Starr 'Troubled' By News Leak
Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr said Monday he was "deeply troubled" by a news report that said he believes he can indict President Clinton on criminal charges.
"This office has no desire to inject itself into the constitutional process under way in the Senate," Starr said, reacting to a New York Times story Sunday. The Times reported that Starr's office had concluded it could indict the president while he was in office even if the Senate did not remove him.
Starr's statements came the same morning that House prosecutors and White House lawyers questioned Monica Lewinsky in a deposition for President Clinton's impeachment trial.
Meanwhile, Clinton lawyer David Kendall announced Monday morning he was taking legal action against Starr concerning the weekend story.
Kendall said he was filing a motion in U.S. District Court asking that Starr be required to show why he and his staff "should not be held in contempt for improper violations of grand jury secrecy."
Starr's statement did not address whether anyone had talked to the newspaper. He promised an internal investigation "to determine whether anyone in this office improperly disclosed information."
The story, coming as the Senate is trying to find a way to end Mr. Clinton's impeachment trial, renewed complaints of leaks from Starr's office that go back to the early days of the Lewinsky inquiry.
A special court official already is investigating whether Starr's office was the source of 24 news stories that a judge said were improper leaks.
CBS News Senior White House Correspondent Scott Pelley reports that the Times story was curious because of its timing.
It has been known for some time that Starr believed an indictment was legally permissible. The question is, who benefits most from making headlines now?
It may be that leaking a story of possible indictment could persuade senators that the case against Mr. Clinton is solid. On the other hand, the story gives the White House new ammunition against Starr.
While Starr does believe it is permissible to indict a sitting president, sources tell CBS News there is no sealed indictment currently in court files. The term of the grand jury investigating the president does not expire until March.
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