Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Paper: GOP To Review Starr Evidence > WASHINGTON (AP) -- Kathleen Willey's credibility was > caught in a new crossfire Wednesday as a publisher and a > former friend took aim at her allegation about a sexual > advance by President Clinton. > > California publisher Michael Viner went on television to > assert that Mrs. Willey's account last Sunday night on > ``60 Minutes'' was ``a different story'' from the one > given by her lawyer when they discussed a possible > six-figure book deal over the last two months. > > Across the country, the Washington lawyer for Julie > Hiatt Steele released a sworn affidavit in which her > client says Mrs. Willey asked her to lie about the > encounter with Clinton. > > Steele's affidavit said she never heard of the 1993 > encounter between Clinton and Mrs. Willey until her > friend called her in 1997 and asked her to tell a > reporter that Mrs. Willey had confided the entire > episode to her right after it happened. > > ``Mrs. Willey also asked me to describe her demeanor at > the time as `upset, humiliated, disappointed and > harassed,'' Steele said in the affidavit. > > Steele said that Mrs. Willey asked to to lie because she > was concerned that former White House staffer Linda > Tripp ``would not support'' Mrs. Willey's version of > events. Steele said she later told the reporter she had > lied at Mrs. Willey's request. > > Tripp, whose secret tape recordings prompted the Monica > Lewinsky investigation, also claims to have witnessed > Mrs. Willey emerging from the Oval Office, appearing > ruffled but happy, after the alleged November 29, 1993 > incident with Clinton. > > Mrs. Willey has stated in both a deposition and a TV > interview that Clinton made a crude sexual advance that > she rebuffed. Her attorney, Dan Gecker, did not > immediately return a call to his home Wednesday night. > > Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas > exhorted fellow Republicans to avoid comments on how > Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr is conducting his > investigation. > > ``If we have an independent counselor statute, which we > do ... should we not be patient to let him complete his > work before we start making declarations of judgment and > evaluation,'' Armey said. > > He also said that if Starr refers the Clinton case to > the House, its Judiciary Committee, which historically > has handled impeachment proceedings, should get custody > of it. ``We have capable leadership there,'' Armey said. > > House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., has broached the > possibility of setting up a special committee to handle > such an investigation. The Washington Post reported that > the speaker and Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, > R-Ill., agreed Wednesday to have a small group of House > members, primarily but not necessarily exclusively from > the Judiciary panel, conduct the initial examination of > evidence gathered by Starr's office. > > Two senior House Republican aides, speaking on the > condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that > Gingrich and Hyde were close to an agreement but > indicated that any action was weeks away. > > ``No preliminary investigation will get under way until > Starr forwards a referral to the House, and it is still > speculation that he will,'' said one of the officials. > > Steele's account has generally been known for several > weeks, but the sudden release of her affidavit was the > latest development in a White House-inspired campaign > attacking Mrs. Willey's credibility after her ``60 > Minutes'' appearance. > > Viner told ABC's ``Good Morning America'' that Mrs. > Willey was portrayed by her attorney during book > discussions as ``someone who was reluctantly and against > her will involved in these problems, and someone who was > still a fan, a friend, and cared about President > Clinton.'' > > In contrast, on the ``60 Minutes'' show Mrs. Willey was > ``someone who felt terribly wronged,'' said Viner, > president of New Millennium Entertainment, a > California-based publishing house. > > ``There seemed to have been a change or evolution ... of > Mrs. Willey ...,'' Viner said. She was ``a different > person with a different story than the portrait that has > been painted for me during the last couple of months.'' > > He said discussions with Mrs. Willey's lawyer involved > the figure $300,000, ``the number that they asked for -- > that they needed for various reasons.'' > > ``I think she had a chapter, she didn't have a book,'' > Viner said of why the book deal never went anywhere. > > On Capitol Hill, Republicans distributed copies of > comments Clinton and Vice President Al Gore made during > the 1991 confirmation process of Supreme Court nominee > Clarence Thomas. Democrats at the time rushed to support > Anita Hill and her sexual harassment allegations against > Thomas. > > In an October 1991 interview, Clinton, then a Democratic > presidential candidate, blamed senators of both parties > for putting on a Senate hearing ``that reminded me of a > trial where someone accuses someone else of a sexual > offense and then an attempt is made to destroy the > character of the victim.'' > > In a separate interview, Clinton said he believed both > Hill and Thomas. > > ABC News released a poll saying that most people see > Mrs. Willey's charge of sexual misconduct by Clinton as > a more serious matter than the allegations he had a > sexual relationship with Ms. Lewinsky. > > Fifty-nine percent of the respondents in the poll said > that if Clinton made an unwelcome sexual advance against > Mrs. Willey, they would think that calls into question > his fitness for office. But when asked whether a Clinton > affair with Ms. Lewinsky would raise questions about his > fitness for office, only 35 percent said they thought it > would. > > The poll was conducted March 17 among a random national > sample of 505 adults and had a margin of error of plus > or minus 4.5 points, ABC said. -- 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
