Ex-Lawyer for Lewinsky Denies He Was Dumped

In his first public comments since his exit as Monica Lewinsky’s lawyer, William H. Ginsburg said it was his idea to leave the case because his strategy no longer worked.

“We had hit a wall,” Ginsburg said, denying reports that he was dumped as Lewinsky’s lawyer in special prosecutor Kenneth W. Starr’s widening probe of President Clinton.

He acknowledged that his strained relationship with Starr was a factor in his decision. But Ginsburg said it was he who first broached the idea of a change about 10 days ago.

“My aggressive and outgoing style and strategy had lost effectiveness,” Ginsburg said. “I suggested she seek new lawyers.” On the day after his public departure from the case, Ginsburg was far from Washington’s stuffy corridors of power, eating and holding court in a trendy restaurant, McCormick & Schmick’s in downtown Los Angeles. Until then, the garrulous attorney had managed to remain quiet about his parting of ways with the nation’s most famous former intern.

But on Wednesday night, Ginsburg was at home and in his element, surrounded by good food and the journalists, judges and lawyers of Los Angeles. Cautious not to violate the ethics of his profession or the confidences he and Lewinsky shared, Ginsburg opened up before a gathering sponsored by Los Angeles’ Society of Professional Journalists, the county Bar Assn. and the Los Angeles Daily Journal.

When the groups booked Ginsburg, no one knew they would be providing a historical footnote--his first remarks post Monica.

Of being retained by the Lewinskys, Ginsburg said: “I never conceived when I first went to Washington that it would get this big. I thought we were talking about ironing out an immunity agreement.”

Ginsburg also seized the opportunity, as he has before, to criticize the office of special prosecutor in general, and Starr in particular.

His foray inside Washington’s beltway began in January, bringing Ginsburg from relative obscurity to national attention. All of a sudden, he was hitting the talk show circuit, fodder for Larry King and Geraldo.

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Almost no one outside the medical and legal professions had heard of the 55-year-old Ginsburg when he agreed to do a favor for a longtime client, Brentwood oncologist Bernard Lewinsky. The client’s 24-year-old daughter is suspected of lying under oath about whether she had sex with President Clinton.

He kept Lewinsky behind closed doors as the publicity swirled around them. He locked horns with Starr early and often. His public musings kept the pundits fed for weeks.

As the months ticked by, the tides of public opinion turned.

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Once hailed as a refreshing antidote to inside-the-beltway stuffiness, he later was criticized for not knowing his way around Washington’s courts. His representation of Lewinsky came under scrutiny. Why, legal experts asked, had he failed to wrangle an early plea or immunity deal for her?

As Starr increased the pressure--forcing Lewinsky to submit fingerprint, handwriting and voice samples--Ginsburg came under blistering attack from criminal defense experts for his “Open Letter to Kenneth Starr,” which was published in the June edition of California Lawyer magazine.

“Congratulations, Mr. Starr!” he wrote. “As a result of your callous disregard for cherished constitutional rights, you may have succeeded in unmasking a sexual relationship between two consenting adults.”

Some critics have said that paragraph was practically an admission of his client’s guilt. But Ginsburg said it was nothing more than criticism of an adversary he believes has run amok, invading the rights of private citizens. He called the article “a call to arms, a statement that something is not right here.”

Lewinsky, meanwhile, has yet to appear before the grand jury.

As for his plans, Ginsburg said, “I am going back to the practice of medical and corporate law. I am not becoming a commentator on the ‘NBC Nightly News.’ ”