rock, Ark., whether the Secret Service > was no longer cooperating with his office, Starr said > ``I would not want to characterize it that way. We have > remained ... in constant touch with other agencies of > government.'' > > Starr added that ``we do our very best to seek to > accommodate the interests of other agencies while at the > same time living up to our obligation to gather all the > facts and to be able to evaluate those facts and present > them to the grand jury.'' > > Regarding the Secret Service issue, Mike Leibig, an > attorney for the Uniformed Division Officers > Association, said that as far as he knows, none of the > group's members has been subpoenaed. -- 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
