Stephanopoulos Goes Before Grand Jury

While a former presidential advisor testified Tuesday before the federal grand jury examining the nature of President Clinton’s dealings with a former intern, White House lawyers weighed whether to try to block the questioning of two current senior aides, officials said.

After appearing before the grand jury for about three hours, former advisor George Stephanopoulos, termed his testimony “straightforward,” and said he had been familiar with the former intern, Monica S. Lewinsky.

“I have no firsthand knowledge at all about the nature of the relationship, if any, between the president and Monica Lewinsky,” said Stephanopoulos, who is now an ABC News commentator.

Another former White House intern, Caroline Self, also testified. She worked in the office of Betty W. Currie, Clinton’s personal secretary.

Self told reporters after testifying that she knew of “no improper relationship between the president and Monica Lewinsky--or any other White House intern.”

Meanwhile, presidential advisors continued to plot legal and public-relations strategies in the face of the investigation being led by independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr.

Among the contingencies under consideration at the White House:

The asserting of executive or certain other legal privileges--which could have the immediate effect of delaying grand-jury appearances of at least two senior White House aides who have been subpoenaed, Deputy Counsel Bruce R. Lindsey and Deputy Chief of Staff John D. Podesta.

If he appeared before the grand jury, it is likely that Podesta would be asked about his role in persuading U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson to interview Lewinsky for a job. Richardson’s spokesman has acknowledged that the ambassador interviewed Lewinsky for a public-affairs position in October.

Presidential advisors expect that Lindsey, regarded as Clinton’s closest assistant, would be questioned about whether he helped craft “talking points” Lewinsky allegedly presented to her friend, Linda Tripp, before Tripp was to testify in a sexual-harassment lawsuit against Clinton.

An administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the discussions among White House lawyers regarding the assertion of executive or other privileges are “preliminary.”

The Supreme Court has held generally that executive privilege cannot shield a witness from testifying unless such testimony would compromise national security or affect the conduct of foreign policy.

The White House position regarding the testimony of Lindsey, Podesta or others is being conveyed to Starr’s staff by White House Counsel Charles F.C. Ruff and his deputy, Lanny A. Breuer, officials said.

Clinton, in his limited public remarks about the controversy, has said repeatedly he would cooperate with Starr’s investigation.

However, White House officials continued this week to withhold from the news media computer-generated records that would reflect the dates and times Lewinsky visited the White House. The Times reported two weeks ago that Lewinsky, after taking a job at the Pentagon in April 1996, visited the executive mansion numerous times, with clearances provided by Currie, the president’s personal secretary.

In other developments, attorneys for the president filed papers in Little Rock, Ark., asking that the Paula Corbin Jones sexual-harassment trial begin March 23 instead of the current start date of May 27.

“An expedited resolution of this matter is the only way to stop the case from threatening to engulf the president and the presidency, and to ensure a fair trial for all parties,” said Robert S. Bennett, Clinton’s lead defense attorney in the case.

Bennett also plans to file a motion for a summary judgment this month asking U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright to rule in favor of Clinton and dismiss the lawsuit before it goes to trial.

* LEWINSKY IN L.A.: Former White House intern visits father in Brentwood. B1