Clinton abused the power of office

Human Events, Aug 28, 1998 by Hopkins, Kara

Entire Executive Branch Was an Instrument of His Cover-Up

"But I told the grand jury today, and I say to you now, that at no time did I ask anyone to lie, to hide or destroy evidence, or to take any other unlawful action."

-President Clinton Aug. 17,1998

In covering up his affair with a White House intern, President Clinton manipulated virtually the entire executive branch as well as the federal judiciary. Here are agencies he abused in the course of trying to cover up his lies. Department of Justice

Rather than representing the interests of the American people, the Department of Justice has become President Clinton's personal defender. "The attorney general is, in effect, acting as the President's counsel under the false guise of representing the United States," U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Laurence Silberman stated in his concurring opinion refusing to overturn a lower-court ruling compelling Secret Service agents to testify. By arguing the President's privilege claims against the special prosecutor Atty. Gen. Janet Reno placed the Justice Department in what Silberman called a position of "constitutional absurdity" by forcing the federal government to essentially litigate against itself.

Federal Courts

President Clinton has consumed the time of federal judges and clogged the court system in his attempt to block testimony through bogus privilege claims.

In March, the President claimed executive privilege and attorney-client privilege. In April, the administration claimed a so-called protective function privilege to block Secret Service testimony.

Judge Norma Holloway Johnson shot down the attorneyclient and executive privilege assertions in May, and the administration appealed.

Later the same month, she overturned the protective function claim, ruling that the Secret Service must testify. Again, the White House appealed. On July 8, the Federal Court of Appeals ruled against the administration, and the Supreme Court refused to reconsider the decision.

In the meantime, Clinton abandoned his executive privilege argument, but continued to fight for attorney-client privilege. On July 27, the Federal Court of Appeals denied that claim. Once again, the White House appealed, but the Supreme Court rejected an emergency request to prevent his taxpayer-funded attorneys from testifying.

Department of the Treasury

The case to block testimony by Secret Service agents was filed on behalf of Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin by the Department of Justice. Rubin, who oversees the Secret Service, worked with Atty. Gen. Reno to build the case for a protective function privilege and to strategize the appeals process. Had it proved legally feasible, Rubin and subsequent Treasury secretaries could have invoked the privilege in the same way that a President uses executive privilege.

Secret Service

The President claimed that, by attempting to block their testimony, he was protecting the ability of Secret Service agents to perform their duties. He more likely sought to shield himself, for according to the grand jury testimony of one retired officer, the President had already forced the Secret Service to stand silent witness to his indiscretion. Lewis Fox testified that on one weekend in the fall of 1995, he ushered Lewinsky into the Oval Office at the President's instruction and stood guard while the two were alone inside.

Furthermore, NBC's Tim Russert said on July 15 that, according to his Capitol Hill sources, "perhaps the Secret Service facilitated for President Clinton" in the same way that state troopers were allegedly used in Little Rock.

Office of the Independent Counsel

Not only has Clinton stonewalled Starr's investigation with dubious privilege claims, but he has also shown contempt for the Office of the Independent Counsel (OIC) by ignoring six requests to testify.

All the while, the President's aides have, in the words of Judge Laurence Silberman, "literally and figuratively declar[ed] war on the independent counsel." Presidential advisor James Carville led this charge, casting the prosecutor as "a sex-obsessed person who's out to get the President."

Clinton joined the assault on the OIC in his August 17 address to the nation, saying, "It is time to stop the pursuit of personal destruction and the prying into private lives."

Office of the Vice President

After the Lewinsky allegations surfaced, the Vice President said on January 30, "The President has denied the charges and I believe it" On March 7, Gore reaffirmed his support in an interview with the Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader: "He's denied the allegations made against him and I believe him."

After Clinton admitted his relationship with Lewinsky, Gore's devotion did not diminish. "I am proud of him-not only because he is a friend-but because he is a person who has had the courage to acknowledge mistakes," Gore said. "I am honored to work with this great President on his agenda for the nation and I believe it is time to put this matter behind us-once and for all-and move forward with the business of the United States of America."