WASHINGTON, February 7: US president Bill Clinton today firmly promised that he would "never" resign, even as the sex-and-coverup scandal that has battered his presidency for weeks showed no sign of abating.Clinton made the categorical statement at a joint press conference with visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair.Asked if the sex scandal involving a former White House intern had taken such an emotional toll that he would consider leaving office, the president firmly responded, "never"."You know, I was elected to do a job," he said. Clinton has denied having an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, 24, then urging her to lie about it to protect him in a separate sexual harassment suit.As the President vowed to ride out the controversy, independent counsel Kenneth Starr - who is investigating presidential imbroglio - rejected Clinton's charge that he was behind "illegal leaks" to the news media.Starr suggested that the source may be close to those under investigation inthe scandal."We've seen leak after leak, which ultimately and in the fullness of time, turns out to be false information. These leaks make a mockery of the traditional rules of rand jury secrecy," Kendall said.Questions about Clinton's relationship with Lewinsky dominated a press conference earlier ÿin the day with Blair, which followed meetings on Iraq and other international matters.Clinton again denied the affair - as he reportedly did in a sworn court deposition - and rejected charges he asked Lewinsky to lie about their relationship."I never asked anybody to do anything but tell the truth," Clinton said before promising to stay in office.The White House was angered over reports in the New York Times and Washington Post suggesting that Clinton may have tried to influence the grand jury testimony of his secretary, Betty Currie.
