| Printed from JudicialWatch.org Apr 3, 2000 |
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Report: Clinton White House Eggs on Threats from Democrats to Block Future Appointment Improper Effort to Influence Judge In Filegate, Chinagate Cases "Threats May Be A Crime" (Washington, D.C.) The April 10 issue of U.S. News & World Report reported this week that Clinton White House is "egging on" Democrats in the Senate to block any future appointment of Judge Royce Lamberth, the federal judge overseeing the Filegate and Chinagate civil litigation. The litigation is being pursued on behalf of individuals wronged in these scandals by Judicial Watch, the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government corruption. The Clinton White House, along with Hillary Clinton, is a defendant in the Filegate lawsuit. Bill Clinton and Al Gore, along with others, are defendants in the Chinagate litigation. All therefore have a significant political interest in undermining Judge Lamberth. Judge Lamberth has recently ruled that Bill Clinton committed the crime of violating the Privacy Act when he (with the help of Mrs. Clinton) released letters from the government files of Kathleen Willey in an effort which Clinton admitted was an effort to destroy her. "Simply put, it may be a crime for the Clinton White House to threaten a federal judge in a case in which it is a defendant," stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman. "Judicial Watch will investigate, as should Congress, who in the Clinton-Gore White House is trying to intimidate this judge." Judge Lamberth is currently considering motions from Judicial Watch to depose Hillary Clinton in the Filegate lawsuit and whether to seize the e-mail tapes that the Clinton White House had kept hidden from his Court for nearly two years, among other important issues. "We know Judge Lamberth won't be intimidated by threats from the Clinton-Gore White House and its allies," concluded Klayman. "The future of the rule of law and this country are at stake." | |