Starr Dreck
"This is going to be the biggest story in my lifetime," is the way James
Carville put it, and it leads everywhere, eclipsing such leaders-any-other-day
as the Pope celebrating Mass in Cuba, a surprise guilty plea in the Unabomber
case, and the decision by Microsoft to give in on the issue of Windows
95/Internet Explorer separation.
USA
Today says that while papering Washington and elsewhere with subpoenas,
Kenneth Starr was working to persuade Monica Lewinsky to testify against
President Clinton. The paper says that the indefinite postponement of
Lewinsky's deposition--originally scheduled for today--in the Paula Jones case
was sought by her attorney while he negotiates with Starr. By contrast, the
Washington Post says there appears to be little
movement towards a Starr/Lewinsky deal that would protect her from prosecution
for perjury and obstruction of justice, adding that her lawyer says he hasn't
heard from Starr since Monday. "Obviously," the Post quotes him, "if
there's jeopardy [to Lewinsky], I'd like a deal."
The New York Times
coverage emphasizes yesterday's statement by Clinton friend and advisor Vernon
Jordan that "absolutely and unequivocally" Lewinsky told Jordan that there was
no affair. Jordan vigorously denied telling her to lie. Everybody also reports
that Jordan admitted he'd arranged some job interviews for Lewinsky. Readers,
especially those just out of college with hardly any prior work experience, are
encouraged to contact Mr. Jordan's Washington office for similar job placement
assistance.
The WP still leads the way in monomaniacal Monica-mania. Besides the
full front-page treatment, the Post strews inside such items as a report
on Al Gore's first statement about the scandal (he believes his boss), a
check-in with Gennifer Flowers, and a primer for parents whose children now
suddenly ask, "Mommy, Daddy, what is adultery?"
The Times says the White House appears to have settled on a "strategy
of denial and delay," which includes attempting to undermine Lewinsky's
credibility and raising questions about her motivation. The WP reports
tension inside the White House between political advisors, who feel it's
imperative for Clinton to quickly and forcefully rebut allegations, and the
lawyers, who warn that Clinton should keep his public comments terse and
undetailed until they can assemble more facts. The Post describes
meetings held yesterday between the two groups as marked by heated debate. The
paper reports one explanation offered by the Clinton staff that shows the
meeting rooms need better ventilation: Clinton's comments during the 1992
campaign could be squared with his apparent admission during last Saturday's
deposition that he'd had an affair with Gennifer Flowers because "Clinton was
only denying the precise descriptions of the affair that Flowers had publicly
alleged--not that any sex between them had occurred."
The NYT , in an editorial slugged "Tell the Full Story, Mr. President," says that
the statements offered thus far by Clinton and Jordan have compounded the
case's oddities, not dissipated them.
USAT reports that those Starr subpoenaed yesterday include not just
Jordan but also the widow of former Arlington National Cemetery resident Larry
Lawrence. The NYT says the point of that is to ask her if she had an
affair with Clinton. Others the dailies list among the Starr-struck include
Clinton's personal secretary and a former Miss America. The NYT reports
that FBI agents visited Linda Tripp's literary agent Lucianne Goldberg in New
York and USAT has the detail that in 1972 Goldberg was paid $1,000 a
week by a high-level Nixon operative to spy on the
McGovern campaign.
Amidst all this, Jack Lord and his hair died. The obits fail to clear up an
abiding mystery: Why did Kam Fong play "Chin Ho"? Why couldn't he just be "Kam
Fong"?
