Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
KENNETH STARR'S report to
Congress will be a massive document
that could run over 300 pages and
make widespread allegations of
organized corruption in Arkansas and
Washington, reliable sources say.
One source says a draft form of the
document, which hasn't yet been
numbered, is about an inch thick.
It probably will be delivered to the
House Judiciary Committee by the end
of this month, but could arrive closer to
the middle of the month.
Starr's indictment yesterday of Webster
Hubbell might not be the last of the
trouble for the former associate U.S.
attorney general.
Clinton's old friend was charged with
tax evasion on $894,000 in taxes,
penalties and interest after being
convicted earlier of billing fraud.
But a source close to the investigation
hinted that Starr may have held back on
some of the charges against Hubbell.
"There's a lot going on with Hubbell,"
said a source of mine, who added that
"not everything" was included.
In all likelihood, Starr is still trying to get
Hubbell to accept a plea agreement in
exchange for his full cooperation.
Starr is dangling the possibility of
dropping charges against Hubbell's
wife, Suzy, who was also indicted.
And the matters probably being held
back are payments made to Hubbell or
family members through an account at a
Los Angeles office of Merrill Lynch.
Unless he suddenly cooperates,
Hubbell is also likely to be indicted by
the grand jury in Arkansas in the near
future, a source close to Starr says.
A deal with Hubbell could slightly delay
the report to Congress - as would a
decision by Sexgate figure Monica
Lewinsky to cooperate.
Starr's investigators are hopeful
Lewinsky will be more cooperative now
that a judge has ruled the former White
House intern never had a deal for
immunity with Starr.
That puts her in jeopardy of criminal
charges, the worst of which sources say
would be suborning perjury.
A source close to Starr said Lewinsky
is expected to be "more receptive" to a
deal.
If Lewinsky cooperates and testifies
that she was asked to lie to
investigators, her tales of obstruction of
justice will be included in a litany of
alleged wrongdoing in the Starr report
to Congress.
The report will be submitted under
Section 595c of the Independent
Counsel Act. That part of the law
requires an independent counsel to
report any potentially impeachable
wrongdoing to Congress.
Sources in Washington indicate that
impeachment hearings are likely if Starr
alleges abuse of power on Clinton's
part - or if the investigators have found
that he allowed or took part in an
organized crime operation.
But if the report focuses entirely on
personal matters, like the Lewinsky
case, it is highly unlikely that Congress
will act, the sources also said.
Starr has been investigating a pattern
of corruption in Arkansas involving the
apparent theft of millions of dollars from
state construction projects and from
pension funds.
He has also looked into the misuse of
bank loans, especially money intended
for a real-estate project called
Flowerwood Farms.
The report to Congress won't be
delayed, the sources say, if Lewinsky
decides not to cooperate.
In that case, she will be indicted and
whatever relationship she had with the
president and the alleged obstruction of
justice that followed will not be included
in the report.
Either way, the source says, there will
be "plenty of headlines" before the
report arrives later this month. He
wouldn't elaborate.
Meanwhile, sources say Starr is fighting
his staff's effort to indict Hillary Clinton.
One source says the disagreement is
heated, but another said it was merely a
professional difference of opinion.
"It's a division of views among
reasonable people," said one source
with intimate knowledge of the
investigation. "The final decision is in
Ken's hands. I think I know which way
it's coming out."
--
Two rules in life:
1. Don't tell people everything you know.
2.
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