CLINTON STANDS GROUND; PRESIDENT WON'T QUIT OVER SEXUAL SCANDAL.Byline: John M. Broder The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times President Clinton said Friday that he would never consider resigning over accusations involving a former White House intern, and he insisted he had not improperly sought to influence the testimony of his personal secretary. In a tense news conference dominated by questions about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American woman with whom the former United States President Bill Clinton admitted (after initially denying) to having had an "inappropriate relationship"[1] while Lewinsky worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996. , Clinton declined to provide any new details. He cited a need to protect the confidentiality of the continuing investigation, and complained that others were ``leaking unlawfully.'' The president said in response to a question about a meeting he held last month with his secretary, Betty Currie Betty Currie (born Betty Grace Williams November 10, 1939) was the personal secretary for Bill Clinton during his tenure as President of the United States. She became well-known as a figure in the Lewinsky scandal for her alleged handling of gifts given to Monica Lewinsky , at a pivotal time in the case, ``I never asked anybody to do anything but tell the truth.'' His press secretary, Mike McCurry, and other White House officials suggested a benign explanation for the meeting, reported Friday in The New York Times, between Clinton and his secretary on the day after he discussed his relationship with Lewinsky in a deposition in the Paula Jones
Paula Corbin Jones (born Paula Rosalee Corbin sexual-harassment case. They said that rather than trying to influence his secretary's recollections of events, he was merely seeking to refresh his own memory of his encounters with Lewinsky. The president did not address other questions raised by the Times article about the circumstances under which Currie retrieved presents, sought under subpoena subpoena (səpē`nə) [Lat.,=under penalty], in law, an order to a witness to appear before a court. A subpoena ad testificandum [Lat. , that Clinton had sent to Lewinsky. The White House declined all comment Friday on the gifts. Clinton and his lawyers opened a sharp counterattack Attacking an attacker. Even though a criminal hacker or other agent is attempting to penetrate a security perimeter or damage systems, the counterattack must not violate applicable laws. against the independent counsel investigating the charges, Kenneth Starr, accusing him of illegally and unethically leaking grand jury information about the inquiry to the press. One of Clinton's personal lawyers, David Kendall, said in a letter to Starr, ``The leaking by your office has reached an intolerable point.'' Kendall said he intends to seek a contempt citation against Starr as early as Monday. As the White House waged a legal and public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most war on Starr, the independent counsel allowed to lapse a self-imposed deadline for reaching an agreement under which Lewinsky would provide an account of her relationship with Clinton. Lewinsky's lawyer, William Ginsburg, said late Friday that he had not heard from Starr and had not changed the terms under which he would allow Lewinsky to tell her story. The impasse leaves prosecutors with two choices: Compel her testimony under a limited grant of immunity, or try to prosecute her for perjury perjury (pûr`jərē), in criminal law, the act of willfully and knowingly stating a falsehood under oath or under affirmation in judicial or administrative proceedings. . Clinton's news conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair provided some solace for a besieged be·siege tr.v. be·sieged, be·sieg·ing, be·sieg·es 1. To surround with hostile forces. 2. To crowd around; hem in. 3. White House. Although the president provided little in the way of defense against accusations of sexual and legal misconduct, the new British leader gave him a needed emotional boost. Blair came across as a fresher, less beat-up version of Clinton, saying that while questions of character and personal conduct are important, leaders ultimately are judged on their performance in office. ``What I say to you is that what is essential is that we focus on the issues that we were elected to focus upon,'' Blair said, hewing Hewing is a method of cutting wood. One can hew wood by standing a log across two other smaller logs, and stabilizing it somehow, by notching the support logs, or using a 'dog' (a long bar of iron with a hook tooth on either end that jams into the logs and prevents movement). closely to the agreed-upon script for the event. He said he found Clinton ``someone I could trust, someone I could rely upon, someone I am proud to call not just a colleague but a friend.'' Clinton said the personal cost of holding public office has increased markedly during his years in office but that no amount of criticism or legal jeopardy will cause him to relinquish the office to which he has been twice elected. ``To give in to that would be to give in to everything that I fought against and that got me into this race in 1991 to try to run for president in the first place,'' he said. ``I have tried to bring an end to this sort of thing in our public life. I've tried to bring the American people together. I've tried to depersonalize de·per·son·al·ize tr.v. de·per·son·al·ized, de·per·son·al·iz·ing, de·per·son·al·iz·es 1. To deprive of individual character or a sense of personal identity: politics and take the venom out of it. And the harder I've tried to do it, the harder others have pulled in the other direction.'' He said he would never resign, adding, ``And I would never walk away from the people of this country and the trust they placed in me.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO President Clinton and British leader Tony Blair appear at a news conference Friday at the White House. Associated Press |
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