Bob Levey Todd Cross/TWP

Good afternoon and welcome to "Levey Live." I'm Washington Post columnist Bob Levey, your host.

"Levey Live" appears each Tuesday between noon and 1 p.m. Eastern time. It's your chance to talk directly to major newsmakers and to key Washington Post editors and reporters.

Today, we take another look at the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky story. It is heating up even as we speak, as Linda Tripp testifies before a federal grand jury in Washington. She is expected to describe what Monica Lewinsky told her about Lewinsky's relationship with the President.

Our guest today was to have been Washington Post Staff Writer Susan Schmidt. She is unable to join us because she is covering the Tripp testimony. Sue will appear as a guest on a future edition of "Levey Live." I'll stand in for her today.

Your questions and comments about the Clinton-Lewinsky story are welcome throughout the hour.

City of Fairfax, VA: The timing of Linda Tripp's grand jury appearance--how much is the natural progression of the investigation and how much is an attempt to pressure Monica Lewinsky to cut a deal?

Bob Levey: Lewinsky is under plenty of pressure already, and has been for ages. As for the natural progression of the investigation, there doesn't seem to be any such thing. Witnesses have been called in what seems to be a haphazard manner--no rhyme, no reason. Actually, I would have expected to see Tripp testify long before. Why hasn't she? Your guess is as good as mine.

Columbia, Mo.: Why is Ken Starr so reluctant
to grant Monica Lewenski immunity? He's after Clinton, not an intern.

Bob Levey: I can only guess, but here's my guess: Starr is now in a position where he has to come back with some kind of big game to justify all the time and dough he has spent. It doesn't have to be Clinton; it could be Lewinsky. So he's keeping open the chance of indicting her.

Quebec City, Quebec Canada: If all of Linda Tripp's tape recordings except one were made illegally, why is the grand jury permitted to hear them? It would seem to be inadmissible evidence.

Bob Levey: Grand juries can hear any information from any source. However, if Tripp were being tried, or if Lewinsky ever is, those tape recordings will be of highly questionable admissibility. By the way, Tripp still faces state charges (in her home staste of Maryland) for possibly violating the laws governing phones and tapes.

Herndon, VA: How likely is it that Ken Starr will ultimately submit a report describing impeachable offenses to Congress? If it is likely, how much longer do you expect the investigation to continue?

Bob Levey: I think it's highly unlikely, verging on impossible. A president can be impeached only for "high crimes and misdemeanors" RELATING TO THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS JOB. Even if Clinton and Lewinsky did get friendly in a study near the Oval Office, how is that a job-related high crime or misdemeanor? More to the point, is that enough politically for Congress to act? I say it's nowhere near enough.

Midlothian, VA: Many pundits seem to think that indicting Monica Lewinsky and possibly sending her to jail is unthinkable from a pr standpoint . . . do you? Would naming President Clinton an unindicted co-conspirator make a difference?

Bob Levey: From whose PR standpoint? Starr's? As I just said, he has to come home with something. I think he'd see a Lewinsky indictment as good PR, if anything. As for Clinton's PR position, it certainly wouldn't help him if Lewinsky went to jail, but it wouldn't wound him worse than he has already been wounded, I don't think. Naming Clinton as an unindicted co-conspirator wouldn't matter at all. It's the equivalent of a yellow card in soccer--a warning without teeth.

Annandale, VA: I can't help but notice several similarities between Presidents Clinton and Harding such as economic prosperity for the nation, strong willed wives, and sexual scandal. In your opinion, will history regard Bill Clinton the same way it regards Warren Harding?

Bob Levey: Actually, Clinton stands to be regarded much more highly. He has presided over great eocnomic times; Harding presided over the opposite. The only similarity they share was affection for women. Presidents tend to be remembered for more and different, although that may change in the case of Clinton, especially if he's indicted or impeached.

Springfield, VA: To a layman, Monica Lewinsky's immunity from prosecurtion seems to be a straight forward issue while considering this is a both a serious and high stakes situation. Why have the legal experts not yet been able to make a deal with Ken Starr for Monica after almost five months?

Bob Levey: Because he will make a deal only when it's clear a) what Lewinsky would say before a jury and b) whether she is credible. A isn't yet clear, because she has told at least two different stories in various settings, so B isn't yet clear, either.

Herndon, VA: I have heard that Linda Tripp was living at a save house because of death threats. Also I have read recently that she has been living and working at her home. Which is correct? Maybe both are true if she has had special protection at her house.

Bob Levey: She has been living and working at home, as far as I know. Safe house? You've been watching too much TV.

Baltimore: How is Ms Tripp paying for her legal expenses?

Bob Levey: Out of her own pocket, I believe. That's one reason her motives have to scrutinized with a very sharp eye. She may face huge debts very soon. What better way to pay them off than with a huge advance on a tell-all book, brokered (of course) by Lucianne Goldberg?

