Ex-Starr Deputy Strikes Back
By John Solomon
Associated Press Writer
Monday, July 10, 2000; 7:07 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON –– Charles Bakaly, the former Kenneth Starr lieutenant
accused of misleading a judge about a press leak, struck back
Monday in court filings that suggested independent counsel
lawyers were to blame for the problem.
Bakaly alleged in a pretrial brief that he detailed his role in a
disputed January 1999 news story to lawyers for Starr's office,
but the lawyers narrowed his account before filing a statement
with a federal judge on his behalf.
He also argued he shouldn't be prosecuted because an appeals
court has concluded that none of the information in the news
story was protected by grand jury secrecy rules.
Bakaly faces trial Thursday on a criminal contempt charge
accusing him of making three false statements in that sworn
declaration and causing the independent counsel office to make a
fourth false statement in its own filing concerning the news
leak. The case was recently unsealed.
Bakaly's lawyers argued he doesn't believe any of the four
statements were false, but if read that way by the court "Mr.
Bakaly is not responsible for and did not cause that falseness."
He alleged that in one instance Starr's lawyers declined to
change language in the sworn statement to make it more detailed
and accurate – as Bakaly requested – because the lawyers wanted
to keep the information from President Clinton's attorney.
In another instance, he said lawyers told him they had left out
relevant information from his sworn statement because they wanted
"to provide the minimum amount of information while fully
complying with what was required."
Independent Counsel Robert Ray, who succeeded Starr, had not seen
Bakaly's filing as of late Monday and declined comment, his
office said. The independent counsel's office, however, first
referred Bakaly for investigation in the leaks matter.
Meanwhile, Bakaly found some support from an unlikely source –
the chief Democratic lawyer on the House Judiciary Committee who
had been a harsh critic of Starr's probe.
Julian Epstein said in an interview that the case against Bakaly
was "a terrible prosecution" and a "semantical game of gotcha"
because courts have determined the story Bakaly was accused of
leaking was not covered by grand jury secrecy rules.
"There is no real underlying offense here," Epstein said. "This
again is example of prosecutors and the legal system going too
far."
At issue is a Jan. 31, 1999 story published by The New York Times
that reported – in the midst of Clinton's impeachment trial –
that Starr's office had concluded that a sitting president could
be indicted in criminal court.
The story become the subject of a leaks investigation, and the
chief federal judge in Washington concluded the story divulged
material covered by grand jury secrecy rules. But the judge was
overruled by an appeals court that concluded the story wasn't
covered by grand jury secrecy.
Nonetheless, Bakaly was ordered to stand trial for criminal
contempt, alleging he obstructed justice by making false
statements during the internal review of the leak that was
prompted by a complaint from David Kendall, the president's
personal lawyer.
Bakaly acknowledged in the court filing Monday that he talked
with the reporter several times in the days leading up to the
story, but said he attempted to "steer" the reporter away from
writing the story.
Bakaly also acknowledged faxing to the reporter portions of an
internal independent counsel office document that laid out
Watergate-era arguments about indicting a president.
Bakaly said he informed Starr's lawyers during the internal
review that he had faxed an internal agency document, but the
lawyers wrote a statement on his behalf suggesting it was a
generic compilation of Watergate-era documents.
Bakaly contends he asked Starr's lawyers to change the statement
to reflect it was an internal document from the prosecutor's
office, but was turned down. He said he was told by one lawyer
that he "did not want Mr. Kendall to know that fact and that if
necessary he would advise the court of the fact at a later time."
Bakaly also accused the lawyers hired by Starr's office to
prepare statements in the leaks investigation of omitting
information Bakaly gave them. He charged they wrote his sworn
statement "in a way as to state or suggest, contrary to what" he
had told them that "Mr. Bakaly had provided no information" to
the reporter.
© Copyright 2000 The Associated Press
=================================================================
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day.
=================================================================
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
