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December 20, 1995
Web posted at: 11 p.m. EST
From Correspondent Claire Shipman
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate voted Wednesday 51-45 (roll call) to take legal action against the Clinton administration after a full Senate debate over disputed Whitewater notes. It is the first time since Watergate a congressional body has voted to challenge a sitting president in court over disputed documents.
The session was jammed with accusations that the administration had been less than forthcoming. "It's up to the president of the United States to step up and keep his commitment. The White House has stonewalled us," said Whitewater Committee Chairman Alfonse D'Amato.
The notes were taken by former White House associate counsel William Kennedy during a November 5, 1994, meeting between private Clinton attorneys and White House attorneys over the impending investigation of Whitewater.
"It's up to the president of the United States to step up and keep his commitment. The White House has stonewalled us."
-- Alfonse D'Amato
The White House had offered to hand over the notes to the Senate Whitewater Committee under the condition that all parties investigating the matter agree that the move does not constitute a waiver of attorney-client privilege.
The resolution approved by the Senate authorizes the chamber's lawyers to start civil action in federal court to enforce the Senate's subpoena.
White House press secretary Mike McCurry said Sunday on CNN's Inside Politics Weekend that the president was not daunted by the prospect of a court battle. (117K AIFF sound or 117K WAV sound)
A day earlier, all seemed to be going well. The Senate Whitewater Committee and Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr had agreed to the White House condition attached to the notes. But the House committee investigating Whitewater wasn't going for the deal. "The law is very clear, the precedent is very clear that attorney-client privilege does not relate for governmental employees acting at government expense on government time," said Rep. Jim Leach, R Iowa.
"What will people think, our children, of grown men casting rash aspersions on the president of the United States and on other senators?"
-- Sen. Dobert Byrd (D, West Virginia)
After a Wednesday meeting with White House lawyers and private Clinton attorneys, Leach issued a statement saying that he would work on an approach that would avoid a constitutional crisis. White House sources say that an agreement with Leach may be reached as early as Thursday, but that didn't keep the Senate from moving toward legal action.
On the floor, Democrats accused the Republicans of playing politics. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia, said the entire Senate was making a spectacle of itself. "What will people think, our children, of grown men casting rash aspersions on the president of the United States and on other senators?"
Despite the vote and hail of allegations, a deal over the notes is still possible. The White House thinks Republicans were simply eager for the vote to draw attention to the issue. But if there is no agreement, Senate lawyers could take the issue to federal courts.
House and Senate Republicans believe Kennedy's notes could uncover evidence that the Clintons improperly diverted funds from a failed savings and loan into both their Whitewater land deal and Bill Clinton's 1984 Arkansas gubernatorial campaign.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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