LEWINSKY IMMUNITY NEGOTIATIONS STALL; LACK OF DEAL, PLUS JUDGE'S RULING IN JONES CASE, HELP PRESIDENT.

Byline: Angie Cannon Knight Ridder Tribune Newspapers

Immunity talks between Monica Lewinsky's lawyer and Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr appeared to break down Thursday in a day of heartening legal developments for the beleaguered Clinton White House.

In another key move, U.S. district Judge Susan Webber Wright ruled that the Lewinsky matter cannot be brought into Paula Jones' sexual-harassment trial.

Wright's ruling was a blow to Jones' lawyers, who have been trying to establish a pattern of improper sexual activity by the president. The Lewinsky case would have been one of the most sensational allegations they have uncovered.

The stalled immunity talks mean Lewinsky's fate is unclear.

A deal still could be worked out to get Lewinsky to testify under oath about her explosive allegations, captured on tape by her friend Linda Tripp, that she had an 18-month affair with the president. Or, as suggested by her lawyer, Lewinsky could be charged with lying about the affair under oath.

In deciding to exclude Lewinsky from the Jones case, Wright wrote: ``Monica Lewinsky is not essential to the core issues in this. Some of this evidence might even be inadmissible.''

She added: ``Admitting any evidence of the Lewinsky matter would frustrate the timely resolution of this case and would undoubtedly cause undue expense, cost and delay.''

Jones' Dallas lawyer promised to challenge the order.

``We believe that this holding is clearly erroneous and represents a plain error and an abuse of discretion, and we intend to implement all available legal and equitable remedies immediately,'' the lawyer, Donovan Campbell, said in a statement.

In the first of several dramatic developments Thursday, Lewinsky's lawyer, William Ginsburg, left Starr's office after about 45 minutes of negotiations. In an interview with Knight Ridder shortly after the face-to-face meeting in the morning, Ginsburg said, ``We are preparing a defense for Monica.''

Starr is investigating whether Clinton or his longtime friend Vernon Jordan urged Lewinsky to lie about the alleged affair.

On Wednesday, Ginsburg said Lewinsky might face charges of perjury, suborning perjury and obstruction of justice. Ginsburg previously has said that prosecutors have told Lewinsky she is a target of the investigation.

The tapes recorded by Tripp contradict an affidavit that Lewinsky filed in the Jones case, Ginsburg said. On the tapes, Lewinsky reportedly discussed her affair with the president, and in the affidavit she reportedly denied having a sexual relationship with him.

``This is a tremendously good day for Clinton in that case,'' said John Barrett, a law professor at St. John's University in New York. ``This evidence stays out, and the case goes to trial fast, which is what he wants. It is obviously a setback for Paula Jones, who wanted this evidence.''

Several legal experts said that even though the Lewinsky evidence cannot be used in Jones' case, it shouldn't keep Starr from using it as a basis for his perjury and obstruction of justice investigation. It does, however, give Clinton's and Lewinsky's lawyers a legal opening they could try to exploit, they said.

Wright's decision came after Starr asked her to halt the evidence gathering in Jones' lawsuit until his criminal probe is resolved. Starr had argued that the ``the civil discovery war now furiously being waged'' was interfering with his criminal investigation. Legal experts said that prosecutors routinely make such requests.

``For Starr, I guess it is a victory,'' Barrett said of the judge's ruling. ``It is an odd decision by the judge that in effect moots Starr's request, maybe. He got what he asked for, but maybe he didn't get all he wanted.''

Wright wrote that her ruling ``does not preclude admission of any other evidence of alleged improper conduct occurring in the White House.'' That part of her order, law professor Barrett said, continues to permit people ``to do more discovery that may be mucking around in this area.''

In another development Thursday, a federal three-judge panel released a copy of Attorney General Janet Reno's Jan. 16 request to expand Starr's investigation.

Those documents show Lewinsky's legal jeopardy. Reno wrote that the Justice Department received information from Starr that Lewinsky ``may have submitted a false affidavit and suborned perjury from another witness in the case. In a taped conversation with a cooperating witness, Ms. Lewinsky states that she intends to lie when deposed. In the same conversation, she urges the cooperating witness to lie in her own upcoming deposition.''