Posted on 04/06/2002 11:35:58 AM PST by Bubba_Leroy
Audiotapes secretly recorded by President Clinton while he was working in the White House with the ghostwriter of his multi-million dollar memoir could become the subject of a lawsuit seeking their release, lawyers for the public interest lawfirm Judicial Watch suggested Saturday.
"You now, in (last week's Newsweek) article they mention the fact that Clinton has 80 hours of audiotapes he secretly made for his book," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said during the group's daily radio broadcast.
"I don't recall them telling us about that in court," he added, a reference to the 50-plus lawsuits the lawfirm has filed against the Clinton administration.
"Sounds like time for a subpoena," warned Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman.
"Sounds like time for a motion for contempt," Fitton added.
Author Branch is no stranger to presidential scandal, having ghostwritten Nixon-accuser John Dean's book "Blind Ambition."
Clinton signed his record-breaking $12 million book deal with Random House last year - the most lucrative book contract in publishing history. But he isn't expected to deliver a manuscript till 2004.
Should Judicial Watch obtain and release the Clinton-Branch audio in the meantime, the lawfirm could scoop the ex-president on his own book, thereby putting a serious damper on sales when the actual Clinton screed hits bookstores.
The Judicial Watch legal team did not say whether they would make the Clinton-Branch tapes public should any prospective lawsuit succeed in court. But the legal group routinely released its videotaped depositions with White House witnesses throughout the 1990's.
While Newsweek noted that the tapes had already been reviewed for incriminating evidence by the Office of Independent Counsel, the lack of resulting legal action may not mean much.
The OIC has publicly admitted it under-investigated or dismissed outright reams of evidence against the ex-president, with former independent counsel Robert Ray revealing last month that he passed up an ironclad perjury case against Clinton.
In two separate exit interviews, Ray refused to discuss still sealed impeachment evidence that was stored in the Ford Building during Clinton's Senate trial - described by congressmen who viewed it as "nauseating" and "chilling."
Judicial Watch gained widespread media acclaim recently with a lawsuit against the Bush administration that forced the release of thousands documents related to Vice President Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force, which Democrats complained favored wealthy GOP donors from companies like Enron.
But beneath the mainstream press' radar, the legal watchdog group continues to pursue cases against former Clinton administration officials.
On Friday, Mr. Klayman was arguing a case in the U.S. Court of Appeals on behalf of Clinton accuser Dolly Kyle Browning, who says former administration officials conspired to prevent her from publishing a book about her 33-year relationship with the president.
In a sign that Clinton's legal team still takes lawsuits like Browning's seriously, ex-White House consigliere Bruce Lindsey turned up unexpectedly at Friday's hearing and handed a note to Clinton scandal lawyer David Kendall.
"Lindsey just slithered in," Klayman told NewsMax.com. "It's a sign they're worried about this case," he added.
In 1997, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Webber Wright named Lindsey an unindicted co-conspirator in the case of two officials in Clinton's 1990 gubernatorial campaign who were accused of bank fraud.
The trial of Herbert Branscum and Robert Hill resulted in a hung jury, with then-independent counsel Ken Starr deciding against a retrial.
I'll bet Bruce Lindsey doesn't do ANYTHING unespected of his co-horts.Surely Kendall knew he was coming.C'mon now.Larry was just surprised, and he SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN.It must REALLY DISTURB #42 that he has to use his own money to pay for his $3-$500 dollar an hour Lawyers.No wonder he's cashing in immediately, "repeating the same mindless word-drool speech" at every stop.Heck, #42 said as much in Australia when the guy heckled him."Clinton has 80 hours of audiotapes he secretly made for his book..."I will laugh so hard when he destoys those tapes before handing them over.You just know he'll never turn them over.EVER!
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