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 For Immediate Release
May 18, 2000 Contact: Press Office
202-646-5172


JUDGES EXPRESS SKEPTICISM AT CLINTON "CRIME-FRAUD APPEAL"

Question Procedural Maneuver To Have Finding That President Committed Crime Reviewed Before End Of Filegate Case


(Washington, DC) Today, Larry Klayman, Chairman and General Counsel of Judicial Watch, appeared before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit to argue against the Clinton-Gore White House's effort to short-circuit normal appellate practice, through a conjured-up "Writ of Mandamus" procedure, to obtain early review of the decision by the lower court -- The Honorable Royce C. Lamberth -- finding that President Bill Clinton had committed a crime when he released documents from Kathleen Willey's government file. The decision, which occurred in the context of a discovery order, has ramifications for Hillary Clinton, since it is clear from sworn Clinton-Gore White House interrogatory answers that she participated in the illegal release of the Willey documents in violation of the Privacy Act.

The three-judge Panel -- which was composed of appointees of Bill Clinton (Judge Tatel), Jimmy Carter (Judge Edwards), and Ronald Reagan (Judge Ginsburg) -- was a generally liberal Panel by D.C. Circuit standards. The judges all expressed deep skepticism at the Clinton-Gore White House's attempt to sidestep normal appellate procedures to review Judge Lamberth's decision to allow limited discovery into discussions by the President and his advisors, such as Sidney Blumenthal, Cheryl Mills, Bruce Lindsey, and informal advisors Hillary Clinton and James Carville, over the nature and circumstances of the release of the Willey documents. During the hearing, Larry Klayman pointed out how the President's violation of Ms. Willey's privacy fell within the scope of the Privacy Act, since both the letter of the statute and the legislative history show that it applies to the President's advisors. Indeed, the legislative history refers specifically to President Nixon's misuse of an Oval Office taping system and telephone taps to spy on and thus violate the privacy of American citizens, which criminal acts occurred right out of the Oval Office.

"We are confident that the Panel will throw out the Clinton-Gore White House's contrived maneuver to use a "Writ of Mandamus" to relieve the embarrassment to the President [and Mrs. Clinton] of having been found – even in the context of the discovery dispute – to have criminally violated Ms. Willey's privacy rights," stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman.


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