Judge to Weigh Possible Starr Office Leaks

A judge overseeing the investigation of whether President Clinton testified falsely or encouraged others to lie about his dealings with former White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky will consider today whether prosecutors have improperly leaked confidential information.

Chief U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson has summoned lawyers representing the president and independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr for a hearing on the subject, according to people familiar with the investigation.

Johnson, who has had the matter under review for more than a month, may rule on whether any inquiry into the conduct of Starr’s staff is warranted.

It also was learned Wednesday that lawyers representing the president have not responded to one or more letters from Starr inviting Clinton to submit to questioning about his conduct. A government source familiar with the matter said the independent counsel’s correspondence did not specify where the questioning would occur.

Representatives of both Starr and Clinton declined to comment.

Indeed, a veil of secrecy continues to mask from public view many aspects of the overall case.

For instance, Johnson’s chief clerk, who would identify herself Wednesday only by her first name, declined to acknowledge even the scheduling of today’s hearing.

“That information,” she said, “is not open to the public.”

A lawyer representing the Los Angeles Times and 11 other news organizations said he filed a motion with Johnson’s court on Wednesday asking her to open to the public any hearing regarding allegations of leaks.

“We believe there are very strong reasons supporting public access to this hearing,” said the lawyer, Theodore J. Boutrous. He emphasized that, until he was contacted by The Times, he had not known a hearing was scheduled for today.

The motion to open the hearing also was filed on behalf of the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today and each of the major broadcast networks.

The president’s lead private defense lawyer, David E. Kendall, alleged on Feb. 6 that Starr’s office had leaked damaging investigative details. Kendall filed, under seal, a request with Johnson, urging her to impose criminal sanctions against anyone in Starr’s office who may have disseminated confidential investigative information.

“The leaking by your office has reached an intolerable point,” Kendall wrote in the opening sentence of an accompanying, 15-page letter to Starr, adding: “The appalling disregard for the legal and ethical requirements of grand jury and investigative confidentiality and the cynical dissemination of information and misinformation from your office leads me to believe that you have lost control.”

Kendall cited numerous broadcast and print-media accounts to buttress his allegation, including four articles published by the Los Angeles Times.

Starr first reacted to Kendall’s letter by saying he would conduct an internal inquiry--but the independent counsel also said the attack appeared to be part of “an orchestrated plan to deflect and distract this investigation.”

The Times reported on Feb. 25 that Starr’s effort to launch a structured internal investigation was foiled by a senior Justice Department official.

Starr had arranged for the department’s former internal watchdog, Michael E. Shaheen Jr., to lead the investigation. But Starr abandoned the plan after Deputy Atty. Gen. Eric Holder blocked Shaheen’s request for Justice Department lawyers and FBI agents to carry out the inquiry.

Holder’s reasoning, according to a senior Justice Department official, was that he did not want to impinge on Johnson’s prerogatives.

Meanwhile, one floor above Johnson’s chambers, the federal grand jury that is reviewing evidence in the Lewinsky matter met again Wednesday. The grand jurors spent at least part of the day listening to taped statements, according to a law enforcement official.

The day ended without an expected return appearance by at least one important witness in the case, Betty Currie, the president’s personal secretary. White House officials had said earlier in the week that Currie had been summoned to testify Wednesday.

No witnesses were observed entering the grand jury area all day.

Times staff writer Cecilia Balli contributed to this story