Monica Lewinsky

Re “Caught in the Middle of a Nightmare,” Feb. 1:

Please can anyone explain all this commotion about Monica Lewinsky to me? I tend to stick to facts, so please help me with that. So far Lewinsky has sworn under oath that she never had an affair or sexual relations with the president. So far she has not sworn otherwise under oath. I was always under the impression that we lived in a free country, so talking to a friend (the term friend used loosely here) whether taped, or lies, is not punishable by law. Am I missing something here? Are we not allowed to talk freely to a friend in America? Wow!

Then I must be cautious if I make a political statement, or speak of my fantasies, sexual or otherwise. In other words, in case I am being spied upon, I must be careful of what I say at all times. I thought we as Americans were appalled when we heard that Hitler, Stalin and Castro encouraged spies to turn in friends and family for the state. Must we now fear Kenneth Starr in the same manner?

ANNE LEBRECHT

Laguna Hills

* Reference is made to “Nightmare”: William Ginsburg describes Lewinsky as devastated, crushed, fearful, emotionally shattered, scared out of her mind. Give me a break! If she is so mortified, why is she all smiles when the lights and TV cameras are on her?

Sean Wilentz (Opinion, Feb. 1) hopes the president is being truthful and that Lewinsky is just a “flake.” I wonder if he means a liar, oddball or just eccentric? Is he trying to justify whatever she might be involved in by saying that she is just 24 years old? Give me another break! Teenagers nowadays know more about the world than their parents ever learn in their entire lives.

ANDRES G. SANCHEZ

Valley Village

* Enough, enough already with all the background on Monica’s junior high school playmates, the opinion of every small town resident in America and all other “facts” connected with this case. It is not news that I care about or that most of the people who I talk with care about. It is the media feeding upon themselves trying to make the public interested in a story that will generate headlines or ratings points or something for you folks.

Why not use the vast reporting services of The Times to report to us news we can actually use in forming opinions about issues that make a difference, e.g., the “Orphans of Addiction” series, the fiasco around the MTA, a thorough analysis of the people who are running for governor.

DANIEL E. FAST

Los Angeles

* The last thing I want to do is sound like a lawyer, but wouldn’t Starr’s investigation have maintained its credibility if he had simply given Lewinsky immunity from the beginning and told her to tell the truth? Whatever the truth was? By making deals and leaking information instead of letting the chips fall, Starr not only ruins his own credibility, but Lewinsky’s as well.

I think this is a clear indication that Starr is more interested in a certain story instead of what actually may have happened. Because of this mistake, pundits from both political parties will now be able to spin whatever story Lewinsky finally tells in a thousand different directions. Can you impeach a special prosecutor?

RICHARD STEEN

Marina del Rey