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Sources: Ray Convinced Evidence Strong Enough to Convict Clinton

Thursday, January 11, 2001 By David Shuster

WASHINGTON — If Independent Counsel Robert Ray indicts President Clinton after he leaves office this month, the charge will be obstruction of justice, sources tell Fox News.

The charge would stem from the president's January 1998 deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit, in which Clinton told attorneys that he "never had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky" and denied ever being alone with her in a hallway off the Oval Office.

Those remarks could add up to obstruction of justice according to U.S. law. The charge differs from perjury because prosecutors do not have to prove Clinton's false statement was "material" to the Jones case, a key line of defense for the president during his impeachment.

With obstruction of justice, according to U.S. Code, materiality is not an element. The only burden on the prosecutor is to prove a defendant "corruptly influences, obstructs, or impedes, or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede the due administration of justice."

According to sources, Ray believes obstruction best describes the nature of the president's statements and testimony in the Paula Jones suit.

"If a jury wants to acquit, they could do it in an obstruction case as well as a perjury case. But materiality would give the jury a hook that they won't have in an obstruction of justice," Solomon Wisenberg, a former deputy independent counsel, told Fox News.

According to the investigation sources, Ray and his prosecutors are convinced the evidence against Mr. Clinton is strong enough to get both an indictment and a conviction in front of an "unbiased jury".

Ray has called back key players Lewinsky and Linda Tripp, who blew the whistle on the affair, an indication that he may pursue the case.

"It's not the kind of thing you do unless you are contemplating, at a minimum, presenting it to the grand jury," Wisenberg said. "And so I think that's probably a fairly decent prediction that we can expect at some point to at least present this to a grand jury and let them make the decision."

Sources indicate that virtually all of the discussions at the Office of the Independent Counsel are focused on "prosecutorial discretion." The prosecutors are considering whether there are "alternative remedies" to charging Clinton.

Some have argued that Clinton's impeachment by the House of Representatives in December 1998 equals an "alternative remedy." Other prosecutors are said to be weighing whether the contempt ruling and fine by Judge Susan Weber Wright or the ongoing disbarment case amount to such a remedy.

Ray must also consider whether to employ the resources that would be required if the case ends up going to trial.

But the president's defiance and refusal to admit to any legal wrongdoing, going so far as to say that he is proud that he was impeached, increases the chance that he will be charged.

"It's almost as if he is following a script, the subtext of which is: Mr. Ray, please indict me," Wisenberg said.

According to sources, some prosecutors fervently believe Clinton should be indicted. A final decision by Ray is expected within the next month.

According to law, the penalty for a court conviction would be not more than a $5,000 fine or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.

— FOXNews.com's Sharon Kehnemui contributed to this report

-- Uncle Bob (unclb0b@aol.com), January 12, 2001