Sunday, July 26, 1998
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Lewinsky Meets With Independent Counsel's Office (07-27-98)
Starr Subpoenas Clinton To Appear Before Grand Jury (07-25-98)
Lead Secret Service Agent Testifies (07-23-98)
Starr Appeals Judge's Sanctions Over Leaks (07-21-98)
Secret Service Agents Give Grand Jury Testimony (07-17-98)
Justice Appeals Secret Service Dispute To Supreme Court (07-16-98)
Starr, Justice Face Off Over New Secret Service Subpoenas (07-15-98)
Secret Service Must Testify, Appeals Court Rules (07-07-98)
Day Two Of Tripp Grand Jury Testimony (07-02-98)
Text Of Chief Justice Rehnquist's Order Denying Secret Service Stay (7-17-98)
Documents From Secret Service Privilege Case (05-20-98)
Tripp: No Stranger To Controversy
Who Are Plato Cacheris And Jacob Stein?
A Chronology: Key Moments In The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal
Cast of Characters In The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 26) -- Independent counsel Ken Starr served President Bill Clinton with a subpoena in recent days that calls for his testimony before the Monica Lewinsky grand jury next week, CNN has learned.
The issuance of the subpoena marks the first time a sitting president has been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury.
Sources familiar with the White House legal strategy said Starr contacted the president's personal attorney, David Kendall, by phone to tell him the subpoena had been issued and that the subpoena was delivered to Kendall's office shortly afterward.
Starr's phone call triggered urgent negotiations currently underway over how the president could provide information to the grand jury without making a personal appearance before the panel, where witnesses cannot be accompanied by counsel, the sources said.
Starr is investigating whether the president and Lewinsky, a former White House intern, had a sexual relationship and then lied about it under oath. The sources said it now appears likely that Clinton will provide testimony in some form.
The subpoena presents a profound political and legal dilemma for the president. Challenging the subpoena could result in a political nightmare and spark a constitutional crisis.
However, Clinton's lawyers are trying to strike a deal in which the president would not testify before the grand jury.
Kendall is working on a possible deal that would allow the president to either answer written questions under oath or agree to be questioned by Starr and his deputies at the White House. The sources said they did not expect Starr to agree to written questions.
If such a deal can be struck, Starr could withdraw the subpoena. Such voluntary testimony would avoid a constitutional challenge over the issue of whether a sitting president can be compelled to testify.
The Clinton subpoena comes as the six-month inquiry is possibly nearing an end. In a week of fast-paced developments, Secret Service agents, the president's secretary and top Clinton adviser Harold Ickes all testified. One day, Starr had witnesses before two grand juries.
The grand jurors are now waiting to hear from the two people who know the most in the case, Clinton and Lewinsky. Lewinsky's lawyers have been engaged in negotiations about possible testimony for months. Clinton's lawyers have given various explanations in declining to give testimony, ranging from a busy schedule to White House distrust of prosecutors.
With the issuance of the subpoena, Starr has opted to hear from Clinton first.
Kendall was vacationing in Canada and not immediately available for comment. But the sources said the White House hopes to resolve the issue by next week.
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