Starr considers indicting Clinton: Report

WASHINGTON, JAN 31: Independent prosecutor Kenneth Starr is convinced he has the power to seek an indictment of perjury and obstruction o...

WASHINGTON, JAN 31: Independent prosecutor Kenneth Starr is convinced he has the power to seek an indictment of perjury and obstruction of justice charges before President Bill Clinton leaves the White House in January 2001, the New York Times said today.

As the United States Senate moves forward with the impeachment trial of Clinton, Starr is seriously considering whether to ask a federal grand jury to indict the president before the end of his second term, the report said.The Times, citing unidentified Starr associates, said he has not decided what steps to take. But Starr has concluded that the US constitution and legal precedent would give him the green light to pursue the indictment that could lead to a spectacle unprecedented in US history 8212; the trial and conviction of a president while in office, the report said. Meanwhile on Sunday, former White House intern Monica Lewinsky prepared for another round of questioning in the sex, lies and videotape scandal threatening to take down the USPresident.

Lewinsky, who already has testified more than 20 times on her affair with Clinton, is to be questioned by prosecutors in an eight-hour deposition on Monday marking the latest phase of the President8217;s impeachment drama.One Republican and one Democratic senator will preside over the closed-door deposition, to be led by the Republican House managers in the posh downtown Mayflower Hotel where Lewinsky was staying. Lewinsky was dragged back into the limelight last weekend when she was forced to return to Washington to informally answer more questions about her relationship with Clinton. After Senators review the tapes and transcripts, the trial will formally resume on Thursday. The Senate will decide whether to play the videotaped depositions on the Senate floor or have the witnesses testify in person. If the videotaped proceedings are made public, it would be the first time the US public sees the 25-year-old talking about her affair with the President.Subpoenas were delivered Friday to Lewinsky,presidential friend Vernon Jordan and White House aide Sydney Blumenthal.

Jordan and Blumenthal were expected to testify on Tuesday and Wednesday in a special soundproof room inside the Capitol usually set aside for highly sensitive national security matters.