| Printed from JudicialWatch.org Jul 15, 1999 |
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(Washington, July 15) On June 30, Judicial Watch sought Court permission to question Hillary Clinton under oath in its $90 million Filegate lawsuit on behalf of former Reagan and Bush officials and others whose FBI files were improperly obtained and misused by the Clinton Administration. As a defendant in the lawsuit, and given the overwhelming evidence of her involvement in Filegate, Mrs. Clinton would, in the normal course, be subject to deposition. One of Mrs. Clinton's fellow defendants in the Filegate lawsuit, Anthony Marceca, asserted the Fifth Amendment in response to questions about her role. But, in court papers filed Monday, Mrs. Clinton sought desperately to try to block her deposition by saying she was too high a government official to be deposed. In addition to filing a loophole-ridden sworn declaration, Mrs. Clinton's brief contends that "'as a general proposition, high-ranking government officials are not subject to depositions'" and that she not have to testify so she can "'have time to dedicate to the performance of [her] government functions.'" This argument fails for a number of reasons, chiefly because Mrs. Clinton is not a government official. She is, however, a defendant and all defendants are deposed. "If the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the President is subject to being deposed, then certainly the President's wife, who is not even a government official, can be deposed. Whether it was her hiring of Craig Livingstone or being behind the obtaining or use of the FBI files of innocents such as Billy Ray Dale, Mrs. Clinton has much testimony to offer on Filegate," stated Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman. "She also will have a lot to say about document production, having only produced press clippings thus far." Judicial Watch has sworn evidence and documents tying Mrs. Clinton directly to Filegate. The Judicial Watch brief which lays this evidence out is available on the Judicial Watch Internet site at www.judicialwatch.org. The evidence includes but is hardly limited to: An authentic FBI document and sworn testimony showing Hillary Clinton hired the former bar bouncer Craig Livingstone, the individual who helped obtain the Republican FBI files. Livingstone boasted of his access to the White House residence and admitted to seeking the help of the help of Mrs. Clinton's chief of staff in obtaining his White House job. Secret Service logs confirm his frequent access to the White House residence. Linda Tripp's testimony that FBI file information was being uploaded onto White House computers to be shared with the Democratic National Committee -- on the orders of Hillary Rodham Clinton. According to Ms. Tripp, Mrs. Clinton "ruled the school" at the Clinton White House. | |