Breuer testifies, but avoids key queries

Breuer, White House lawyers and prosecutors from independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s office met behind closed doors with US district judge Norma Holloway Johnson after the appearance over questions he declined to answer, legal sources said.

The sources familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the court rulings left open the possibility that the White House could try a second time to ask the US court of appeals or Rehnquist to spare Breuer from answering questions they believeinfringe on Clinton’s right to confidential advice.

There was no indication at the courts late yesterday of such a request though.

An affable and respected lawyer, Breuer arrived at the courthouse to a throng of reporters who asked his reaction about all the fuss his appearance had caused. “I’m honored,” he quipped.

White House officials said Breuer was unlikely to possess much firsthand knowledge about Clinton’s relationship with Lewinsky. But his role in processing subpoenas, gathering documents and contacting witnesses placed him in the middle of the President’s damage control effort.

Prosecutors probing possible obstruction of justice and witness tampering are likely to press him about what he did and observed in the early days of the Lewinsky controversy.

Meanwhile, most Americans believe Clinton probably lied when he denied having an affair with Lewinsky, but impeachment hearings could bring a public backlash against Congress, a new poll suggests.

The poll, released yesterday by the Pewresearch center for the people and the press, put the President’s job approval rating at 63 per cent, mirroring the results of several polls released last week.

The Pew poll showed 60 per cent of the surveyed Americans would be satisfied to end the matter if the President were to tell the public that he had an affair with Lewinsky but lied about it to protect his family. Only a third thought congress should still consider impeachment hearings in the wake of a public confession.

A strong performance in the polls will be increasingly important if independent counsel Kenneth Starr sends a report of his investigation to Congress, some analysts say.

This case will be decided by the political process and public opinion is crucial to that,” said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew center. Whether it continues to support the President or turns on the President will be crucial to that process.”

The Pew phone survey of 1,189 adults was conducted last Wednesday through Sunday. It has a margin of error of plus orminus 3.5 percentage points.Overall, public interest in the Lewinsky saga remains low, the poll indicated. Only 29 per cent were following the story closely, about the same number as in April and June.

The Pew poll indicated 70 per cent think the President definitely or probably had sex with Lewinsky, compared with 52 percent in February. And 66 per cent think he probably or definitely lied about it, compared with 49 percent in February.

But a majority of those polled, 57 per cent, said they would have an unfavourable opinion of members of Congress who supported impeachment hearings.

Otherwise too, the American people have not shown much anger over the President’s peccadilloes and have as such tried to ignore them. Most of them say that as long as the governance is not affected they don’t mind their President having a nice time. Of course, a nice time doesn’t mean affairs.

FBI delves into Monica’s cocktail dress

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has completed preliminary examinationof the blue cocktail dress given by Monica Lewinsky which is supposed to contain evidence of sexual activity linking Clinton.

The FBI would now carry out further tests, CBS TV said adding the investigating agency was also looking for any trace of hair or fibre left by whoever was with Lewinsky when she wore the dress.

Lewinsky, the television network said, has also given the special counsel tape-recorded conversations she had with Clinton over the telephone as well as a picture of both of them together. The picture reportedly does not show anything special except that the two were close. If FBI lab tests yielded some evidence linking Lewinsky with a man, the next stage would be to show that the man was Clinton, the TV said.