Early Lawyer Picked for Lewinsky Testifies

The lawyer who helped prepare Monica S. Lewinsky’s sworn statement five months ago--when the former White House intern denied having sex with President Clinton--testified Thursday before a federal grand jury.

The lawyer, Francis D. Carter, said after testifying that he has no firsthand knowledge of wrongdoing but suspects that his former client is in legal jeopardy.

“I believe Monica is in a very, very difficult situation,” Carter said in an interview with the MSNBC cable network. “I have no idea whether the woman lied or not. Based upon the information available to me, and what she told me, the [Jan. 7] affidavit is true and correct.”

Carter’s testimony had been awaited with high interest, in part because of the extraordinary circumstances that surrounded his brief representation of Lewinsky.

It was in late December, just days after Lewinsky had gotten a subpoena to testify in a civil lawsuit pending against Clinton, that presidential friend and advisor Vernon E. Jordan Jr. handpicked Carter to represent her.

Lewinsky at the time did not want to submit to a deposition that was being sought by lawyers representing Paula Corbin Jones, the former Arkansas state employee who was suing Clinton for sexual harassment. In an effort to win a decision that would prevent the questioning of his client, Carter prepared, and in mid-January submitted, Lewinsky’s signed statement to the federal judge overseeing the Jones case.

For his part, Clinton on Jan. 17 also denied under oath--in a deposition conducted by Jones’ lawyers--that he had any sexual contact with Lewinsky. Now, the sworn denials of Clinton and Lewinsky--and the motivations of Jordan in lining up an attorney and a job for her--remain at the center of the investigation led by independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr.

After replacing Carter with other lawyers, Lewinsky signaled to Starr’s office that, in exchange for immunity from prosecution, she was willing to testify that she and Clinton had engaged in oral sex. However, the summary, or “proffer,” of what Lewinsky would say under oath was silent on whether Clinton or Jordan had participated in a cover-up.

Carter, 51, has made scant public comment since the Lewinsky controversy erupted Jan. 21. And he had fought, citing attorney-client privilege, to avoid having to testify before the grand jury. As a result of losing that legal battle, Carter also has turned over to the grand jury notes of his work on Lewinsky’s behalf, according to Carter’s lawyer, Charles Ogletree.

Both Ogletree and Carter said that they had again received “assurances” that Carter is not in jeopardy of being prosecuted. “Frank Carter is a lawyer whose credibility and honesty and integrity is beyond reproach,” Ogletree said.

Carter, in his appearance on MSNBC, described what unfolded when Jordan personally chaperoned the 24-year-old Lewinsky to his office on Dec. 22.

“The day he [Jordan] brought Monica in, he basically introduced her, said why she was there. She was about to be deposed,” Carter said, adding: “She had never been at a deposition before. You need to explain certain things to her about a deposition. And that was it. He [Jordan] never approached the subject of whether there was any kind of relationship between” Lewinsky and Clinton.

Carter said that he did not discuss explicitly with Jordan the nature of any relationship between Lewinsky and Clinton. “When Vernon said, ‘This is Ms. Lewinsky, and she has received a subpoena for a deposition in the Paula Jones case,’ I obviously knew the tone of the questions that would be asked [in a deposition] of the young woman. . . . I knew that, reasonably, there would be some sensitive questions that would be asked of her.”

How had Jordan come to select Carter as Lewinsky’s lawyer? “He called and he brought her over. You have to ask Vernon why he chose me. I hope it’s because of my ability. And, it wasn’t the first client he’s referred to me,” Carter said.

Did Carter, who was replaced as Lewinsky’s lawyer by William H. Ginsburg the weekend of Jan. 16, ever directly ask the former intern if she had sex with the president? “Yes, I asked her,” Carter said. “She said no. . . . On that issue, I asked her the question and she said no.”