Hoboken, New Jersey: If, as many of the President's defenders say, there is nothing to this story (because either Monica or Linda or Ken Starr made it all up), then why won't the President hold a news conference to address the issue? If there's nothing to hide, why not explain the 37 after-hours visits, the gifts, the books, and the general nature of the "relationship"?

Bob Levey: Excellent question. Remember that in his first public response to this whole mess, the president said he would soon explain it all. He never has--and now he can't claim that he's forbidden fronm doing so because he might be a witness in the Paula Jones case. I don't attach any legal value to the following comment, and you shouldn't, either. But it's obvious that Mr. Clinton is afraid to submit himself to direct questions from the media, or from anyone else.

Binghamton, NY: Is Tripp's testimony expected to hurt Ms. Lewinsky's bargaining position in her immunity talks? Let's face it: if the writer of the talking points becomes known without her help, she's out of cards. What does she have left to offer in trade for immunity from prosecution for a felony?

Bob Levey: Tripp poses grave danger to Lewinsky. Don't forget that Lewinsky isn't just some daffy young thing who may have had a fling with the President. She may have lied under oath. People go to jail for that--and Tripp certainly is a key witness in any perjury proceeding.

Quebec City, Quebec Canada: Can the House of Representatives consider illegally made tapes as part of an impeachment inquiry?

Bob Levey: Yes. Impeachment proceedings operate under different rules than court proceedings. The rules of evidence are much looser.

washington, dc: do you believe any of the current evidence is sufficient for a workable case and how soon can we see a close to all of this?

Bob Levey: You mean a workable criminal case? Against whom? Clearly, there's enough to indict Lewinsky right now, if Tripp is telling the truth. And there may be enough to indict Clinton. In any case, we'll see a close to all this within a few weeks, I'd guess. For one thing, Starr is just about out of witnesses he can call. For another, Capitol Hill will want to consider any impeachment move long before the fall campaign, not during it.

Seattle, Washington: If the Democrats take over Congress this fall, will this blunt the Starr investigation?

Is there any way to remove Starr or to end this circus, short of the President or Janet Reno actually firing him?
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Bob Levey: I'm virtually sure that the Starr investigation will be done before the November elections. So it won't matter if the Democrats retake the House or Senate. As for removing Starr, only Janet Reno or the President can do it, and that clearly won't happen. The country would redefine the word "firestorm" if it did. Remember Nixon and the Saturday Night Massacre? That was the beginning of the end for Mr. Nixon.

Suitland, MD: When will the state of Maryland investigate the illegal taping made by Linda (Trapp)Tripp.

Bob Levey: That investigation is underway

Dayton, Ohio: As November draws closer, do you think we will see even some of Mr. Clinton's strongest congressional defenders start to distance themselves?

Bob Levey: Not if he isn't indicted or impeached. On the contrary: Mr. Clinton continues to show very well in the polls. He is a proven success as a fundraiser and a crowd-creator. If I were a Democrat and were in a close race, I'd be delighted to have the president by my side.

Eau Claire, WI: What type of roll-over effect will the Lewinsky scandal have on Gore's run for the high office?

Bob Levey: Little or no effect, I'd say. Gore has kept himself far, far away from this mess. There isn't the slightest suggestion that he had anything to do with Lewinsky when she worked at the White House, or anything to do with the President's strategy in combatting the allegations. Gore will probably not attract voters who believe that all Democrats are immoral skirt-chasers, but he wouldn't have gotten those votes anyway.

hutchinson,mn: If you were Linda Tripp
and received the talking points to perjure yourself
or else lose your job, what
would you do?

Bob Levey: Call a lawyer before I said a word. And go hunting for that rich uncle who always said, "If there's ever anything I can do....

Rockville, MD: It is somewhat obvious by now that nothing "official" is going to happen to Clinton before he leaves office. If he is found guilty, do you think there will be a harsher reprimand once he is out of office, as opposed to the "courtesy" that might be extended to a sitting president?

Bob Levey: What form would a "harsher reprimand" take? A nasty letter? On the contrary, I think Clinton is far more vulnerable right now, legally and politically. The country wouldn't have the stomach to see him prosecuted for any of this after he leaves office. It would feel like piling on.

DC: What effect do you think that this whole scandal (whether substantiated or not) will have on the legitimacy of the presidency?

Bob Levey: That's the big, big overriding question. It really grieves me to hear young people cynically say that every president has sex with interns, and it doesn't matter who you vote for, or if you vote at all. Cynicism about Washington began during Watergate, and it only grows when stories like Clinton-Lewinsky arise.

Richmond, VA: How can you say that firing Starr would provoke a firestorm? With Starr's unfavorable ratings, wouldn't firing be greeted with cheers?

