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| For Immediate Release | |
| Jan 22, 1998 | Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
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Lawyers' Code of Professional Responsibility requires Bennett to have Clinton correct perjury or else he must quit Bill Clinton's lawyer, Bob Bennett, who routinely publicly accuses the President's accusers of lying, now may face a serious ethical dilemma of his own. Under various Codes of Professional Responsibility for lawyers, if Bennett knew that Bill Clinton was going to commit perjury at his deposition last Friday about the alleged affair with Monica Lewinsky and other women, he would be an accessory to perjury, a crime punishable by 5 years in prison for each offense. However, even if Bennett did not know at the time that Clinton was going to lie, if he has subsequently learned that the President did lie, even through communications with his own client, he would have to confront Clinton and demand that he "correct" the perjury, and if the President refuses, under the District of Columbia ethical rules, Bennett must quit. Had the episode occurred in a jurisdiction like Florida, a refusal by Clinton to correct the perjury would require that the lawyer come forward himself to set the record straight. In recent days, Monica Lewinsky's first lawyer has quit, raising the possibility that this attorney faced the same dilemma that now possibly confronts Bennett. Accordingly, if Bennett adheres to the ethical rules under which he is a licensed attorney in the District of Columbia, his actions in the next day or so may hold the key to determining whether Clinton has lied and/or suborned perjury. If Bennett does not adhere to these rules, should he have actually learned that his client has perjured himself and/or asked others to perjure themselves, Bennett himself would face the potential of severe discipline. Accordingly, Bob Bennett's actions may now speak louder than his words. Interestingly, in the last day Bennett has been uncharacteristically silent. |
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