Washington Post writer Ruth Marcus called Monica Lewinsky's lawyer's bluff last week. Appearing on NBC's Today late last month, William H. Ginsburg challenged journalists to "find me a case of civil perjury that has been pursued criminally at the federal level in the last 100 years. I dare say they cannot."
Mr. Ginsburg may be spending too much time on news-show sets and not enough time in the law library. The Post's Ms. Marcus reported her "cursory" computer search of federal court records "turned up more than 25 cases of federal prosecutions for perjury in civil cases," not counting those that may have been dropped or settled.
There's more. She quoted from the Clinton Justice Department's manual for federal prosecutors: "Because false declarations affect the integrity of the judicial fact-finding process, all offenders should be vigorously prosecuted."
Meanwhile, the judicial fact-finding process continued vigorously last week, with presidential friend Vernon Jordan's appearance before a Washington grand jury. Spinners for Mr. Jordan and the White House took pains to emphasize the continued strength of the friendship between Mr. Jordan and President Clinton. "There is no rift. No rift," the superlawyer's lawyer William G. Hundley insisted. Presidential spokesman Mike McCurry said Mr. Clinton looks forward to the day when he can be "less circumspect" with Mr. Jordan.
But circumspection rules right now. The same camp that was pushing the "no rift" storyline stressed days earlier on background to Washington journalists that Mr. Jordan, when first asked to help Ms. Lewinsky find work, had no knowledge of her potential involvement in the Paula Jones case. Testimony in that case is the basis of possible perjury charges against Ms. Lewinsky or the president. Why is the point important for Mr. Jordan? It clearly leaves open the possibility, as The Washington Post hinted, that there was obstruction of justice and/or perjury but Mr. Jordan was not aware of it.
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Issue: "Honest Abe Rosenthal"
March 14, 1998
Evolved