Conservative spotlight: Judicial Watch

Human Events, Oct 8, 1999 by D'Agostino, Joseph A

Over the last year, Judicial Watch has tripled its staff to 30, including ten lawyers. It now has about 40 cases going.

Here is how the group, which has forced countless Clinton Administration officials to prepare legal de fenses, or at least shred documents, describes itself:

"Judicial Watch is a nonprofit, non-partisan public interest organization dedicated to reforming the legal and judicial systems and fighting government corruption. Judicial Watch was established in 1994 by Chairman and General Counsel, Larry Klayman, a trial attorney with 22 years' experience. Utilizing the court system in a creative manner, Judicial Watch seeks to expose corruption at all levels of government and to bring the perpetrators to justice."

Judicial Watch has many pending lawsuits-against the Department of Commerce for selling seats on trade missions, against the Department of Health and Human Services for using abstinence education money for sex education and condoms, and against State Farm insurance company for allegedly improperly paying some of President Clinton's legal bills, among others-but Klayman feels there is one key scandal. "Filegate is a huge scandal that goes beyond the FBI files," he said. "Filegate is the defense for all the other scandals."

Judicial Watch has sued the FBI for transferring to the Clinton White House the FBI files of hundreds of Republican appointees, basing its case on the federal Privacy Act and the common-law right to privacy. The group hopes late this year or early next to depose Hillary Clinton, who the late Ron Brown's partner Nolanda Hill said was behind Filegate.

Judicial Watch will hold a 5th anniversary conference and dinner October 22 and 23 in Pasadena, Calif., that will feature Johnny Chung. He will receive the Judicial Watch Medal of Courage for cooperating with investigations into the Chinese money scandal. Radio talk show hosts Jane Chastain and Warren Duffy, among others, will be on hand, and former Rep. Bob Doman (R.-Calif.) will give the keynote address.

On September 28, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank and Bankers Trust Co. for what it is says was an illegal mortgage loan for the Clintons' new $1.7-million New York home. Also naming the Clintons and controversial Democratic fund raiser Terry McAuliffe, who put up $1.3 million for the Clintons to secure the loan, the suit alleges that "the loan and supporting `guarantee' by Defendant McAuliffe constitutes an unlawful campaign contribution . . . with respect to Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"Consequently, the loan and supporting 'guarantee' will likely subject Deutsche Bank and/or Bankers Trust to potential criminal penalties, including but not limited to conspiring with Hillary Rodham Clinton, William Jefferson Clinton, Defendant McAuliffe.... In addition, the loan and supporting 'guarantee' by Defendant McAuliffe also is an illegal gratuity to the President of the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. 201 et seq., as well as an acceptance of value by the President of the United States in violation of 5 U.S.C. 7353 et seq." (Just as this suit was filed, reports surfaced that the Clintons would try to finance their new house without the guarantee from McAuliffe.)

Klayman said that the "overwhelming majority" of his group's funding comes "from small contributions from the American people." Some support also comes from conservative philanthropist Richard Scaife, who has been much abused by the liberal media, but whom Klayman calls "an American hero."

Klayman used to work for the U.S. Department of Justice in the antitrust division, leaving to start his own firm in 1983. Then came Judicial Watch. "Our first case was against the [Clinton] legal defense fund," he recalled. "We drew Judge [Royce] Lamberth. He didn't rule in our favor." Though he said that he respected Judge Lamberth, widely considered a conservative jurist, Klayman expressed great frustration with the American legal system, which he views as failing to allow the extirpation of corruption in government.

"There may have been a time when our legal system was superior to those of the rest of the world," he said. "Now we're no better than Italy.... I would say that 70% of judges don't belong on the bench." Out of members of Congress, Klayman singled out only Rep. Bob Barr (R.-Ga.) for praise for his aggressiveness in pursuing Clinton scandals.

Judicial Watch plans to start a entirely new project out of its West Coast office. "We're going to do judicial monitoring," Klayman said. "The Free Congress Foundation takes it up to confirmation. We're going to send volunteers out to see how judges behave in the courtroom."

As for the Clinton scandals, Klayman says: "I don't care if Bill and Hillary Clinton are 98 years old. We're going to pursue this until the very end. They're criminals."

Judicial Watch may be reached at PO. Box 44444, Washington D.C 20026 (888-JW-ETHIC; fax: 202646-5199; e-mail: info@judicialwatch.org; website: www.judicialwatch.org).