Former Lewinsky Lawyer Fights Subpoena by Starr

In the fifth court hearing seeking limits on independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr’s investigation, Monica S. Lewinsky’s former lawyer argued Wednesday that records of his communication with the former White House intern should not be subject to a federal grand jury subpoena.

Although U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson did not rule immediately, the attorney representing Francis D. Carter said that he expects her decision “rather soon.”

“We have made clear that Frank Carter has done nothing wrong and that the only thing that he can do is to protect and defend a client who hired him to represent her vigorously within the bounds of the law,” said Charles J. Ogletree Jr., the Harvard Law School professor representing Carter.

A ruling against Carter would constitute “an extraordinary breach” of the confidentiality legally afforded lawyers and their clients, Ogletree said.

Starr is interested in Carter’s communication with Lewinsky because it was he who helped prepare the affidavit Lewinsky signed Jan. 7, swearing that she had never had sexual relations with President Clinton. The man who contacted Carter on Lewinsky’s behalf and drove her to his office--Washington lawyer and close Clinton friend Vernon E. Jordan Jr.--is a key witness in Starr’s investigation of whether the president lied under oath about his relationship with Lewinsky or encouraged her or others to lie about it.

Jordan arranged for Carter to represent Lewinsky after she was subpoenaed to testify in the Paula Corbin Jones sexual harassment case against the president.

Starr’s subpoena ordered Carter to surrender his notes, case files and diary entries relating to his representation of Lewinsky. And Starr may yet order Carter to testify before the grand jury, Ogletree said in an interview.

In the six weeks the grand jury has been hearing evidence in the case, it has become almost routine for Starr’s targets to challenge his tactics, arguing that he has overstepped in seeking to question certain White House officials and Secret Service personnel. The attorney for Lewinsky’s mother has argued that she should not be required to testify before the grand jury again. In none of the four previous cases has Johnson quashed Starr’s subpoenas, although she did limit the scope of the order to White House aide Sidney Blumenthal.

Although the White House has not formally invoked executive privilege, a debate continues about whether that right or attorney-client privilege protects Clinton’s aides or other prospective witnesses from having to answer certain questions.

After defending Starr’s subpoena of Carter in the closed-door hearing that lasted for more than two hours, Starr’s prosecutors declined comment. They were expected to argue that Lewinsky essentially waived her attorney-client privilege when she told her friend, Linda Tripp, that she intended to file a false statement about her relationship with Clinton.

But Ogletree said that Lewinsky “continues to assert her privileges.”

He warned that a ruling in Starr’s favor could set a precedent that would damage the relationship between lawyers and their clients. “We intend to vigorously challenge this at every single level.”

There is no suggestion that Carter was aware Lewinsky may have lied in the affidavit he helped prepare, according to lawyers familiar with the matter. Shortly after she signed the affidavit and upon being informed by Starr’s prosecutors that they had audiotapes in which she described having an affair with Clinton, Lewinsky retained William Ginsburg--a longtime family friend--as her new lawyer.

Asked by reporters if Carter knew anything about the so-called talking points that Lewinsky allegedly gave Tripp to help her prepare to give an affidavit in the Jones case, Ogletree snapped: “Frank Carter has no knowledge of the talking points. He has never seen the talking points. He’s not been involved in that.”

In other developments Wednesday, a lawyer representing seven media organizations--including The Times--filed a motion before Johnson to open the hearing to reporters, but Johnson did not immediately act on the request.

Jordan is expected to return for further grand jury questioning today.