Whitewater Notes Appeal Defended Refusing To Surrender Notes ‘Right Thing To Do,’ Says Clinton
Defending his refusal to surrender key Whitewater notes, President Clinton said Monday his lawyers told him a Supreme Court appeal was “the right thing to do for America.”
He called the appeal “constitutionally imperative.”
At issue are attorneys’ notes from conversations between Hillary Rodham Clinton and White House attorneys. The discussions involved her actions after the death of former deputy White House counsel Vincent Foster and the mysterious disappearance and reappearance of her law firm billing records.
Clinton authorized the Supreme Court filing after a federal appeals court ordered the White House to surrender the notes.
In denying the notes to Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr, the White House made claims of executive privilege, attorney-client privilege and attorney work product protections. The denials came even as the White House was publicly declaring its full cooperation with the special prosecutor.
Asked how the appeal squares with promises to cooperate, Clinton said he believes last month’s court ruling means no government employee could “ever have a government lawyer again” and know the conversations were confidential.
In an interview with Hispanic broadcasters, Clinton said White House lawyers “came to me and said this is what we strongly believe, this is the right thing to do for America and for the Constitution, and everyone knows that you and your wife have answered all of the questions there and have told everybody everything there is to tell, and we ought to do this for the country.”
Transcripts of the interview, which focused on Clinton’s Mexico trip, were released by the White House Monday night.
Hillary Clinton’s billing records and the actions of White House officials after Foster’s death have become key subjects of Starr’s investigation. It has moved beyond decade-old Arkansas financial transactions to questions of obstruction, perjury and witness tampering since the Clintons moved to the White House.