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 For Immediate Release
Jun 12, 2000 Contact: Press Office
202-646-5172
CLINTON AIDE ADMITS WILLEY DOCUMENTS RELEASED TO SHORT-CIRCUIT FURTHER CRIMINAL INQUIRY, INFLUENCE LEWINSKY INVESTIGATION

Bruce Lindsey, White House Lawyers Admit Release of Letters, Ruled Illegal By Court, Was To Save Clinton From Impeachment


(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch announced today that Clinton aide Bruce Lindsey admitted in sworn interrogatory responses that he and other Clinton White House lawyers released documents concerning Kathleen Willey from her government files because her allegations of sexual misconduct against Bill Clinton might influence -- and even expand -- criminal investigations into Mr. Clinton's activities. Lindsey couldn't remember "details" of his conversations, but testified that Bill Clinton "concurred" in the recommendation that the Willey documents be released and that the release be timed until after Ms. Willey's famous interview on 60 Minutes.

A federal court judge, The Honorable Royce Lamberth, has already ruled that Bill Clinton and his aides engaged in a criminal violation of the Privacy Act when they released the Willey documents to the press – a ruling upheld on appeal. The ruling came in the context in the ongoing Filegate civil lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch on behalf of those Republicans and others whose FBI files were illegally obtained and misused by the Clinton White House. Hillary Clinton, a defendant in this lawsuit, also participated in the Willey document release. The court has ruled that, in the context of the Filegate lawsuit, the misuse of Ms. Willey's government files is circumstantial evidence that the FBI files at issue were misused. In his sworn interrogatory responses, Lindsey admits that:
    Mr. Lindsey, Mr. (Charles) Ruff, and Ms. (Cheryl) Mills considered the impact that Ms. Willey's allegations might have on the on-going Lewinsky investigation, the potential for impeachment hearings, and general public confidence in the President's credibility...[they] concluded that Ms. Willey's allegations, without any context, might bias the public and Congress and thereby increase the potential for the expansion of the Independent Counsel's jurisdiction and the likelihood of impeachment proceedings against the President...Once these three individuals concluded, that on balance, the letters should probably be release, they discussed the timing of the release. They decided to wait until after viewing Ms. Willey's appearance to make a final decision regarding the release of the letters and the timing of the release.
"The release of Ms. Willey's documents was not only a criminal violation of the Privacy Act but, as Lindsey's admissions confirm, was also part of an effort to obstruct justice and intimidate a witness in a criminal probe concerning Bill Clinton. Criminal prosecutions are warranted," stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman.

Judicial Watch, Inc. is a public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government corruption.

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