Congressional Record—Senate S1799
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February 23, 1999 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1799 U.S.C. 1621. 18 U.S.C. 1623. Tampering. Per- mother in order to get her cooperation and fairness. The Grand Jury having thus re- jury. Obstruction. That is a lot to digest, but to tape Betty Currie, the President, and/or spected its own limitations and the rights of these are real laws and they are applicable to Vernon Jordan. Mr. Starr brought his enor- others, the Court ought to respect the Jury’s these proceedings and to this President.’’— mous criminal investigative resources to exercise of its prerogatives.’’ (In re Report House Manager Barr, Congressional Record, bear on testimony yet to be given in a civil and Recommendation of June 5, 1972, Grand February 8, 1999, Page S1342. lawsuit involving a consensual, sexual rela- Jury Concerning Transmission of Evidence to tionship. the House of Representatives, U.S. District APPENDIX K At the time Ms. Lewinsky was threatened Court, District of Columbia, March 18, 1974.) Though written in his diary almost 200 by Mr. Starr, her affidavit in the Jones case What a far cry the Watergate grand jury hundred years ago, John Quincy Adams’ had not been filed. She was still in a position report was from Mr. Starr’s. The Starr Re- thoughts on the impeachment of Justice to retrieve it or amend it. Also, President port violates almost every one of the stand- Samuel P. Chase, who was acquitted, are rel- Clinton had not been deposed. He had not ards laid out by Judge Sirica in the Water- evant to the impeachment of President Clin- given his testimony in the Paula Jones suit. gate case. ton. In effect, Mr. Starr and his agents lay in The House of Representatives the Judici- On the day that Justice Chase was acquit- wait—waiting for the President to be sur- ary Committee then almost immediately re- ted in 1805, John Quincy Adams wrote the prised at the Jones deposition with informa- leased the Starr report and the thousands of following: tion about Monica Lewinsky. And how did pages of evidence to the public. ‘‘. This was a party prosecution, and is that information about Monica Lewinsky get issued in the unexpected and total dis- in the hands of the Jones attorneys? Ms. Because of that release—enormous damage appointment of those by whom it was Tripp gave them the information. And she had been done to the public’s sense of deco- brought forward. It has exhibited the Senate was able to do that even though she was rum and to appropriate limits between pub- of the United States fulfilling the most im- under an immunity arrangement with Mr. lic and private life. portant purpose of its institution. It has Starr, because—as Mr. Starr acknowledged proved that a sense of justice is yet strong to the House Judiciary Committee under f enough to overpower the furies of factions; questioning—Mr. Starr’s agents never di- but it has, at the same time, shown the wis- rected Ms. Tripp to keep her information DEPOSITION OF VERNON JORDAN dom and necessity of that provision in the confidential, even though Mr. Starr had a Constitution which requires the concurrence major concern that the Lewinsky matter IN THE SENATE IMPEACHMENT of two-thirds for conviction upon impeach- would leak to the press. Mr. Starr’s agents TRIAL ments.’’ did not tell Ms. Tripp not to talk to the Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I regret APPENDIX L Jones attorneys or anyone else in order to to have to return to an unfinished as- ADDITIONAL STATEMENT OF SENATOR CARL ensure that the story would not leak to the press. pect of the Senate impeachment trial LEVIN REGARDING THE INDEPENDENT COUNSEL of President Clinton. Mr. President, four and one half years ago, So the enormous criminal investigative re- the Special Court under the independent sources of the federal government were On February 2, I attended the deposi- counsel law appointed Kenneth Starr to in- brought to bear on the President of the tion of Vernon Jordan as one of the vestigate certain specific and credible allega- United States to catch him by surprise in a Senators designated to serve as pre- tions concerning President Clinton’s involve- future deposition in a civil proceeding on a siding officers. On February 4, the Sen- ment in the Madison Guaranty Savings and matter peripheral to the lawsuit, prior to ate approved the House Managers’ mo- any of the suspected unlawful conduct. Loan Association of Little Rock, Arkansas. tion to include a portion of that deposi- Three and half years later—and after what Once the President testified in that civil suit, Mr. Starr convened a grand jury to in- tion in the trial record. Unfortunately, appears to be the most thorough criminal in- the House Managers moved to include vestigation of a sitting President, Mr. Starr vestigate the truthfulness of Mr. Clinton’s was unable to find any criminal wrongdoing testimony. Again, using the virtually unlim- only a portion of the videotaped deposi- on the part of the President in what came to ited resources of the federal government tion in the trial record and left the rest be known as ‘‘Whitewater.’’ A similar con- with respect to a criminal investigation, Mr. hidden from the public and subject to clusion was reached by Mr. Starr with re- Starr called countless witnesses before the the confidentiality rules that governed spect to additional investigations assigned grand jury—recalling numerous witnesses those proceedings. to Mr. Starr along the way—namely, allega- multiple times. Betty Currie testified on 5 different occasions; so did Vernon Jordan. On Saturday, February 6, at the con- tions with respect to the White House use of clusion of his presentation, Mr. Kendall FBI files and the discharge of White House Monica Lewinsky testified 3 times and was employees from the White House Travel Of- interviewed over 20 separate times. I don’t asked for permission to display the last fice. believe any regular prosecutor would have segment of the videotaped deposition A year ago Mr. Starr’s investigation was invested the time and money and resources of Vernon Jordan, in which, as Mr. coming to an end. That’s when Linda Tripp in the kind of investigation that Kenneth Kendall described it ‘‘Mr. Jordan made walked through Mr. Starr’s door with prom- Starr did. a statement defending his own integ- ises of taped phone conversations between At the end, Mr. Starr wrote a report argu- ing for impeachment to the House of Rep- rity.’’ The House Managers objected to Ms. Tripp and Monica Lewinsky about Ms. the playing of the approximately 2- Lewinsky’s sexual relationship with Presi- resentatives. He didn’t just impartially for- dent Clinton. And what was the alleged ward evidence he thought may demonstrate minute segment of the deposition that crime? That President Clinton and Ms. possible impeachable offenses. represented Mr. Jordan’s ‘‘own state- Lewinsky were about to lie about their rela- The Starr report spared nothing. Lacking ment about his integrity.’’ tionship—if they were asked about it by the good judgment and balance, the Starr report I then rose to request unanimous attorneys for Paula Jones in her sexual har- contained a large amount of salacious detail, consent from the Senate that the seg- assment case against President Clinton. Mr. and skipped over or dismissed important ex- culpatory evidence, such as Monica ment of the videotaped deposition be Starr had to know that the relationship be- allowed to be shown on the Senate tween President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky’s statement that no one asked her Lewinsky had been a consensual one. Mr. to lie and no one promised her a job for her floor to the Senate and the American Starr had to know that, because Ms. Tripp silence. Mr. Starr violated the standards people. There was objection from the was informed by Ms. Lewinsky of every as- enunciated by Judge Sirica when he ad- Republican side. pect of her relationship with President Clin- dressed the status of the grand jury report in I noted my disappointment at the ton. And at this point—January 12, 1998—nei- the Watergate matter. In that case, Judge time and in my February 12 remarks ther Monica Lewinsky nor President Clinton Sirica wrote in granting Leon Jaworski, the Watergate prosecutor, the right to forward about the depositions. After the con- had been deposed. clusion of the voting on the Articles of I am convinced that no ordinary federal grand jury information to the House of Rep- prosecutor, if confronted with the same situ- resentatives: Impeachment and before the adjourn- ation involving a private citizen, would have ‘‘It draws no accusatory conclusions. It ment of the court of impeachment, pursued this case. But Mr. Starr was no ordi- contains no recommendations, advice or unanimous consent was finally granted nary federal prosecutor. Without jurisdiction statements that infringe on the prerogatives to include the ‘‘full written tran- with respect to these matters, he imme- of other branches of government. It ren- scripts’’ of the depositions in the public diately gave Ms. Tripp immunity in ex- ders no moral or social judgments. The Re- record of the trial. As far as I can tell, change for access to her tapes, and he wired port is a simple and straightforward com- however, the statement of integrity by her to tape a private luncheon conversation pilation of information gathered by the Mr. Jordan has yet to be published in with Ms. Lewinsky. Shortly after Mr. Starr Grand Jury, and no more.