Bob Levey: If Clinton himself fired Starr, as he would have to, that would mean the target of the investigation would be firing the investigator. Wouldn't that provoke outrage? I say it would have to.

Bob Levey: Half an hour left in our discussion about the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.

Gainesville, FL: Have there been any indications of what Linda Tripp's motives in all this are? Why would she tape her "friend" and then give it all to Starr?

Bob Levey: Dough, my friend. Remember that she made the tapes to substantiate a book proposal. She wasn't planning to write that book so that graduate students could swoon over her sentence structure. She was looking to cash in on her proximity to Clinton and Lewinsky. Of course, this fact casts a large shadow over her motives, and over today's testimony before the grand jury

Arlington, Va: Why is there all of this hoopla surrounding the case? Why can't people either let it go or sit tight and wait for the end result?

Bob Levey: Hoopla follows every president. But this is hoopla-with-a-capital-H. A president who cavorts with a young intern in a study? A president who may have lied about it? Any human being would find that story compelling and important. Yes, we ought to wait until the courts clank through their process. But the world (and human beings) don't have that kind of patience.

Greenwood, SC: You said that Lewinski is in trouble if it is demonstrated that she lied under oath. If Monica lied, Clinton did, too. Felony, isn't it?

Bob Levey: Yup. Remember that this whole case is about the possibility of jail time for Clinton, not just about political and personal embarrassment.

Chantilly, VA: If it is illegal to tape phone conversations in Maryland, isn't any reference to the tapes inadmissible in court?

Bob Levey: Not before a grand jury. Different rules

Fairfax, VA: What penalty, if any, does
Starr face for leaking grand
jury info to the press and
lieing about it?

Bob Levey: If he really did either of those, he can be tried under a federal law that bars prosecutors from trafficking in information they acquire while doing their jobs. That is a felony, by the way.

Cincinnati, Ohio: If Drill Sergeants at Aberdeen Proving Grounds were found guilty of constructive rape because their position of power over 18-23 year old trainees was so great the court deemed the women incapable of true sexual consent, isn't it fair to conc lude that any President would be fully responsible and liable for a sexual relationship with a 21 year old due to his much greater position of power over her rendering any consent on her part inconsequential?

Bob Levey: Sure, it's a logical comparison. But remember that the military's code of conduct and the rules of civilian life are not at all the same. And Clinton cannot be held to the military standard because he is not in the military, even though he is commander-in-chief

Saint Augustin, Quebec Canada: Do you think that Independent prosecutors in general have too much power? This Starr fellow seems totally out of control to me. It really seems to be the 1990's equivalent of the McCarthy hearings of the 1950's.

Bob Levey: My personal opinion is that no prosecutor should have this much UNCHECKED power. He needs full legal powers to do his job properly. But we are a system of checks and balances. Starr should have to account for his conduct in office at regular intervals, I think-- the same way you and I do to our bosses. Otherwise, he can go wild, as some think he has in this case, and the only recourse is to fire him. That will never happen for the reasons we've already laid out

Washinton, DC: Heard your commentary today on WTOP and I agree wholeheartedly.

My question: I still do not understand why Tripp taped Lewinsky. Was it to help out Lewinsky who allegedly was taken advantage of by Clinton? Or was she seeing dollar signs on the value of the conversations in a book? Thanks.

Bob Levey: Forgive my cynicism, but Lucianne Goldberg is on record as telling Tripp that her book proposal would never fly without evidence that Lewinsky and Clinton were intimate. If you were money-mad, and you had the chance to tape Lewinsky saying precisely that, what would you have done? And what would your motives have been?

Midlothian, VA: How do you see Monica Lewinsky--best and brightest of the White House interns, ditzy temptress, or victim?

Bob Levey: Certainly a victim--of her own poor judgment, and apparently of Clinton's, too, if they did indeed have sex. But to say she's a victim doesn't mean she's blameless. She was 21 and 22 at the time the sex allegedly happened. She surely knew that she was having sex with a married man, and that might not be a good idea. One of the aspects of this story that has always puzzled me is the assumption that Clinton seduced this blushing little child. Couldn't it have been the other way around?

American living in Thailand: When does Judge Starr's superior(s) tell him he has gone too far in his investigation? I am extremely nervous about our freedoms when a Judge demands to know what books a person has purchased and how he originally questioned Ms. Lewinsky without consul. No murder or capital crimes were comitted - just the affairs of the heart.

Bob Levey: Again, Judge Starr's superiors are the president and the attorney general. He doesn't have to account to them, or anyone else. By the way, I agree vehemently about the inquiry into book-buying habits. The freedom to read what you want is so fundamental in our society that I can't imagine a prosecutor threatening it--or a judge allowing it.

anytown, usa: Now you call Linda Tripp "money-mad"? Where do you get this stuff? I haven't heard any reports that Linda Tripp was living in poverty or desperately seeking cash.. Is everyone that feels like writing a book money-mad?

