Clinton Video Release Debated

House Judiciary Committee members were holding intense private meetings Tuesday over whether to release a potentially embarrassing videotape of President Clinton's grand jury testimony from Aug. 17, as Mr. Clinton announced that he would bolster his legal team to fight against the threat of impeachment hearings.

House Republicans want to release the videotape of President Clinton in which he defends his earlier claim that he did not have sexual relations with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Democrats are expected to oppose the release of the tape.

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Republicans pushed to make it public this week, but Democrats have opposed releasing a tape that would show Mr. Clinton's demeanor as he answered questions about his sexual conduct.

Committee members also discussed a quick release of Lewinsky's testimony about her sexual relationship with the president.

Rep. Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., said the committee might meet in executive session Wednesday or Thursday to authorize quick release of the material -- grand jury records and other information that backs up independent counsel Kenneth Starr's report alleging 11 potential grounds for impeachment.

But he added: "It wouldn't be fair to release portions that are more incriminating to the president than what would be more exculpatory."

Meanwhile, the White House announced that Greg Craig, a senior State Department official who once worked for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, is joining the White House as an assistant to the president and special counsel to coordinate the response to Starr's report to Congress on the Lewinsky matter.

In announcing the Craig hiring, White House press secretary Michael McCurry quoted Mr. Clinton as saying, "I have known him for many years and have great confidence in his judgment and ability."

Craig is a former law partner of David Kendall, the president's private attorney, McCurry said, adding that he would be the "quarterback" of the troubleshooting team.

Also being added to the troubleshooting team as "special government employees" are Steve Ricchetti, a lobbyist in private practice who once worked for Mr. Clinton as a deputy assistant for legislative affairs, and Susan Brophy, another former Clinton lobbyist on Capitol Hill who had moved overseas with her husband, Gerald McGowan, the U.S. ambassador to Portugal.

The enlistment of congressional specialists comes as the House begins considering whether the Judiciary Committee should begin a preliminary review of Mr. Clinton's case, a first step toward possibly opening a formal impeachment inquiry.

The president himself is trying to mve on, CBS News White House Correspondent Bill Plante reports. On Monday, he and his wife, Hillary, traveled to New York City, where the president raised millions of dollars at sold-out Democrat fund-raisers and pressed his agenda.

On his first trip beyond the Beltway since independent counsel Kenneth Starr's report was released, Mr. Clinton spent most of the day helping Democrats in New York raise more than $4 million.

"I want you to leave here determined to make your investment good, remembering why you came, proud of it, and touching everyone you can now about what is still at issue in this great, great cause," President Clinton told an audience of supporters at a special fund-raiser performance of the Broadway musical, The Lion King.

Starr, who revealed Monday that the eight-month investigation of Mr. Clinton's relationship with Lewinsky cost at least $4.4 million, alleges the president committed perjury, obstruction of justice and abuse of power. Mr. Clinton has mounted a vigorous defense in denying the allegations, all the while accusing Starr of running a smear campaign.

White House lawyers continue to insist that even though the president earlier denied having sexual relations with Lewinsky and now admits to the affair, he did not commit perjury as it is defined in the law.

Top House Democrats don't like the sound of that denial, and though they wouldn't say so on camera, House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle both suggested Monday that it was time to change strategy.

Daschle said "continued legal jousting serves no constructive purpose," while Gephardt called for "straight talk and the truth."

Daschle also said Congress should consider a post-election session if it is necessary for a "prompt, appropriate conclusion in the public interest."

The president's political and legal aides issued a statement Monday night that appeared to agree with the Democrats' assessment, but did not alter course. While they said no legalism takes away from what he did, Starr's allegations do not support a charge of perjury; instead, he asks for forgiveness.

President Clinton is walking a very fine line. If he admits perjury, then he opens himself up to damages and a reopening of the Paula Jones sexual harassment case against him and a possible prosecution after he leaves office.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are keeping an eye on the public opinion polls, which have so far been sympathetic to Mr. Clinton's crisis.

While protesters gathered outside the Broadway theater where the president came to see the The Lion King, supporters inside gave the president a standing ovation, reports CBS News Corrspondent Jacqueline Adams.

Even after digesting the lurid details of Mr. Clinton's relationship with Lewinsky in the Starr report, a theater full of Democrats was willing to spend hundreds of dollars per ticket, and to forgive.

"I think he did a great job for the country," one man said. "He's human, and he made some poor judgments and mistakes."

However, outside the theater, protesters stood with signs that revealed their anger and disappointment with President Clinton.

"The Lying King," read one sign and "Clinton Must Quit" read another. A third said "Sex, Lies, And Now Videotape."