Starr’s Leaky Ship

The second president ever to be impeached may become the first ever to be indicted. Associates of Kenneth W. Starr say the independent counsel has concluded he has the constitutional authority to seek an indictment of Bill Clinton on criminal charges before the president leaves office. It’s even possible that a grand jury has already handed up a secret indictment charging Clinton with perjury and obstruction of justice, the same crimes the Senate is now pondering in Clinton’s impeachment trial.

Constitutional scholars are divided on whether a sitting president can be indicted. A quarter-century ago, in the Watergate affair, the Supreme Court invited briefs on this question but never issued a ruling. With the question once again alive, a ruling at some point could become unavoidable. But the more immediate concern is why this story was leaked now, in what many see as a transparent effort to influence opinion as the Senate nears a vote to convict or acquit Clinton.

Charles G. Bakaly III, a Starr spokesman, denies that information about a possible indictment came from the independent counsel’s office, which is already being scrutinized by a federal court over allegations that it earlier leaked some grand jury testimony. The New York Times, which broke the story, cited unnamed associates of Starr as its sources. It’s hard to imagine that such sensitive and closely held information could have come from anywhere else.

The timing of the leak, less than two weeks before the Senate is scheduled to determine Clinton’s fate, has prompted bipartisan expressions of resentment and regret. At a minimum, Starr’s office, in its unfettered zeal to destroy Clinton, appears once again to have skirted legal proprieties and invited further disrespect for its motives by clumsily trying to manipulate the political climate. One moment the independent counsel’s office is Inspector Javert, relentlessly pursuing its quarry with the full authority of the law. The next moment it is Inspector Clouseau, tripping over its own feet.

It has always been understood that Clinton could face criminal charges once he is no longer president. But that is a far different matter from raising the threat of an indictment before he leaves office, with all that could mean to the effective functioning of government and to his ability to conduct foreign relations. The latest leak was no doubt meant to remind everyone of the formidable power Ken Starr possesses. It is further proof of how unwisely and abusively that power can be used.