Bob Levey: Not at all. But bear in mind that she is recently divorced, with kids approaching college age. She has described herself as being under money pressure. And her book was a non-starter--at least until the Lewinsky tapes--because who would have plunked down actual money for the collected recollections of a middle-level PR person? She's money-mad in the sense that any author is. She wants to make as much dough from her book as possible.

Gainesville, FL (again): Maybe a silly question here. But Ken Starr was investigating Whitewater. How did he get into who the President is sleeping with? Even if Clinton did sleep with Lewinsky and lied about it so what? I can think of many, many married men who have done the same. Some even hold office.

Bob Levey: The thread of legal reasoning--and it's pretty skinny--is that Clinton may have lied during Whitewater, so all possible lies he may have told should be investigated.

compton,ca.: Perhaps in this last half hour you can answer this. People have studied violent offenders know that repeat rapist often get more out of control and cause their victut to die. Here is a compound question. This relates to the whole moral tone of the issues you address. Have you heard or have you "avoided" hearing any intimations that any women have died directly or indirectly from the rough handling of Mr. Clinton, and have you heard or avoided hearing that Mr. Lindsey or Carvel was involved in a coverup for any deaths as was done in the cases of the two known raped women in Arkansas?

Bob Levey: i haven't heard a whit of anything like any of it

Charlottesville, VA: If Starr submits his report before this November, what result will it have on the elections?

Bob Levey: Very hard to say. On the one hand, I can't see Clinton's problems affecting local Democratic office-seekers. No voter really believes that all Democrats are alike any more than he believes all Republicans are alike. As for the makeup of the House and Senate, I think the economy will have more to say about how well incumbents do. Since the economy is sailing along, I'd say the Republicans should keep control of both houses, Monica or no Monica

Salem, OR: You just indicated that Linda Tripp recorded the conversations in order to secure a book deal. Did you make that statement as fact, or opinion, and if so, do you call that good journalism? I dare you to answer this one.

Bob Levey: Opinion. Sheer opinion. But opinion grounded in the facts.

Washington, DC: Do you think that Monica Lewinsky has a better chance at avoiding indictment without Ginsburg? What do you think was her true motivation for firing him?

Bob Levey: I think she's still in big trouble, whether her lasyer is Ginsburg or Mickey Mouse. But yes, I think her new lawyers will protect her better because they haven't burned bridges to Starr. Ginsburg did that early, and thoroughly. The real reason for firing him, I have heard, is that the family was worried that Monica remained vulnerable, five months later.

Columbus, Ohio: When will everyone understand..it's not about Sex...it's about lying under oath and getting other people to lie!! What is your opinion?

Bob Levey: Legally, there's no question you're right. Politically, there's no question you're wrong. Sex has driven this story from the first second. Then again, it often drives stories.

Baltimore MD: Maybe this is another silly question. But if Clinton is found to be "exonerated" in this case, would it be possible for him to file some sort of slander suit against Starr? Or does Mr Starr's status as independent counsel shield him from any legal recourse?

Bob Levey: Starr is not shielded, and Clinton can sue him for whatever he likes. Would Clinton ever win? I doubt it. Would Clinton have a better case against Lewinsky, if it's determined that she lied to set him up? I think he would. But I doubt that he would ever pursue any such course

Washington, DC: Bob Levey, what is your relation to Anton Levey, deceased leader of the Church of Satan?

Bob Levey: I'm happy and relieved to say that we're not related

Silver Spg MD: Everbody involved has to get an attorney before speaking with Mr. Starr. I just don't get it. You go in, tell the TRUTH, and leave. All this complaining about folks going broke with legal fees tells me they have something to hide, and need a mouthpiece to distill their bile into wine. Your thoughts? Nice job today.

Bob Levey: It isn't just a question of telling the truth before a grand jury. It's a question of HOW you tell it. I'm not suggesting that witnesses lie, or ever should. But you have to be very careful that you don't get your own rear end in trouble as you testify. You want a good attorney to protect you from that.

Reading, PA: I do not believe the polls
that say 80% of Americans have
had enough of the Lewinsky/Starr/Clinton business but am at a loss to refute them. What do you think the real truth is?
Commment: It's in not the polls that count but the law and whether it was broken.

Bob Levey: I think Americans say over and over that they are sick of this story--and can't get enough of it. Face it: We love to gossip. And gossip is all we've got here. Please remember: Not a single fact in this story has been absolutely proved yet. All of us are speculating, and always have been

Bob Levey: That's all for today. Thanks to all who sent questions. Join us next week at the same time for another edition of "Levey Live."

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